“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”

May this reflection by Martin Luther King Jr. provide a bit of solace.
From the 2002 Coretta Scott King-edited book, In My Own Words.

JANUARY 21, 2025

Dear Friends:

We write today with heavy hearts for all of those affected by the fires in Los Angeles. Below please find some health and safety resources, provided by our PSR Los Angeles chapter and community partners, for you to share with those who may be in need.

We also want to bring your attention to some reading below about how these fires are made more extreme and frequent by the warming climate and how we must remain focused on the real culprits, the fossil fuel industry. We know that the industry has poured untold dollars into misinformation campaigns to deceive the public about how burning fossil fuels harms our planet, similar to how the tobacco industry lied to the public for decades. We also know that the fossil fuel companies ExxonMobil and Chevron raked in $36 billion and $21.3 billion respectively in profits last year alone, and that fossil fuel companies in California are being subsidized by your tax dollars, while all of us, and especially those hit by fires, are paying with  our lives, homes, communities. and health.

That is why we are inviting you to join us to support this year’s Make Polluters Pay campaign. To start the year off, on January 16, we signed on to the full-page ad in the Sacramento Bee, see below (thank you Sunstone and CEV). We will be working closely with the Last Chance Alliance coalition this year to ensure that Make Polluters Pay bills cross the finish line in the California legislature and are signed by the Governor again this year!

On another note, at the time of this writing we are gratified to learn of the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, and the incipient release of hostages and other prisoners. We hope that this deal will result in a permanent ceasefire that will bring an end to a conflict that has killed over 45,000 people and caused such widespread suffering throughout Gaza, Israel, Palestine and the entire region. It is of course imperative that food, shelter, and other humanitarian assistance be immediately expedited to address the urgent needs of survivors, including preventing famine and further disease outbreaks. At the same time we need to find a way to quickly end other tragic and heartbreaking conflicts exemplified by the immense human toll, human rights abuses, and suffering in Ukraine, Sudan, Ethiopia, Burma, etc. Beyond the direct human costs, these wars constitute a tremendous fossil fuel and environmental pollution footprint, and consistently pose a barrier to developing the global political will and capacity to deal with our out-of-control climate crisis.

In that regard, we await with great trepidation the first 100 days of our next Administration which threatens to “Drill baby drill” and destroy decades of health-protective regulations, and the government agencies charged with safeguarding our environment and public health. We have gotten more than a glimpse of what a climate-denying presidential administration and Congressional minions have in store for us by their heartless response to the unprecedented devastation and suffering caused by the LA inferno.

In the face of such vindictiveness and cruelty, we need to stick together. With federal avenues for change now being suffocated, we know that working collectively to advocate for solutions at our local and state levels provides a real and constructive antidote to the despair and hopelessness that can easily overcome and incapacitate us.

At times like this we need to summon the courage and political will to forcefully advocate for the most vulnerable and defenseless among us. For SF Bay PSR this means reinvigorating our fight for the best community-driven and science-based solutions to our intertwined existential threats of climate change, nuclear weapons and war.

We invite you to join our efforts! Thank you to everyone who gave to our end-of-year campaign! We came very close to our goal of $30,000. Help us continue to build strength—please consider signing actions, donating, joining one of our committees below, and/or sharing information with your networks. All these efforts can significantly help build the powerful movement we need at this critical time.

With peace and gratitude,

Dr. Robert M. Gould, President

HEALTH AND SAFETY RESOURCES

READING

Guardian: These are the hazards Californians face after fires – and what can homeowners do to protect themselves

Guardian: How Los Angeles wildfire smoke affects mental health: Wildfire smoke is linked to health issues like heart attacks and strokes. Research is helping us understand its impacts on our wellbeing

The Lever: How Big Oil Hindered The Fight Against L.A.’s Wildfires: California’s oil and gas companies avoided paying billions of dollars in taxes that could have been used to fight the inferno.

Guardian: The media needs to show how the climate crisis is fueling the LA wildfires

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): Wildfire Climate Connection

NEW UCSF: Center to End Corporate Harm

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JOIN A COMMITTEE! Volunteer!

Joining an advocacy group can reduce anxiety about our increasingly chaotic world, allowing us to channel this energy into making impactful change. You are welcome to attend our meetings to just listen and learn, or to directly participate in advocacy projects.

Environmental Health Committee (EHC)

Next meeting, Wednesday, March 12, 2025, 7pm PT, online
To join our EHC committee, please email info@sfbaypsr.org.

EH committee members are dedicated and passionate health professionals and researchers of all disciplines, community members, and health advocates, working on behalf of planetary health and survival and toward a world where everyone is free of the existential threats of the climate crisis and environmental degradation.

Nuclear Weapons Abolition Committee (NWA)

Next meeting, Thursday, February 13, 2025, 7pm PT, online
To join our NWA committee, please email info@sfbaypsr.org.

Join the discussion or just listen! Our NWA committee members are health professionals, advocates, scientists, researchers, and others working locally to influence public awareness, civic engagement, and national policy toward a nuclear-weapons-free world.

JOIN US!