Luna, Taryn. (2022, February 8). Corporations turn to ballot to combat California’s progressive agenda, raising alarms. Retrieved February 8, 2023, from https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-02-08/oil-referendum-setbacks-california

In August, Governor Gavin Newsom passed a package of climate change bills that included a law requiring a certain amount of space around new oil and gas wells in order to keep them away from homes and schools. Oil and petroleum organizations have spent at least $20 million dollars to collect signatures and otherwise achieve a referendum on that law. The referendum will last until November, 2024, at which point voters will decide whether or not they want to uphold them. Given this use of the referendum process, labor unions are considering reforms to it.

This referendum sends the message that successful fuel-producing companies value maximizing their profits more than the health of the community; drilling for oil and gas results in asthma, birth defects, and exposure to toxic chemicals. I am frustrated that the democratic process is so easy for companies to exploit in such a way that they harm living beings and the environment in which they live. However, it shows how impactful that legislation could be if oil companies are willing to go to such pains to hinder its effects. This relates to environmental science because companies are using policy to go against scientific advice so that they can further their enterprises.