As students across California rallied for climate legislation on Friday, Saint Francis High School’s Environmental Club hosted Mountain View City Council member Alison Hicks to talk about climate accountability and the importance of local political engagement.
On Oct. 24, high school students from Oakland to San Diego walked out of their schools to call on state leaders to pass the Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act. Instead of organizing a walkout, the Saint Francis Environmental Club invited Hicks to connect with students on campus.
“Our goal was to engage our peers and help them be more aware of politics that are happening around them and how they can have an impact in their future,” Saint Francis junior and Environmental Club member Emma Dougherty told the Voice.
Hicks visited classes and hung around at lunch to speak with students about her support for the Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act, a proposed state law that would require heavy fossil fuel polluters, like big oil companies, to pay for their contributions to the climate crisis. Hicks told students at the Mountain View private school that the state needs more money to work toward reducing its carbon emissions, which the superfund act could provide.
“One of the big problems, particularly with our new administration in Washington, is that we don’t have the money to do the startup things that allow us to cut carbon emissions,” Hicks said. “Once you do the groundwork, you can often save money.”
Formally known as California Senate Bill 684 and Assembly Bill 1243, the legislation would use the money collected from polluters to create a “superfund” for projects and programs to help the state mitigate, adapt and respond to the damages done by climate change.
Dougherty, who has been involved with the Environmental Club since her freshman year, described the bill as a way to hold polluters accountable for the consequences of their actions.
“As youth, those impacts are going to be felt the worst by us as we are growing up and entering the workforce, getting homes,” she said.
Vermont and New York passed similar superfund legislation last year, but California’s version continues to stall in Sacramento, according to reporting from the Los Angeles Times and CalMatters.
Though the bill garnered strong support from environmental groups, especially after the Palisades Fire earlier this year, major business groups and oil companies have firmly opposed it. They argue that the bill would increase the cost of gas, electricity and other consumer goods, CalMatters reported.
Hicks was one of 135 elected officials who signed a letter urging lawmakers “to support the creation of a California Climate Superfund to protect California communities and taxpayers from the climate emergency.” She told students on Friday that Mountain View has already been taking steps to improve its sustainability efforts, such as passing a resolution in 2020 for the city to become carbon neutral by 2045.
“We have a department of sustainability, and we have a bunch of things that we’re working on, most of which are either in the transportation realm or the building realm,” Hicks said. “Mostly, it’s about electrifying buildings and doing active transportation.”
Emily Thomas, a science teacher at Saint Francis, asked Hicks to tell students about how they can get involved in local politics.
“A lot of times, people focus on what’s happening nationally or even statewide, but really, you can make a huge difference by just showing up at your local city or town meetings,” Thomas said.
Hicks agreed, telling students that they could engage with City Council members by emailing them or attending meetings to make public comments. She encouraged students to get involved in local groups working on issues they care about.
“The city certainly does a lot around the climate crisis and sustainability,” Hicks said. “It’s been important to a lot of our residents, and so, if young people are interested, I’d like to get them involved as well.”
