By Katharine Harrison, SanDiego350 Legislative Team Lead Article by The Jumping Off Place “One of the most powerful [tools for political pressure], when well organized, is the boycott: to change where you park your money and where or what you buy.” There are many tools for exerting political pressure: strikes, marches, letters to the press, letters or calls to politicians, public comment at meetings of elected officials, town halls, petitions. One of the most powerful, when well organized, is the boycott: to change where you park your money and where or what you buy. Famous boycotts that made a difference include

By Sofia C. (she/her) Youth v. Oil Intern If you’re familiar with Youth v. Oil and Youth4Climate’s recent work, you’ve likely heard of our priority campaign from the past year: the Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act of 2025 (AB 1243 and SB 684). These bills were landmark pieces of legislation that would make the top fossil fuel companies pay for the climate damages they’ve inflicted. We lobbied in Sacramento to pass the law, passed three resolutions at city councils, organized walkouts with over 1,300 students across San Diego, and more. In partnership with the statewide coalition, this work shifted Polluters

By Carmen Berry, SanDiego350 Volunteer In American pop culture, flexing cars represent the ultimate freedom – endless expanses of open road and a future unbound by systemic shortages to public transportation systems. Like our landscapes, cars have dominated American pop culture, redefining our personal relationships to space, sustainable development, and freedom. Car-centric development has impeded the expansion of existing public transportation systems nationwide, partially due to federal cuts and impermanent local revenue sources. Facing these escalating attacks on public transportation which foster car dependency, we must reconsider media narratives that stigmatize mass transit and discourage engagement with regional transit systems.

By Ruby Melchior, SanDiego350 Member Climate change disproportionately impacts communities that contribute the least to global greenhouse gas emissions, making climate migration one of the most urgent justice issues of our time. The wealthiest 10% of the global population is responsible for over half of climate-related damages, while the poorest 50% contribute only 7% of emissions. These inequities drive displacement as low income populations face increasing exposure to heatwaves, drought, wildfires, and food insecurity with limited capacity to adapt. California—and particularly San Diego—sits at the center of this crisis, where climate impacts intersect directly with immigration policy and border enforcement. 

By Ken Kobayashi, MD Earlier today, the White House announced that “We are officially terminating the so-called endangerment finding, a disastrous Obama-era policy that severely damaged the American auto industry and massively drove up prices for American consumers.” With these words, the Administration has embraced climate denial as official U.S. policy, ignoring the life-threatening impacts of climate change that millions of Americans face every day. This is no longer a partisan issue. Climate change is increasing costs for all of us by damaging property, disrupting businesses, causing workers to miss work, and increasing the costs of healthcare, electricity, and insurance. 

By Parke Troutman, Utility Campaign Manager New year, new approach to fighting SDG&E’s profitmongering!  Although SanDiego350 has long agitated against San Diego Gas & Electric and its parent company Sempra, we are excited to announce our new volunteer-led Utility Justice team dedicated to fighting for clean and affordable energy and we’re kicking it off with a training on Saturday, January 31st and SDG&E protest on Feb 2nd. LET’S UNDERSTAND THE PROBLEM WITH SDG&E… Solar has become the cheapest form of energy globally, yet sunny San Diego has some of the highest electricity rates in the nation. Why? The explanation has

Jim Miller, The Jumping-Off Place & SD350 Board Member Article by The Jumping Off Place “Democrats who already have an advantage on climate and renewable energy with votes and should lean into rather than away from climate by emphasizing affordability and climate costs.” San Diego is heading the wrong way on climate. As the rest of the nation has responded to the reactionary bent of national politics and the environment by largely abandoning or sidelining the issue, one might have hoped that cities like all-blue San Diego could serve as a counterweight but, alas, such is not the case. In

By McGarrah Wilson, Youth Program Manager On October 24th, 2025 over 2,000 middle school, high school, and college students across San Diego and California walked out of class to demand that their state legislators pass the Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act of 2025 (SB 684 and AB 1243). 19 schools and 1,300 students participated in San Diego County, read below to hear their experiences. Check out photos / news stories from the event. “The Polluters Pay Student walkout was definitely the most thrilling and memorable moment in my life. Watching my friends get excited to raise their voices and fight

By Carmen Berry, SanDiego350 Member Historically, urban living has been associated with unpleasant smells, but what happens when these everyday odors intensify to the point where they become unavoidable? Scent plays a crucial role in forming memories, establishing physiological connections between space and the human body. The subconscious creation of “smellscapes”, place-related hubs of scent and odor, helps to contextualize humans within their settings and build emotional bonds. If you live in a city, you’ll likely find comfort in the modern “smellscapes” your senses have grown accustomed to from living in that place (Creating Smellscapes, Jieling Xiao). Smellscapes encompass the

By Chris Roberts, Transportation Team Lead In a stunning victory for environmental justice, the National City Council voted unanimously against allowing a biodiesel transfer depot to be located at the National City railyard. The depot, proposed by USDG Clean Fuels, a Texas-based energy company, would have been located ½ mile from Kimball Elementary School, St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, and a number of homes and businesses. If the transfer depot had been approved, diesel trains would have delivered fuel to the depot, and 72 diesel tanker trucks would have driven through National City every day of the year to

Masada Disenhouse, SanDiego350 Executive Director and Co-founder Dear SanDiego350 community,  You may have seen the recent news that 350.org (the international organization that SanDiego350 is affiliated with) is suspending its programs in the United States, and wondered if our work at SanDiego350 will be impacted. While we have successfully partnered with 350.org’s US campaigns many times (notably on the Keystone Pipeline, the Dakota Access, divestment campaigns) and are saddened that 350.org will be suspending its U.S. programs, I want to assure you that this change at 350.org will not affect our funding, our campaigns, or ability to achieve our mission. 

Bill Gates and the Democratic Party Throw Climate Action Under the Bus By Jim Miller, The Jumping-Off Place & SD350 Board Member Article by The Jumping Off Place From San Diego where Mayor Gloria has ousted the city’s climate and sustainability leader and California where Governor Newsom and the Democrats are tossing their role as climate leaders into the dustbin of history and reembracing the fossil fuel industry, to the national level where the party has summarily abandoned all climate talk, doomerism is definitively out. And why not, when our dear friend Bill Gates has given us the good news in a memo he crafted just in time for COP30

By Brad Barham, SanDiego350 member My September blog, “Western Wildfires, Climate Change, Insurance, Housing, and Inequality”, explored how rising wildfire risk associated with climate change is negatively affecting the housing market. It raises insurance costs, shrinks housing supply, and pushes rents and house sale prices higher and higher. Similar effects occur in other parts of the US where hurricanes, flooding, and other climate-driven shocks also increasingly damage the housing stock. The big picture concern is this: negative supply shocks driven by climate change are exacerbating a longstanding affordability crisis in US housing markets.  The cost of adequate housing has become

By Sofia Carrasco, Youth v. Oil Intern Article published in Cal Matters The health and safety of millions of Californians is in jeopardy thanks to a law that bypassed nearly the entire legislative process — bargained and brought to you by Big Oil.  The law, Senate Bill 237, was introduced and passed in a hurried 72-hour session. This is the legal minimum amount of time a bill must exist before it passes. By avoiding input from key stakeholders, Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Democrats are participating in a concerning trend, one which allows industries to lobby and manipulate their way into backdoor deals.  The California’s Democratic leadership is revoking hard-earned

 By Elizabeth Nguyen, Oceanside Youth Coordinator I’m excited to be joining the SanDiego350 community as the Oceanside Youth Coordinator. I am a first generation Vietnamese American born and raised in San Diego, CA. I enjoyed being outside, and I discovered my passion for marine conservation in high school as a volunteer at the Birch Aquarium. I loved learning about our oceans and sharing with others about how we can protect it from human impacts and the effects of climate change. I studied marine biology at the University of California, San Diego, where I also joined the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

By Katharine Harrison, Legislative Team Lead We vote for state legislators that we believe will promote our well-being as Californians and hope that the legislative process is open and fair enough that we can trust them. However, this is not always the case. Even with a Democratic supermajority, small d democracy has been dealt a bad hand this summer. This session witnessed a great deal of closed-door negotiation that bypassed regular law-making and introduced legislation at the eleventh hour. Seasoned activists and lobbyists, much less the everyday citizen, had little opportunity to push back. Certainly, this has happened before, but

By Huxley Sidari (he/him/his), Youth volunteer with Youth v. Oil The ongoing sewage crisis in the Tijuana River is no new issue to San Diegans and residents of Tijuana alike. The river has been dumping untreated sewage directly into the Pacific Ocean for decades, resulting in the closure of beaches in cities like Imperial Beach and Coronado, damaged ecosystems, and a threat to public health. The history of the decades-long river sewage crisis dates back to the mid-20th century, when Tijuana’s population experienced rapid growth, outpacing its sewage infrastructure. Two separate treatment plants on the border were established in the

By Kyla Guerrero, HR & Operations Coordinator I’m excited to be joining SanDiego350 as the new HR & Operations Coordinator! This role feels like a natural step in both my professional and personal journey, combining my love for building strong organizations with my commitment to collective action for a more just and sustainable world. Originally from the Philippines, I grew up in Chula Vista and later planted roots in Baltimore, Maryland and Whidbey Island, Washington. Living in these diverse communities shaped my worldview and strengthened my belief that healthy environments and thriving communities go hand in hand. Wherever I’ve lived,