Join us for Party4thePlanet, our volunteer and donor appreciation party on December 2nd from 11am-3pm at Balboa Park! Enjoy a fun day of vegan food, party games, volunteer appreciation awards, and socializing with like-minded folks! Congratulations to last year's award winners: Steven Gelb, Yash Govindaraju, Austen Needleman, Jenna Asperslag, Rita Clement - 2023 winners will be announced at the party.

On September 16, 2023, California sued Exxon Mobil, Shell, BP, ConocoPhillips and Chevron (the largest oil and gas companies doing business in California) for misleading the public about climate change. The lawsuit was filed in the Superior Court of the State of California, not in federal court. I just finished reading the 135 page complaint and, I never thought that I would say this, it’s a must read. It’s a compelling, well written document that claims more than 5 decades of wrongdoing by the oil companies and various front entities and it backs up those claims with a mountain of hard, irrefutable evidence. Furthermore, it provides an inside look at climate science research within big oil and shows that the industry’s own predictions were identical in all material respects with those of independent academic researchers. Big oil understood as early as the 1950s that their products were causing global temperatures to increase and that there would be catastrophic consequences.

California claims that, “Defendants’ Concealments and Misrepresentations Regarding the Dangers of Fossil Fuel Products Encouraged Continued Use of Fossil Fuels and Discouraged Concerted Action on Greenhouse Gas Emissions.”

By Joel Martin, Climate Writer

Youth4Climate started as a small but mighty team, supported by one high school intern and a group of adult supporters. Since I joined as the first Youth4Climate adult staff member in 2020, I’ve watched it grow into a flourishing program: it now has over 8 teams, 3 paid high school interns, and over 60 active members. 

Here are some examples of what Youth4Climate has accomplished in my past three years:

Internships - In the past 3 years, we have offered paid staff positions to 15 high school students

Youth v. Oil - The Youth v. Oil campaign started in 2020 and has grown into the largest youth-led campaign ever to exist in SanDiego350. They aim to pressure Governor Newsom to end oil extraction in California.

Eco-club coalition - We started an Eco Club Coalition at the beginning of 2021 to bring together eco club leaders throughout San Diego. Since then, it has blossomed: 22 clubs are part of our ECC

By Megan Phelps, former youth program coordinator 

The planet is baking, with the highest sustained average global air temperatures in recorded history: the hottest day ever measured by average global temperature, the hottest week, the hottest June, the highest ocean temperatures, the lowest sea-ice levels, the hottest night all night (103.3 degrees Fahrenheit in Algeria), and hottest day in Death Valley, Iraqa and Kuwait (over 120 degrees F).  Humans have very rapidly changed the planet’s climate that took billions of years to evolve.

The country teams attending the November 2023 U.N. Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP 28) have taken note and agreed to create for the first time a “global stocktake” to review how well the world has/has not met the climate change.  They will also start to chart out a detailed plan for future action — sector by sector. The stocktake will also focus on where gaps remain for lower-income countries to be able to adapt, mitigate, and measure loss and damage to their territories, infrastructure, energy and food supplies caused by rising temperatures and sea levels.

By Marilyn Bruno, Climate Writer 

My name is Emma Weibel and I was one of the student organizers for the La Jolla High School student strike last month, along with other members of our club (special shout-out to Elena Grilli and Maleah Valerio). Looking back on our strike, I am beyond proud of our school and so ecstatic that we were able to bring this opportunity to stand up for what we believe in to our community. All around San Diego, and the world, youth and adults alike participated in strikes for our future, and it was so empowering to watch.

Strikes are a way to use our most powerful bargaining chip (our participation in society) and make our voices heard. As students, we used our voice to send a powerful message on September 15th: we will not back down when it comes to the fight for our future and our home, either politicians join us in making our society just for all or we shut it down until they listen. Youth are one of the most important players in the climate movements, because not only are we inheriting the earth, but our new ideas that come as a result of growing up in a changing world, are invaluable to climate discourse. 

By Emma Weibel, Y4C Activist

How did you get involved with SD350?
I was introduced to SanDiego350 by La Mesa Council Member Jack Shu in March of 2022, when my contract at SANDAG was coming to an end. I had worked on the 2021 Regional Transportation Plan and the Digital Divide Task Force at SANDAG, I wanted to continue to pursue important initiatives for our region, especially microtransit (electric shuttles that provide shared last mile transportation) that expands equitable access to underserved communities. - Sanjiv Nanda, Transportation Team member

Looking for a way to support the work we do at SanDiego350? Visit our donations page to help drive climate-focused policy in San Diego County.