New York and Los Angeles Take Action
As Luc and I discussed in our podcast episode last summer, “Unsung Climate Heroes”, the terrible anti-science anti-environment anti-justice stance of the current United States federal government does not mean that local governments, groups and individuals are not doing good things.
In fact, in that podcast Luc brought up the congestion charge in New York City and Stockholm. You have to pay to drive into high density, high traffic areas in a “Congestion Pricing” program. Now we have follow up on that program and it is a great success!
A group I have met with in the past and admire is Earthjustice (their motto: “Because the Earth needs a good lawyer”), one of several groups that fights the good fight in court. They specialize in finding novel ways to hold corporations responsible for their messes. In a press release they outlined some efforts being made in New York, both the city and state.
The press release from Earthjustice highlighted an article in the Journal Nature out of Cornell that detailed the results of that program on air pollution found that air pollution dropped 22% (even more than similar policies in London and Stockholm).
In addition, Earthjustice reported:
“As Gov. Hochul stated in July, the program is on track to raise the targeted
$500 million this year, allowing the Metropolitan Transportation Authority
(MTA) to advance critical capital improvements to mass transit on its subway,
bus, Long Island Rail Road, and Metro-North Railroad systems. These capital
improvements include investments in zero-emission transit buses, further
improving air quality.”
And it isn’t just the city, New York State is taking action:
“This year, the NYS Senate passed an equally important air quality
improvement policy, the Clean Deliveries Act (S1180B), which would reduce
toxic air pollution associated with the increase in mega-warehouses and e-
commerce deliveries by requiring warehouse operators to gradually reduce
emissions from their operations. The policy offers flexibility to invest in zero-
emission vehicles or take other steps to reduce air pollution from warehouse
operations…
“The following statement is attributable to Kevin Garcia, Senior
Transportation Planner w, on behalf of the Electrify NY coalition:
“’As the federal government denies science and rolls back basic public health
protections, New Yorkers can breathe easier thanks to the success of our
groundbreaking Congestion Pricing Program. But the work is not over and
more must be done to finally deliver clean air to New Yorkers. The Clean
Deliveries Act, passed by NYS Senate, would reign in toxic air pollution from
increased diesel truck traffic due to the boom of e-commerce mega-
warehouse operations, provide relief for disadvantaged communities, and
help us meet our climate mandates. We urge lawmakers to build on the
success of congestion pricing by prioritizing the passage of this critical bill in
the upcoming 2026 session.’”
image: oil well in the Inglewood oil field, taken from a park where kids play where Susan Levinson took the picture.
Speaking of suing oil companies, in my neck of the woods In December 2025 Los Angeles County announced that it is suing four oil companies for not taking care of uncapped oil wells. The Inglewood oil field is right in Los Angeles just a few miles from where I live. The oil wells I show with this and other posts are part of that large oil field that is in areas of the City of Los Angeles, Culver City and Inglewood. For those not familiar with Los Aneles, the city abuts and often surrounds smaller cities (Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Culver City, Inglewood and others) which are all part of LA country, the largest county in the US (population 10 million)
“Four oil and gas companies that develop heavy oil from the Inglewood oil field were sued Wednesday after being accused of failing to address health and environmental concerns for those who live in the area.
The Los Angeles County government said it has filed the environmental justice lawsuit, claiming that the four oil and gas operators -- Sentinel Peak Resources California, Freeport-McMoRan Oil & Gas LLC, Plains Resources and Chevron U.S.A.-- allowed toxic pollutants to be let out into the air, land and water by failing to adequately decommission and seal inactive oil and gas wells.
More than 25% of the Inglewood oil field are idle or no longer producing gas and oil, but they continue to emit toxins into the surrounding communities, the office of LA County Supervisor Holly Mitchell, whose 2nd district includes South LA areas, said in a statement.
"’’Plugging idle oil and gas wells—so they no longer emit toxins into communities that have been on the frontlines of environmental injustice for generations—is not only the right thing to do, it's the law,” Mitchell said in a statement. “At the very least, oil companies that have long profited from this land must uphold their responsibilities to properly close these wells and ensure they cause no further harm.’…
“The lawsuit also alleges that the companies ‘unjustly enriched themselves by investing their money elsewhere’ without properly decommissioning the wells.
“The county is seeking civil penalties of up to $2,500 a day for each well from the current owner of the Inglewood well, Sentinel, committed unfair business practices
“Michell's office argued that more than one million people live within 5 miles of the well as homes, apartments and other facilities surround the field.
“The idle wells have been inactive for at least 23 consecutive months.
In 2023, Culver City and Sentinel Peak Resources reached a settlement, mandating the company to plug 15 wells by the end of 2027, with at least 3 wells needing to be capped every calendar year.”
These actions are not enough to save the world or human civilizations, but they are meaningful positive steps forward and as we say in science and medicine “proof of principle”: we don’t have to just sit idly by and let the greedy and ignorant rule the day! Remember to thank and urge on your elected officials and support groups that are walking the walk if you can.