URGENT ACTIONS!

CALL Governor Newsom and ask him to sign, details below:

• SB 1374: Save Rooftop Solar for Schools and Renters
• AB 2513: Support Gas Stove Health Warning Labels
• SB 1047: AI Safety Risk Mitigation, Yes on SB 1047

Ongoing Actions:

• On HOLD: Yes on Make Polluters Pay Bills
• UPDATES: SB 1137 and SB 674
• Get Out the Vote: Find Civic Engagement Guides for our critical election HERE
• Keep Coal Out of Oakland!
• Save Rooftop Solar in CA
  
• Peace Advocacy in the New Year: Please click here to read our newsletter and take actions to address violence in Israel and Gaza
  
• Ask San Francisco to fund their Climate Plan
  
• Urge U.S. Representatives to abolish nuclear weapons, H. Res. 77
• Close Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant
• Sign: No Nuclear War over Ukraine
• Demand the Cleanup of Bayview Hunters Point in San Francisco
• And more below

Please Call Governor Newsom:
Tell him to sign SB 1374 and Restore Solar Rights for Renters and Schools

SB 1374 (Becker) is now on Governor Newsom’s desk. Nice work to everyone who helped get it through the Assembly and Senate!

Governor Newsom could make his decision this week. Please don’t delay in making your call.

URGENT ACTION

Please call Governor Newsom today and tell him to sign SB 1374.
His number is 916-445-2841.

His phone lines are open from 9am to 5pm, but they are sometimes glitchy, so call back again later if you don’t get through the first time.

Sample Script

“My name is ____. I live in _________. I am [if you are a health professional or advocate, let them know] and I am calling to ask the Governor to sign SB 1374. Please do not believe the utility misinformation about rooftop solar. Make sure that schools and renters have the ability to benefit from solar energy. This is a hugely popular climate bill to help affordability, and it would help to reduce harmful air pollution. This should be an easy YES. Thank you.”

Background

Between 2000 and 2024, the utility industry in California made more than $192 million in campaign contributions to political candidates at every level of government. We need health professionals and advocates to counter industry power!

If we allow the right to make solar energy to be taken from renters and schools, then the utility companies will not stop until they take that right away from everyone. Let’s stand together and protect everyone’s right to use solar energy. Let’s make it clear that solar power should be available to all.

READ MORE about SB 1374 HERE.

LEARN MORE about the fight for Solar Rights in California at the Solar Rights Alliance.

Thank you for taking action!

Support Gas Stove Health Warning Labels: AB 2513

Sponsored by CALPIRG and supported by SF Bay PSR, Climate Health Now, among others

Join fellow health professionals to advocate for AB 2513 (Pellerin) which will require gas stoves in California come with a warning label about the health risks associated with gas cooking, so consumers can make informed purchasing decisions for their family. 

More than four decades of research shows that gas stoves are producing dangerous air pollution indoors – increasing the risk of childhood asthma and other respiratory problems, but this risk has largely been hidden from the public. Despite all the studies, lack of education and federal regulations leave consumers largely unaware of the risks associated with gas stove cooking. AB 2513 simply gives consumers more information by requiring gas stoves sold in California come with a warning label on the health risks associated with gas stoves and the importance of ventilation. Manufacturers are working hard to kill this bill and keep the public in the dark, so we need to show our state lawmakers that the medical and scientific community agrees we need gas stove warning labels. Read more about the legislation here.

URGENT ACTION!

The gas industry is on the attack and spreading false information. Our senators AND assemblymembers need to hear from health experts and advocates. Governor Newsom could make his decision this week!

Please call Governor Newsom today and tell him to sign SB 1374.
His number is 916-445-2841.

His phone lines are open from 9am to 5pm, but they are sometimes glitchy, so call back again later if you don’t get through the first time.

Sample script:

“Hi, my name is….and I am a [state your health profession] /  health advocate. I am calling to urge you to vote for AB 2513 that will require health warning labels on gas stoves sold in California. More than four decades of research shows that gas stoves are producing dangerous air pollution indoors – increasing the risk of childhood asthma and other respiratory problems, but this risk has largely been hidden from the public. Californians have the right to know that the fumes from gas stoves can make us sick.”

If you are a health care provider, you could add: “As a medical professional, I can only educate my patients, but labels on appliances would allow every Californian to make an informed choice about their family’s health before purchasing a stove.”

AI Safety Risk Mitigation: Yes on SB 1047

Authored by CA Senator Scott Wiener and co-sponsored by Economic Security Project CA Action, Encode Justice, and the Center for AI Safety Action Fund

At SF Bay PSR, we are concerned about AI technology that is disrupting many parts of the world—it has enormous promise for solving a wide variety of problems but enormous risks as well. Among those risks are that AI’s application to military and weapons technologies will make our world less safe and that racing to build smarter than human AI systems may present novel risks. Whether it is by potentially being integrated into nuclear early warning systems or being used to construct lethal autonomous weapons, the companies that are building these systems don’t want regulation getting in the way of building and selling their technology. It is critical that we call on legislators to introduce laws to protect the public from unsafe development and usage of AI systems because at present proposed protections have been dismissed and blocked as “anti-innovation” and bad for national security because they might “cede tech leadership to China.”

SB 1047 would require the developers of frontier AI models to test those models for hazardous capabilities and implement mitigations to prevent unreasonable risks of causing or enabling catastrophic harms.

SB 1047 is currently making its way through the CA state legislature (passed in the Senate, will be up for vote in the Assembly in ~late Aug). However, it’s strongly opposed by the tech lobby. We need to be sure that our reps hear from their actual constituents on behalf of the American public. Otherwise, they may mainly hear from paid lobbyists and companies like Meta.

ACTION

SAMPLE SCRIPT:

“Dear Assembly Member [Name],

My name is______ and I am a ______  [If you are a health professional, let them know.]  and a health advocate. I am calling to urge you to vote for SB 1047. This bill is crucial to protect the health and safety of Californians and the world against the risks of AI technology.

Major AI corporations acknowledge the potential risks of advanced AI. Experts estimate a concerning 1 in 6 chance of AI causing catastrophic harm. We can’t rely on self-regulation.

SB-1047 provides necessary oversight without hindering innovation. It aligns with California’s reputation for prioritizing global welfare.

Your stance on AI safety influences my vote and those of many others in our district. Please vote yes on SB-1047.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]”

READING

• Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: Three key misconceptions in the debate about AI and existential risk, by Jack Kelly of PSR
• LAist: How California And The EU Work Together To Regulate Artificial Intelligence
• VOX: The AI bill that has Big Tech panicked: Why some tech leaders are so worried about a California AI safety bill

Make Polluters Pay!

Supported by Last Chance Alliance, SF Bay PSR, PSR-LA, and many more

We’ve come so far. The Idle Oil Wells Clean Up Bill (AB 1866) and the Local Environmental Choice and Safety Act (AB 3233) are just weeks away from a final vote in California. We need you to help get them across the finish line.

The Idle Wells Clean Up Bill (AB 1866) is a quadruple win for California. By requiring the largest polluting oil companies to plug and clean up 20% of their leaky idle oil wells per year, it protects our climate, it defends public health, it saves Californians money, and it creates thousands of jobs.

Meanwhile, the Local Environmental Choice and Safety Act (AB 3233) defends local democracy from Big Oil’s overreach. Simply clarifying existing law, this bill affirms the rights of local governments to restrict and phase out oil and gas pollution in their jurisdictions so they can continue to protect their communities and help California achieve its climate goals.

Both bills are up against the full might of the fossil fuel industry in the Senate so our movement is making hundreds of phone calls to ensure our politicians side with the people, and health professionals, over polluters.

ACTIONS

To be announced soon!

MORE INFO:

AB1866: California’s 40,000+ idle wells can be addressed swiftly by #AB1866 from Californians need this bill to protect themselves from shouldering the financial, environmental, and health costs of idle wells.

AB3233: Help take back democracy – support #AB3233 to affirm local governments’ authority to say NO to Big Oil practices that hurt our environment, and our health. 

THANK YOU!

Health Care and Public Health Professionals Call to Immediate Action to Address the Violence in Israel and Gaza and Its Health Consequences

Initiated by the Peace Caucus in affiliation with the American Public Health Association (APHA)

As health care and public health professionals, we unequivocally condemn terrorist attacks against civilians and violence during war against civilians. International law recognizes attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure as crimes against humanity and, when committed during war, as war crimes. The medical and public health consequences of this violence against civilians in Israel and Gaza have been and continue to be horrendous and catastrophic.

The health harms of violence to civilians extend well beyond morbidity and mortality from explosives and other weapons. Forced displacement and restriction of access to food, water, shelter, health care, and medicine lead to widespread suffering, illness, and death.  When people live in crowded conditions during war, they are at increased risk of tuberculosis and other respiratory disorders. When they are denied access to safe water, they develop dehydration and potentially fatal diarrheal diseases, such as cholera.

Malnutrition makes people vulnerable to infectious diseases and causes long-term consequences on health and development. When people with diabetes, epilepsy, or chronic heart or lung disease cannot get their basic medications, they are at increased risk of serious complications and death. When pregnant women do not receive medical care and adequate nutrition, they are at increased risk of potentially fatal complications and delivering premature or low-birthweight infants. During war and terrorist attacks, exposure to violence and the threat of violence also causes mental health problems, which can persist for years afterward.

In addition, war violates human rights, damages critical infrastructure and housing, and diverts resources that support people’s health. It also contributes to environmental contamination, pollution, and degradation as well as climate change.

We call on all parties directly and indirectly involved in the violence in Israel and Gaza and its consequences to immediately:

1.    End the violence against all civilians and ensure their security;
2.    Free all hostages;
3.    Protect all health care workers and health care facilities;
4.    Ensure that humanitarian assistance is promptly provided; and
5.    Begin to build sustainable peace by ensuring human rights and justice for all.

We also call on health care and public health professionals, as well as their employers and professional organizations, to promote and support these actions.

Robert M. Gould, MD, chair, Peace Caucus and SF Bay PSR president
Patrice Sutton, MPH, co-program chair, Peace Caucus and SF Bay PSR Environmental Health Committee co-chair
Barry S. Levy, MD, MPH, Peace Caucus member, and past president of the American Public Health Association

SEE ALL SIGNATURES

ACTION

We invite you to sign the call above, strongly supported by the Board of SF Bay PSR, which we hope to use to advance broader efforts to cease the violence and begin to build peace and justice for all people in the region.

SIGN HERE

THANK YOU for taking action.

UPDATED: Tell Mayor Breed and Supervisors to Fund San Francisco’s Climate Plan

Sponsored by SF Climate Emergency Coalition, including SF Bay PSR

A UC Berkeley Center for Law Energy and the Environment (CLEE) report recommended that the first step toward funding SF’s Climate plan should be a general obligation bond. See page nine of the Executive Summary.

ACTIONS

Make your health voice heard! Tell Mayor Breed and the Supervisors that the City of San Francisco must do its part to address climate change by incorporating climate goals and actions into every aspect of city planning and to ensure the Climate Plan is fully funded.

1. CALL: Please call your Supervisors

Connie Chan (chair) 415-554-7410, ChanStaff@sfgov.org
Rafael Mandelman 415-554-6968, MandelmanStaff@sfgov.org
Hilary Ronen 415-554-5144, hillary.ronen@sfgov.org
Shamann Walton 415-554-7670, shamann.walton@sfgov.org
Ahsha Safai 415-554-6975, ahsha.safai@sfgov.org
President Aaron Peskin 415-554-7450, aaron.peskin@sfgov.org

2. WRITE: Or write a short email to the Supervisors.
Email Clerk of the Committee brent.jalipa@sfgov.org with File #230265 in the subject line.
Copy President Peskin on the letter for sure, and the other 5 Supervisors if you wish.

MORE INFO about the battle to gain funding for SF’s Climate Plan:

The San Francisco Climate Emergency Coalition has been actively meeting with the mayor’s budget staff and supervisors.

San Francisco has an ambitious Climate Action Plan (CAP), which Mayor London Breed proudly introduced in 2021. Confusingly, in the past two city budget cycles, she funded it at $0. The city is in danger of missing its climate goals without serious efforts to fund and implement the CAP.

After years of inaction, the passage of the federal Inflation Reduction Act means the US finally has a fighting chance at meeting our climate goals. But the IRA is just the start — now we have to do the hard work of implementation, everywhere. Cities, including San Francisco, have a critical role to play to ensure we get to net-zero carbon emissions as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately, San Francisco is already behind. This year, the San Francisco Environment Department (SFE) is requesting $7 million for staffing and programs essential for achieving the CAP on schedule. This is a minuscule amount in the city’s overall $14 BILLION budget.

The climate crisis impacts the city in countless ways. It is a public health crisis, and funding climate initiatives will improve residents’ and the planet’s health. Such initiatives are also critical to address environmental justice and equity issues in San Francisco and improve the lives of underserved, low-income, and BIPOC communities. Climate initiatives will attract more businesses and tourists, create jobs, and elevate the status of San Francisco as a world-class city.

Mayors around the world are leading on aggressive climate policies in their cities. It’s time for Mayor Breed to show that she is a serious leader who recognizes that climate action is the path to a livable, equitable, and rejuvenated San Francisco, by committing to funding $7 million for SFE in her 2023-2024 budget and to a city bond that would help fund building electrification and other climate friendly projects.