Will People Dance In the Streets?
I live up in Griffith Park, the largest urban park in America, an urban wilderness that has had its share of fires over the years. Once a park ranger came to my door and told me to evacuate immediately. I refused and he suggested I look out by back window. I did and I evacuated. I have 6 palm trees on my property, at least 2 of which, massive ones, are protected from removal by law. There are 20 other full-grown trees. I’ve lived there for around 3 decades. That fire that scared the bejesus out of mewas put out before it reached any homes. But 2 weeks before the current spate of L.A. fires, All State, my insurer for 30 years send me a cancellation notice, claiming that they don’t insure homes that have trees ten feet or closer to buildings. That would eliminate almost every large home in Los Angeles from their rolls. Now I’m looking for a new insurer.
These fires have spared bone-dry Griffith Park and the Los Feliz neighborhood… at least so far. The hurricane-force winds— over 100 mph— that fueled the fire didn’t spare any part of L.A. It took my gardeners a full day to clean up what fell from the trees.
Everyone wants to know who’s to blame. I’m no fan of Gavin Newsom but he’s not to blame any more than he’s to blame for Tropical Storm Helene last year (North Carolina), Hurricane Katrina in 2005 (Louisiana), Hurricanes Harvey and Maria in 2017 (Texas and Puerto Rico) or the 2017 freeze in Texas that sent Ted Cruz scurrying for safety on the Yucatan Peninsula. There’s irrefutable scientific evidence and consensus that climate change is playing an increasing role in the severity and frequency of these disasters and catastrophes like them around the world. Warmer ocean temperatures provide more energy for hurricanes, increasing their intensity and the amount of rainfall they produce, while climate change contributes to drier conditions and longer fire seasons, increasing the risk and severity of wildfires. Rising sea levels and more intense rainfall events increase the risk of coastal and inland flooding. And climate change is making heatwaves more frequent, intense, and longer-lasting.
Although politicians who play footsie with fossil fuel executives must be held fully accountable, it is the fossil fuel executives themselves who need to be brought to very severe justice. They well know— and have known— that fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas) are the primary driver of human-caused climate change. Burning these fuels releases massive amounts of greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide, into the atmosphere, trapping heat and causing global temperatures to rise. The companies have known about the dangers of climate change for decades. Internal documents from many of these companies reveal that they were aware of the scientific evidence linking their products to global warming, yet they actively worked to sow doubt about climate science and mislead the public, while lobbying heavily against regulations that would limit their emissions and transition to cleaner energy sources— including bribing politicians with sometimes massive bribes, as they did with Trump. Despite the growing climate crisis, the fossil fuel companies continue to invest heavily in expanding their operations, further exacerbating the problem. I’m not saying that firing squads are justified for top executives and boards of directors… but I’m not saying they not justified either.
Yesterday, Margaret Klein Salamon, writing for Rolling Stone, noted that if you listen to the mainstream media, you would get the impression that no one is truly responsible. These are framed as tragic but random events— acts of nature without clear cause or accountability. Even if articles do mention climate change, which they tend to bury toward the end, they won’t tell you the people and companies who caused these disasters in order to enrich themselves. And if you listen to right-wingers, you will get the mistaken impression that DEI, arson, and the Democratic Party caused these disasters.”
But here’s the truth: These mega-disasters are caused by the climate emergency, which has been caused by fossil fuels. The fossil fuel industry has raked in obscene profits for decades, while knowingly bringing down apocalypse onto the rest of us.
We have the power to change the narrative. Imagine this: As fires rage through the city, a group of climate activists non-violently occupy the California State House in Sacramento. Or LA City Hall. Or Marathon Oil’s refinery in Los Angeles County. They would demand that fossil fuel companies pay for the damage they’re causing, and face criminal prosecution for the harm that they have inflicted.
Such a protest would be covered on front pages across the globe, shifting the narrative from passive victimhood to active accountability. This is an opportunity that the climate movement has yet to fully seize.
The climate emergency is accelerating, and so is the frequency and scale of disasters. When these disasters occur, the eyes of the country and sometimes the world focus on the crisis and its fallout. This should be a tremendous learning opportunity for the public about the dangers of the climate emergency, but the media obscures the true cause of these events. While truthful headlines would report along the lines of, “The Climate Emergency Strikes Again,” the media continues to largely report these disasters as anomalous weather events.
Activists have a unique role to play in these moments. By connecting fossil fuels to the damage we’re seeing— floods, fires, hurricanes— they can elevate the conversation and force the public to reckon with the reality of the climate emergency. Activists can also call for proactive policies: investments in renewable energy, phasing out fossil fuels, and sustainable rebuilding efforts. The “Make Polluters Pay” demand, which New York State just passed after facing pressure from the New York climate movement, offers a compelling framework for justice in the wake of climate disasters. With millions or even billions of dollars in damage, justice demands that the culprits— fossil fuel companies who have knowingly warmed the atmosphere for decades— foot the bill.
Disasters are opportunities to shape long-term policy change. Disasters create a unique moment when the public and politicians are more open to new ideas and transformative policy changes. Naomi Klein argued for the unique political opportunities that disasters open up in her 2007 book, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. Activists can use this moment to demand not only immediate relief but also policies that challenge the fossil fuel industry’s grip on power.
…In moments of crisis, we must demand that climate change be treated not just as an afterthought, but as the root cause of the disaster. It’s time to stop focusing exclusively on short-term relief and rebuilding the status-quo and start building towards a fossil-free, climate-resilient future.
So when disaster strikes— as it will more and more in the coming years, first, make sure you and your loved ones are safe. Second, see if there is anyone in your immediate vicinity who needs your help. And third, join, or plan, a protest that shifts the narrative. Let’s make it clear: These are not random catastrophes— they are the consequences of the fossil-fueled climate emergency. And we can and must hold the culprits accountable.
