By Bryanna Lewis, Oregon State University ’25
New research by the Union of Concerned Scientists shows that fossil fuel producers including ExxonMobil and Chevron are responsible for 37% of the total area burned by forest fires since the mid-1980s in the western US and southwestern Canada. For decades, these companies have understood the science behind climate change and predicted the destruction that would occur as a result of their greedy actions. They have and will continue to deceive the public, turning profits while people like me breathe in toxic smoke and fear for their lives and property during record-breaking wildfires every year.
We can’t sit back and watch our communities go up in smoke while corporate profits soar. Join the Alliance in sending a letter urging fossil fuel CEOs to respond to demands from the public and their own shareholders to slash heat-trapping emissions from their operations and products in alignment with goals of the Paris Climate Agreement and reducing the risk of wildfires.