Chloe Zilliac

Southern California air board rejected pollution rules after AI-generated flood of comments SoCal’s pollution authority scrapped a plan to phase out gas-powered appliances after receiving more than 20,000 emails sent by an AI-powered platform called CiviClick.

A California agency received 20k AI-generated comments opposing heat pump rules. Staff called a sample to verify—several said they never sent comments. Raises serious questions about the opposition campaign that helped kill the clean air standards, that would've prevented 1000s of premature deaths.

There's enough of this in one newspaper in one state in one day for a thread, so let's do it. Impunity for the wealthy has become such a background condition that it generally goes unremarked. Come find your issue and start agitating!

Restore The Rule of Law in California: A Thread

Advocates at the Bay Area Air District holding signs saying Heat Pumps for Healthy Homes.

Burning gas in homes fuels Bay Area smog. 🏠🔥😶‍🌫️ 😵

Today we're one step closer to clean air. 55+ advocates turned out to the Bay Area Air District supporting clean air standards for water heaters with commonsense flexibility measures.

Join us at bayareacleanair.com

LA Wildfire Survivors Want to Rebuild All-Electric, but a Utility Is Using Customer Funds to Incentivize Gas Appliances - Inside Climate News California’s utility regulator said it would eliminate ratepayer-funded incentives for gas appliances in new construction, but created an exception that allows rebates for them in wildfire rebuilds.

"The rules are definitely broken. This should not be allowed." — @missionvespa.bsky.social

SoCalGas is using a @californiapuc.bsky.social loophole to subsidize gas appliances in wildfire rebuilds with customer dollars. This jeopardizes public health & climate goals.

ACT: The CPUC Must Protect Ratepayers, Not Shareholders Affordable power is essential for a clean energy future. Tell the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to stand with Californians, not corporate utilities demanding double profits.

✍️ SIGN THE PETITION: Tell @californiapuc.bsky.social @gavinnewsom.bsky.social to cut utility profits to reasonable rates. While families struggle with bills, utilities want MORE profit. We deserve affordable energy.
act.sierraclub.org/actions/Nati...

California Passes Law Lowering Energy Bills and Protecting Californians from Utility Misbehavior The California Ratepayer Protection Act (AB 1167) prevents utilities from forcing customers to pay for utility lobbying and advertising costs

Big win! CA just became the 7th state to adopt legislation to keep utilities from slipping lobbying & political costs into customer bills. Thank you @gavinnewsom.bsky.social
for signing AB 1167 and Asm. @asmmarcberman.bsky.social
for authoring this legislation! earthjustice.org/press/2025/c...

Contributor: Trump is doing everything he can to raise your energy bills The president has sabotaged clean energy development at every turn.

"Americans need abundant, affordable energy to power our homes and grow our economy, and we need leaders who know how to support the clean energy revolution, not try to stand in its way." Must-read op-ed from @joshbecker.bsky.social 🔥
www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...

Contributor: Trump is doing everything he can to raise your energy bills The president has sabotaged clean energy development at every turn.

Check out my op-ed about how Trump promised lower energy bills but is making them worse.
#EnergyPolicy #CleanEnergy #Trump #ElectricityBills #Renewables #ClimateEconomics #caleg

www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...

California Cities Embrace Novel Strategy to Cut Energy Bills and Climate Pollution: Target Air Conditioner Replacements Heat pumps provide highly-efficient cooling and heating in a single unit, meaning households that upgrade can often get rid of their polluting gas furnace entirely and cut a key source of climate and ...

California cities including Menlo Park, Sunnyvale, Palo Alto, and Mountain View have adopted smart new policies to encourage heat pump upgrades when air conditioners break. The goal? Lower bills, cleaner air, and reduced climate pollution. Read more: www.sierraclub.org/press-releas...

30+ health, clean, and business organizations from across #CA are calling on @gavinnewsom.bsky.social to veto #SB34, which strips local power to address deadly diesel pollution hotspots. Stand up for our health and VETO #SB34!
Learn more: www.ccair.org/newsom-veto-...

California passes bill curbing utilities use of ratepayer money for political spending State lawmakers last week made California the seventh state to pass a bill limiting investor-owned utilities from using customer money to pay for political and lobbying costs.

93% of CA voters agree that utilities should not charge customers for wasteful spending, including lobbying, PR, and marketing campaigns. AB 1167 & SB 24 deliver commonsense guardrails to protect customers. @gavinnewsom.bsky.social, sign these bills into law!
energyandpolicy.org/california-l...

The gassy emperor has no clothes. Pretty strong tidal wave of supporters for South Coast appliance rules in room. Workers, parents, students, seniors all out to support our health.

Mai and Nguyen: From the Pediatric Perspective, Orange County’s Polluted Air is an Immediate Danger to Our Children’s Lungs. We Have a Chance to Fix It. We represent a group of current and future pediatricians who advocate for the health of our region’s pediatric asthma patients. Gas appliances in our homes are an underrecognized yet major threat to c...

SoCal pediatricians and med students urge @southcoastaqmd.bsky.social to protect kids’ lungs in Orange County by passing zero-emission appliance standards on June 6. voiceofoc.org/2025/06/mai-...

The gas lobby is weakening Southern California’s boldest clean-air plan in decades A coalition that includes SoCalGas has launched a fierce campaign against a transition away from gas-fired furnaces and water heaters

New investigation from @floodlightnews.org shows SoCalGas pressured city leaders and launched a fierce disinformation campaign against clean appliance rules in SoCal. The AQMD plan (rules 1111 and 1121) have been weakened but not killed -- the vote is this Friday. floodlightnews.org/the-gas-lobb...

Maine bill proposes cap on rate case charges to utility customers A new Maine bill, LD 1949 would place limits on the costs utilities can charge their customers for the legal and consulting fees they pay to advocate for rate increases. The bill, introduced by Senato...

A Maine utility paid a consultant nearly $700 an hour to convince regulators to raise customers' rates in order to boost utility profits, then sought to charge customers for that expense. Your utility is probably doing this too. energyandpolicy.org/maine-bill-p...

The gas lobby is weakening Southern California’s boldest clean-air plan in decades A coalition that includes SoCalGas has launched a fierce campaign against a transition away from gas-fired furnaces and water heaters

The gas lobby is weakening Southern California’s boldest clean-air plan in decades

A coalition that includes SoCalGas has launched a fierce campaign against rules that are going to a final vote this Friday

Scoop from me ⤵️
floodlightnews.org/the-gas-lobb...

another excellent piece from @hilarybeaumont.bsky.social

The gas lobby is weakening Southern California’s boldest clean-air plan in decades A coalition that includes SoCalGas has launched a fierce campaign against a transition away from gas-fired furnaces and water heaters

Later this week, Southern California air regulators will vote on a major clean-air rule—meant to shift away from gas-fired furnaces and water heaters. But SoCalGas and its allies have already succeeded in weakening it.

NEW from @hilarybeaumont:

The gas lobby is weakening Southern California’s boldest clean-air plan in decades A coalition that includes SoCalGas has launched a fierce campaign against a transition away from gas-fired furnaces and water heaters

NEW from @floodlightnews.org: A coalition that includes SoCalGas has launched a fierce disinformation campaign against clean air rules in SoCal. @southcoastaqmd.bsky.social: choose public health over gas-industry profits. Vote YES on Rules 1111 and 1121. floodlightnews.org/the-gas-lobb...

Clean Air Is a Right, Not a Luxury—Especially in Communities Like Mine - Los Angeles Sentinel You don't need a scientific study to know that pollution hits communities of color the hardest—you just need to walk outside and breathe.

"We don't need more delay. We need courage. We need action. And we need clean air—now."🫁In the face of federal attacks on clean air, SoCal regulators must lead. @southcoastaqmd.bsky.social: Vote YES on stronger pollution standards for furnaces & water heaters.
lasentinel.net/clean-air-is...

If this post gets 50 likes, i will go ahead and make a long thread about it all, but otherwise won't bother, bc it is kind of a lit of work and i am p busy, so i want to do stuff that is actually useful to people

Los Angeles remains nation's smoggiest city for 25th time in 26 years, despite progress An annual report from the American Lung Assn. showed that Los Angeles has improved its air quality but still deserves its reputation for unhealthy air.

New American Lung Association report: LA remains nation's smoggiest city. As federal air quality protections crumble,
we need @southcoastaqmd.bsky.social to lead by strengthening proposed pollution rules for furnaces and water heaters.
www.latimes.com/california/s...

Commentary: California should move faster on clean energy. Some lawmakers want to take a break A bill from top Democrat Robert Rivas, approved unanimously by the Assembly, would put a six-year pause on efficiency standards for homes.

#AB306 would undermine utility affordability by blocking energy efficiency building code updates. These statewide standards have saved CA residents over $100 billion since the 1970s. @caspeakerrivas.bsky.social, let's protect these vital cost-saving measures!
www.latimes.com/environment/...

SoCal regulators weigh weakened rules for emissions-free appliances Though the new proposal would still help clean up the region’s smog-filled air, it stops short short of mandating heat pumps and banning appliances that…

New healthy air standards from @southcoastaqmd.bsky.social would tackle SoCal's smog by ramping up the sale of pollution-free furnaces & water heaters. But with lives on the line, we can't afford gas industry giveaways that weaken this rule's impact.
www.canarymedia.com/articles/hea...

Commentary: Californians pay too much for electricity. Here are three bold solutions It's time for Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers to show courage and take some political risks.

CA's for-profit utility rates rose 48-67% in 4 yrs. @sammyroth.bsky.social offers solutions:
1️⃣ Shift wildfire costs to state budget
2️⃣ Scrutinize utility profits
#CALeg
latimes.com/environment/newsletter/2025-03-27/californians-pay-too-much-for-electricity-here-are-three-bold-solutions-boiling-point

As Federal Protections Crumble, SCAQMD Must Step Up for Clean Air CityWatch is published 24/7 with special e-news blasts on Monday and Thursday evening.

⚠️ As the Trump administration removes EPA staff protecting us from toxic pollution, @SouthCoastAQMD can stand strong for the 17+ million people breathing SoCal air by passing healthy air standards for furnaces and water heaters in May. @southcoastaqmd.bsky.social
www.citywatchla.com/climate/3052...

I was a California energy strategist. Here’s how the state lets PG&E give you a raw deal I was chief strategist for a California energy company. Here’s how utility profits work, and why you are getting a raw deal.

"For-profit utilities overcharge customers by billions annually... There is a simple fix: by reducing inflated returns to reflect today’s market realities, the CPUC can cut average utility bills by 10% overnight & eliminate incentive to overspend."

- Mark Ellis, www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/open...

Oil and gas companies should be held financially responsible for California climate disasters | Opinion Fossil fuel companies got California into this crisis. It's time lawmakers hold them accountable by passing crucial legislation this year.

.@sunrisemvmt.bsky.social: While Californians rebuild from devastating wildfires, Trump's Energy pick—a fracking CEO—dismisses the climate-wildfire connection as "hype." With federal leadership failing us, CA must act. Create a climate superfund now. #CALeg
calmatters.org/commentary/2...

Tell SoCal regulators: Clean our air with new standards Tell the South Coast Air Quality Management District to move forward with the life-saving regulations that would help clean up the LA region’s notoriously smoggy skies while reducing planet-warming cl...

Take action today and tell SoCal regulators to move forward with live-saving clean air regulations.
earthjustice.org/action/tell-...

Heat Pumps Reduce Smog in Southern California. Available Incentives Mean They Can Also Cost Less Than Gas Equipment. - RMI Southern California residents can save money by switching to a heat pump – even without current federal incentives.

Gas heating equipment is driving SoCal's smog crisis, but there's good news: New @rockymtninst.bsky.social analysis shows families could save over $10k switching to clean electric heat pumps with combined incentives. SCAQMD, pass standards for healthy heating equipment!
rmi.org/heat-pumps-r...