Extreme Heat. Brought to You by Big Oil.
Extreme heat is killing Americans. Big Oil knew it would. They should pay for the damage.
This summer, extreme heat is hitting the United States harder and more often than ever before.
Triple-digit temperatures are stretching from the mid-Atlantic to the Mountain West. Schools are closing. Construction workers are collapsing on the job. Cities are buckling under the weight of heat-related blackouts, water demand, and ER visits. And the season has only just begun.
In Maryland alone, 472 people were hospitalized in a single week, and seven people died during the late June heat wave, bringing the state’s total to eight heat-related deaths this summer. Nationally, heat kills more people than any other weather event, and that toll is growing. A study last year recorded 2,325 heat-related deaths in 2023, a 117% increase since 1999.
And it’s not just the record-breaking days that are deadly. New York City estimates that 580 people die prematurely each summer from heat, not just on the hottest days, but when “ordinary” heat exacerbates heart disease, asthma, or other chronic conditions. In cities across the U.S., those with the least access to air conditioning, green space, or safe housing are hit hardest.
And still, all the while, Big Oil keeps raking in massive profits.
That’s why this month, Fossil Free Media and the Make Polluters Pay campaign launched digital billboards in Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Utah, four states that hit 100 degrees or more in recent weeks. The message is simple and unignorable:
“Extreme Heat. Brought to You by Big Oil.”
We’ve launched billboards every summer for the last three years, and they’ve become a powerful way to break through fossil fuel greenwashing and say what needs to be said in public space: this crisis is no accident. It’s the result of decades of lies, lobbying, and pollution by the biggest oil and gas companies in the world.
They caused this.
They’re profiting from this.
They should pay for this.
While families struggle to keep cool, keep the lights on, and keep loved ones safe, fossil fuel executives are handing out shareholder dividends and pushing for immunity from accountability. Meanwhile, ordinary taxpayers, especially those in frontline communities, are being left with the bill.
That’s why we’re backing state-level climate superfund laws, like the ones passed in New York and Vermont, and under consideration in states like Maryland and Massachusetts. These laws would finally require Big Oil to pay into state-managed funds to cover the soaring costs of climate damages. Infrastructure repairs. Public health emergencies. Recovery from storms, fires, and, of course, heatwaves.
If fossil fuel companies can spend billions on advertising and misinformation, they can afford to pay for the damage they’ve caused.
This billboard campaign is just one piece of the growing movement to Make Polluters Pay. But it’s a visible, urgent reminder that we don’t have to accept this future. We can fight back, and that’s exactly what we’re doing.
✍️ Sign the Petition to Make Polluters Pay:
National petition – Help build pressure in every state:
https://makepolluterspay.net/take-action/Massachusetts residents – Support the Massachusetts climate superfund bill:
https://makepolluterspay.net/massachusetts/Maryland residents – Tell lawmakers to revive and pass the RENEW Act: https://makepolluterspay.net/maryland/
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💥 Want to get involved? Visit makepolluterspay.net
Too many Big trucks.