Boiling Point Podcast Summary: "Baseball, Brought to you by Oil and Gas"

Release Date: February 13, 2025
Host: Sammy Roth
Produced by: L.A. Times Studios

Introduction

In the episode titled "Baseball, Brought to you by Oil and Gas," host Sammy Roth delves into the intersection of climate activism and sports sponsorship. Focusing on a unique protest at Dodger Stadium, Roth explores how climate activists are challenging long-standing advertising partnerships with fossil fuel companies, specifically targeting Phillips 66's sponsorship of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Protest at Dodger Stadium

The episode opens with a recounting of a climate protest outside Dodger Stadium. Climate activist Zan Dubin and supporters from the Sierra Club Angeles chapter presented a petition to Dodgers owner Mark Walter, urging the termination of Phillips 66's sponsorship.

Key Points:

• Petition Details: Over 20,000 signatures demanded the Dodgers "stop giving cover to producers of climate chaos."
• Alicia Rivera's Argument: As an organizer with Communities for a Better Environment, Rivera highlighted that Phillips 66's operations, including five oil refineries in LA County's South Bay, significantly contribute to environmental pollution.
  “Phillips 66 is contributing to the pollution and the degradation of our environment,” Rivera stated at [02:05].

This protest marks a pioneering effort to hold an American sports team accountable for its associations with the fossil fuel industry.

Interview with Bill McKibben

The centerpiece of the episode is an interview with Bill McKibben, a renowned environmental writer, co-founder of 350.org, and contributor to The New Yorker.

Importance of Sports Sponsorship in Climate Activism

McKibben discusses his motivations for joining the campaign against Phillips 66's sponsorship:

• Cultural Influence of Sports:
  “I take seriously the role of sports in our culture and understand its importance,” McKibben explains at [03:25].

• Fossil Fuel Industry’s Image Management:
  He expresses frustration with the industry's attempts to "paper over" their environmental impact by associating with positive cultural elements like sports and the arts.

Comparisons to the Tobacco Industry

McKibben draws parallels between fossil fuel sponsorship in sports and the historical sponsorship of tobacco in NASCAR:

• Historical Context:
  “NASCAR used to be the Winston Cup,” McKibben notes at [14:17], highlighting how tobacco sponsorship was once ubiquitous in sports.

• Shifting Public Perception:
  He emphasizes that just as society has moved away from accepting tobacco advertising, a similar shift is necessary for fossil fuels.

  “These are now symbols of a kind of gross destruction,” McKibben asserts at [12:09].

Cultural and Political Influences

The conversation touches on the broader cultural acceptance of fossil fuels and the political power the industry wields to maintain its dominance:

• Disinformation Campaigns:
  McKibben recounts how Exxon scientists accurately predicted climate changes long before public acknowledgment, yet the industry chose to spread misinformation instead.

  “Exxon Executives believed their scientists and started building their drilling rigs higher... they told this lie,” he states at [08:15].

• Global Implications:
  He warns that unlike tobacco, which primarily affects individual health, fossil fuels have a global impact on the planet.
  “Exxon takes us out one planet at a time,” McKibben emphasizes at [17:40].

The Role of Advertising in Shaping Public Perception

McKibben critiques how fossil fuel advertising normalizes the industry's presence in everyday life:

• Normalization of Fossil Fuels:
  “It's trying to just continually build this idea that it's necessary,” McKibben explains at [11:05], arguing that such advertising ingrains fossil fuels as indispensable.

• Emotional Connection:
  He suggests that associating fossil fuels with beloved institutions like sports creates a subconscious bond with the public, making it harder to challenge the industry's practices.
  “It's an effort to appeal to some deep part of our brain,” he asserts at [11:05].

Conclusions and Future Implications

Sammy Roth wraps up the episode by highlighting a significant development following the protest:

• Phillips 66 Refinery Closure:
  “Just a few weeks after that protest at Dodger Stadium, Phillips 66 announced it would be closing its LA County oil refinery in 2025,” Roth reports at [22:42]. This closure is seen as a tangible outcome of the ongoing shift from gasoline to electric vehicles in California.

McKibben underscores the importance of such actions as part of a larger cultural and political battle against the fossil fuel industry. He likens the fight to past movements against tobacco, emphasizing the need for a global approach to dismantle the industry's pervasive influence.

Final Quote:
“It's an important part of this deep, deep battle that will figure out whether or not we have a planet to live on or not,” McKibben concludes at [20:10].

Key Takeaways

• Cultural Shifts are Crucial: Targeting fossil fuel sponsorships in popular institutions like sports can catalyze broader societal changes necessary for combating climate change.

• Historical Parallels: Lessons from the successful reduction of tobacco sponsorships in sports can inform current strategies against the fossil fuel industry's influence.

• Global Effort Needed: Unlike past public health battles, the fight against fossil fuels requires a worldwide commitment to overcome the industry's entrenched position.

Notable Quotes:

• “It's going to be a broken planet. So the job of movements... is to try and force that spring a little bit so that it happens before the Gulf Stream shuts down...” — Bill McKibben [09:38]

• “Exxon takes us out one planet at a time.” — Bill McKibben [17:40]

• “It's high time... that we rid ourselves of them in the places where we go to forget the world a little bit.” — Bill McKibben [12:29]

This episode of "Boiling Point" effectively illustrates how grassroots activism intersects with major cultural institutions to challenge and potentially dismantle the fossil fuel industry's pervasive influence. By spotlighting the protest at Dodger Stadium and engaging with influential voices like Bill McKibben, Sammy Roth underscores the multifaceted approach required to address climate change comprehensively.