Physicians for Social Responsibility Los Angeles

12/29/2025

Before the year ends, longtime board member and dear friend Dr. Jimmy Hara has a question for you: What is your passion? What do you want to leave for future generations?

Read more about Dr. Hara’s remarkable story as we close out the year and celebrate our 45th anniversary. His message reminds us of the power of hope, resilience, and working together toward a safer, cleaner, and healthier future.

Cheers to 45 years — and many more to come.

psr-la.org/stay-informed/blog/message-from-dr-hara

12/22/2025

From LA to Louisiana to the Global South — the same fossil fuel system that poisons our air, water, and bodies is betting its future on plastics.

Plastic isn’t just waste. It’s a global health crisis.

Global decisions shape state and local policy in meaningful ways. That’s why PSR-LA has joined frontline communities, health professionals, CBOs, wastepickers, and advocates from around the world at the Global Plastics Treaty negotiations — building power with those who bear the brunt of this crisis.

This isn’t just about plastic. It’s about climate justice. Health justice. Racial justice.

Before the year ends: read more, learn more, and get ready for what’s next.

👉 Before the year ends, read the full story (link in bio) by our Director of Climate & Health Programs, Maro Kakoussian, about our journey in global policy and building a future where no community is sacrificed for profit!

psr-la.org/stay-informed/blog/plastics-a-global-crisis

Blog Stay on top of the latest news and policy updates, and read our expert analysis on the latest challenges and solutions for a healthier and just world. Filter Air Air Pollution Climate Climate Change Climate Justice Energy Environmental Health Environmental Justice Health Justice ICE Raids Land....

11/12/2025

🚨 Attention Central Valley Folks! Join us for the premiere screening + a panel with local activists featured in our newest documentary film, The Sacrifice Zone.

For decades, communities in California’s Central Valley have carried the weight of Big Oil’s pollution.

The Sacrifice Zone follows the Aguirre family as they take a stand — against new Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) projects that threaten to make the Valley a testing ground once again.

Register: https://bit.ly/the-sacrifice-zone , link in bio!
Saturday, November 15 | 11 AM
CSUB Dore Theater, Bakersfield

11/06/2025

45 years ago, nine physicians came together to confront nuclear weapons. From that moment, PSR-LA was born.

Today, we fight some of humanity's greatest threats: climate change, environmental injustice, and nuclear weapons.

Join us in building a just, healthy, and peaceful future.

Donate $45 for 45 Years: bit.ly/PSRLA-45

08/19/2025

Last September, Gov. Newsom signed a trio of new laws aimed at cleaning up idle wells and restricting oil and gas operations.

Now, the Governor is negotiating a plan with the industry to boost production in Kern County.

To say we're disappointed is an understatement.

As PSR-LA executive director Martha Dina warns, this will allow the oil industry to gut public health protections under the guise of affordability, passing the costs on to low-income communities near oil fields and refineries that have higher asthma and cancer risks from exposure to toxic chemicals.

"Last September, Gov. Newsom signed a trio of new laws aimed at cleaning up idle wells and restricting oil and gas operations.

Now, the Governor is negotiating a plan with the industry to boost production in Kern County.

To say we're disappointed is an understatement.

As PSR-LA executive director Martha Dina warns, this will allow the oil industry to gut public health protections under the guise of affordability, passing the costs on to low-income communities near oil fields and refineries that have higher asthma and cancer risks from exposure to toxic chemicals.

"You don’t often get champions who are consistent — and it’s very sad that we didn’t have a champion that was really going to do the difficult thing and tell us the changes that we need to make to actually address climate change and air pollution. That’s what our communities still need."

Read the full article:

After years of cracking down on California’s oil industry, Gavin Newsom is working on a deal with oil interests to avoid soaring gas prices.

08/15/2025

Over 200 groups are urging legislators to uphold their promise and fix SB 131 before the legislative session concludes.

This bill in its current form creates a sweeping CEQA exemption for “advanced manufacturing” facilities. This could allow toxic industrial projects near homes and schools without environmental review.

It also fails to protect habitat for endangered species, leaving critical lands and wildlife vulnerable.

Legislators promised to address these harmful provisions. Now is the time to hold them accountable.

Join us in calling on leadership to

Find Your State Assemblymember & Senator at https://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov

This bill, in its current form, creates a sweeping CEQA exemption for "advanced manufacturing" facilities. This could allow toxic industrial projects near homes and schools without environmental review.w.w..

08/07/2025

SB 131 passed with major flaws that put California’s communities and ecosystems at risk. The bill exempts polluting “advanced manufacturing” projects from environmental review and fails to protect endangered species habitats.

Lawmakers said they would fix this. We need to make sure they do before the legislative session ends. Let them know California deserves better. We need real environmental protections, not shortcuts.

Call your Assemblymember and Senator:
Speaker Robert Rivas (916) 319 2029
Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire (916) 651 4002

Find your rep: https://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov

08/07/2025

80 years ago, the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki — killing over 200,000 and leaving survivors, hibakusha, with a lifetime of pain, loss, and illness.

On Sunday, PSR-LA joined the 80th Annual Commemoration with the American Society of Hiroshima-Nagasaki A-Bomb Survivors. Hibakusha like Howard Kakita (middle), a Hiroshima survivor, shared powerful testimony and called for global nuclear disarmament.

PSR-LA’s Back from the Brink: The Call to Prevent Nuclear War campaign is urging elected officials to co-sponsor H. Res. 317 and S. Res. 323, key steps toward a nuclear weapons-free future.

Take action: Urge your CA local & state officials to sign the letter today.

https://preventnuclearwar.org/california/

08/07/2025

80 years ago, the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki — killing over 200,000 and leaving survivors, hibakusha, with a lifetime of pain, loss, and illness.

On Sunday, PSR-LA joined the 80th Annual Commemoration with the American Society of Hiroshima-Nagasaki A-Bomb Survivors. Hibakusha like Howard Kakita (middle), a Hiroshima survivor, shared powerful testimony and called for global nuclear disarmament.

PSR-LA’s campaign is urging elected officials to co-sponsor H. Res. 317 and S. Res. 323, key steps toward a nuclear weapons-free future.

Take action: Urge your CA local & state officials to sign the letter today.

🔗 Link in bio

08/05/2025

On June 30, Governor Newsom signed SB 131 into law, which removes environmental review for a broad set of polluting industries defined as “advanced manufacturing”. This category of industry includes battery and energy storage manufacturing, defense and aerospace manufacturing, rare earth mineral mining to accommodate the boom in artificial intelligence, and more.

Lawmakers vowed to fix SB 131 before voting on it, and they need to follow through.

Join us in calling on leadership and urging them to REMOVE SB 131’s exemption for advanced manufacturing. This exemption will greenlight polluting industrial projects that will have a disproportionate impact on environmental justice communities living near industrial zones.

Who to call:
Your State Assemblymember & Senator: Go to https://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov

Speaker Robert Rivas: (916) 319-2029
Senate President Mike McGuire: (916) 651-4002

Time is short. Your voice matters.

07/28/2025

SB 131 puts California's most vulnerable communities at risk.

Environmental justice, health, and clean water advocates are sounding the alarm. This bill could trigger a surge of pollution and groundwater contamination, hitting low-income communities and communities of color the hardest.

These are neighborhoods already grappling with toxic exposures and unsafe drinking water. SB 131 would only deepen those injustices.

Learn more from our Land Use and Health Program Manager, Deja McCualey, about how this bill threatens environmental health across the state:

By Deja McCauley, Land Use and Health Program Manager, Physicians for Social Responsibility Los Angeles California legislators voted on June 30 to adopt two budget trailer bills, AB 130 and SB 131, that rolled back key protections in the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). While purported a...

07/14/2025

Health Professionals, don't miss out! Join our virtual Membership Debrief this Thursday at 6 pm!

Hear from our team of experts discuss urgent air quality and land use issues affecting South Los Angeles—and how health professionals like YOU can make an impact.

This is your chance to learn directly from professionals working on the ground to protect community health and advance environmental justice.

Not a PSR-LA member yet? No problem! All health professionals are welcome.

Register today: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/eyJR7lxNRiSW_06Qo8RxqQ #/registration