Pali High and SaMo High Students Rally in Santa Monica to Support “Make Polluters Pay” Climate Bill
- Sara G. Marti
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
By Sara G. Marti
Despite gray skies, steady drizzle and ominous rain-related evacuation warnings, students from Palisades Charter High School and Santa Monica High School gathered at the entrance of the Santa Monica Pier on a Friday afternoon for a youth-led climate strike urging state leaders to advance the Make Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act.
Carrying handmade signs and marching across the intersection at Colorado Avenue and Ocean Avenue, the students called attention to the rising costs of climate disasters and the burden placed on taxpayers. Dozens of signs referenced climate accountability, including messages such as
“Our Planet Is Worth More Than Oil Company Profits,” “Save Our Planet Save Ourselves,” and “Kill Pollution or It Will Kill Us.” Several students held bilingual banners calling on legislators to pass the Make Polluters Pay Superfund Bill, with one sign reading “Aprobar la Ley Contaminadores Paguen.”
Large professional banners with the words “Look Listen Decide: Break Free from Fossil Fuels” framed the crowd at the iconic blue archway marking the entrance to the pier. Between the signs, an inflatable globe and two dinosaur costumes added a touch of levity to a rally otherwise defined by the gravity of their concerns. One protester held a sign with a dinosaur graphic that read “Stop Burnin Our Bones”.
Students from both schools took turns speaking through megaphones, their voices carrying over the traffic and the sound of surf. Speakers included Pali High junior Anna Ghaemi, SaMo High senior Mark Schneeman, Pali High senior Maria Knierim, and SaMo High senior Eugene, each sharing a different dimension of the crisis and its impacts.
Anna spoke about the fear of growing up where climate disasters now feel routine, emphasizing that the January fires displaced thousands, killed 31 people, and caused more than $250 billion in statewide damage. She explained that the Make Polluters Pay Act was written to protect communities like hers by shifting the financial burden of climate destruction away from families and onto the corporations responsible.
Maria, who lost her home in the Palisades fire and is now preparing to move for the seventh time since January, described the devastation of barely escaping with her family and watching her neighborhood disappear. She shared that her story is proof that climate change is already harming young people, and warned that without accountability, more families will face the same trauma.
Mark noted that the fires “weren’t just natural disasters,” pointing to decades of climate denial and emissions from major oil and industrial companies such as Chevron and ExxonMobil. He explained how corporate pollution has intensified local climate hazards and contributed to conditions that made the January fires so destructive.
Eugene added that the rally was part of a coordinated Global Climate Strike aligned with Fridays for Future and the U.N. COP30 Climate Summit taking place in Brazil, underscoring that students across the world were taking action at the same time and calling for climate accountability.
Several students held QR-coded flyers linking to a petition supporting AB 1243 and SB 684, legislation that would require major corporate polluters to fund climate recovery and adaptation efforts.
The demonstration drew support from adult allies such as Resilient Palisades, Climate Action Santa Monica, Third Act SoCal, Peace and Climate Justice, Fridays for Future, and Dodger Fans Against Fossil Fuels, whose members helped amplify the students’ voices.
Several of the student-made banners carried an added and deeply personal layer of meaning. One large sign supporting the Make Polluters Pay Superfund Bill was painted with pigments made from ash and charcoal collected after the January fires. Some of the ash came from the homes of Resilient Palisades members Sara G. Marti and Aleksandar Pavlović, who, like thousands more, lost all of their belongings in the disaster. The sign felt like a stark reminder that the true cost of climate change is measured not only in acres and insurance claims, but in memories, keepsakes, and the quiet places families once called home.
Even in the rain, students marched repeatedly through the intersection, chanting and encouraging pedestrians to scan the petition QR codes. The atmosphere remained upbeat, with students cheering for each other and posing for group photos at the end of the rally.
Friday’s action echoed a global wave of youth-led climate strikes pushing for stronger accountability measures. Organizers said they intend to continue gathering signatures and are encouraging city officials and state representatives to publicly support the Make Polluters Pay Act. The legislation faces a pivotal California Assembly committee vote in January.
The online petition circulated at the event can be found at:
