Episode 34: Make Polluters Pay with Cassidy DiPaola and Gina Ramirez

The fossil fuel industry is one of the richest in the world. As of April 2026, the top 100 oil and gas companies banked $30 million/hour while worsening the climate crisis. Yet taxpayers and consumers are bearing the costs through rising home insurance rates, utility bills, and damages from extreme weather. Earlier this year, the Illinois Make Polluters Pay Act (SB3362) was introduced in the state legislature to hold fossil fuel companies operating in the state accountable for damages. SB3362 is part of a nationwide push led by grassroots organizations for state “climate superfund” laws that would require oil and gas companies to pay for their contributions to the climate crisis. These laws will fund local climate resilience efforts—from flood resistance to supporting households with high utility bills. 78% of Americans across the political spectrum support climate superfund legislation. So, what do these laws entail? How do they determine how much each company pays? And, what does the data say about the cultural implications of these laws? Guests: Cassidy DiPaola, Communications Director at Fossil Fuel Media, and Gina Ramirez, Director, Midwest Environmental Health at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Cassidy DiPaola is Communications Director at Fossil Free Media, where she helps lead national communications work on fossil fuel accountability and the Make Polluters Pay campaign. Over the past five years, she has worked on campaigns focused on climate accountability and challenging fossil fuel industry abuses. Cassidy is an evening student at New York Law School and lives in Brooklyn. Gina Ramirez, Director, Midwest Environmental Health at NRDC, works to further sustainable land use and zoning rules that can provide crucial protections to areas of Chicago, like the Southeast Side, that are burdened with cumulative industrial pollution. Ramirez is an active member of the Coalition to Ban Petcoke and the Southeast Environmental Taskforce. She has a MA focused in sociology from Roosevelt University and BA in communications from DePaul University.