On Tuesday, environmental activists will rally at a gas station near Tampa’s University of South Florida campus to protest increasing gas prices, which are fueling record profits for the oil and gas industry.
The protest is set to take place in front of the Mobil gas station located at 2928 E Fowler Ave. on April 25 at 4:30 p.m.
The activists from USF, Food & Water Watch and other local youth-led organizations
will address, “the industry’s exploitation of the geo-political instability caused by the COVID pandemic and the Ukraine crisis,” a press release sent today said.
They pointed out that oil and gas industry profits are hitting consumers hard at the pump, with Floridians paying an average of $4 a gallon, down only slightly from record-setting highs of $4.21 a gallon last month.
In response, the environmental activists will call on Tampa Congresswoman Kathy Castor to co-sponsor and ensure passage of a windfall profits tax to stop Big Oil’s excessive profits at the expense of people and the climate.
“Fossil fuel industry executives have seized global crises as an opportunity to gouge consumers and aggressively build out more dirty infrastructure to cement the U.S. into a fossil fuel future,” the press release read. “Meanwhile, these polluting industries are already making record profits — last year alone, Big Oil made $174 billion in profits.”
The protesters will not only call on Castor and the rest of congress to pass the tax on Big Oil, but they’ll also ask that American families receive the tax revenue through rebate checks.
“Let’s end fossil fuel price gouging and put money back in the hands of hurting consumers,” the protest’s Facebook event page reads.
The morning after this story was published, Castor’s office responded to CL’s inquiry about the protest and the demands.
“Americans are tired of being overcharged at the pump by Big Oil CEOs who are using billions in profit to enrich their shareholders. It needs to stop,” Castor said in an email statement. “That’s why I’ve introduced legislation with Congresswoman Val Demings to protect the pocketbooks of Americans by uncovering price gouging practices and taking away the ability of oil and gas executives to profiteer during a time of crisis. And I’ll keep fighting in Congress to make the switch to cheap, clean energy, which remains the best way to lower energy costs for Floridians.”
Castor pointed out that earlier this month, the Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing questioning oil executives entitled “Gouged at the Gas Station: Big Oil and America’s Pain at the Pump.”
Rep. Castor directly questioned oil executives on why Americans are seeing historically high prices and says she will continue to work with President Biden on lowering costs at the pump and redoubling the commitment to transition to a clean energy economy that is both independent and sustainable.
UPDATED: Updated on 04/26/22 with input from Rep. Castor.
This article appears in Apr 21-27, 2022.