Clean Air

By Traci Sheehan
Planning and Conservation League

At midnight September 1st the gavel came down and the 2009-2010 legislative session came to a close.  While not all bills had the outcome we would have liked, we can happily say that thanks to the hard work of community groups around the state, we have made it through the year without a single bill exempting a project from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) from passing. This is a huge victory that could not have been achieved without the effort of a coalition over 150 (and growing!) environmental and justice groups, housing advocates, businesses and community leaders. 

By Zack Kaldveer
Consumer Federation of California

The June defeat of Propositions 16 and 17 was welcomed news for Californians fed up with the use of the initiative process to advance narrow corporate interests. The lavish spending by PG&E ($46 million on Prop 16) and Mercury Insurance ($17 million on Prop 17) to increase their bottom lines at the public's expense only confirmed voters’ suspicions that greed was the real motivating factor behind those measures. Despite PG&E outspending opponents 575 to 1, and Mercury Insurance its opposition 12 to 1, a slim majority of voters saw through the pitch these snake oil salesmen were making, rejecting each by a margin of 4 to 5 points.

Unfortunately for California, June's election results have not served as the deterrent  some may have hoped. November brings a new crop of initiatives bankrolled by  some of our nation's most notorious polluters and corporate bad actors. Similarly, initiatives placed on the ballot to benefit the public will face the typical wall of opposition from big business interests willing to spend tens of millions of dollars on slick and deceptive campaigns with a singular purpose: mislead the voters.

By Dan Aiello
California Progress Report

Just one day before a new survey release showed California's incumbent Democratic Senator, Barbara Boxer, holding a narrow, one point lead over her conservative opponent,  Carly Fiorina, a new Texas-based and funded group announced its plan to assist the Texas native and former Hewlett Packard CEO in her bid to unseat Boxer and restore Republican control of the US Senate.

The Karl Rove-linked conservative group, Crossroads GPS, an affiliate of Rove's American Crossroads, announced it will hit Los Angeles airwaves Wednesday with a $1 million dollar ad campaign attacking Boxer's support of Medicare cuts that were a part of President Obama's health-care overhaul, according to the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday. 

By Artem Raskin
California Progress Report

Putting a white hat on a November ballot measure funded almost exclusively by big oil, tobacco, and alcohol companies is no easy task, but the Yes on Proposition 26 campaign found a way. If approved by voters, the measure would make it much tougher for state or local government to collect industry-specific mitigation fees on business activities that cause harm to the environment or public health.

According to the Yes on 26 website, the intent of the initiative is closing a loophole which allows “politicians in Sacramento” to pass “hidden taxes” on “goods and services that Californians use every day, like groceries, gas, cell phones, or even emergency services.” The official analysis released by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO), however, sees it much differently. The LAO estimates that Prop 26 will end up costing California several billion dollars annually – jeopardizing current funding for “schools, universities, prisons, health, and social services programs.”

By Traci Sheehan
Planning and Conservation League

With everyone's focus turned to last minute bills trying to make their way off the legislature floor before the end of the August, certain issues on this November's ballot have not garnered the attention they deserve and need. Both Propositions 25 and 26 circulate around the controversial 2/3s vote requirements to pass the state budget or increase revenues, but in very different ways. And both directly affect our ability to protect our environment and the health of all Californians.

The Planning and Conservation League is in support of Prop 25 - the Majority Budget Initiative and is opposing Prop 26 - the Polluter Protection Initiative.

By Public Policy Institute of California

Three months after a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Californians’ support for more drilling off their coast has plunged, according to a survey released today by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC). A solid majority of the state’s residents now oppose more offshore drilling (59% oppose, 36% favor)—a 16-point increase in opposition from last year (43% oppose, 51% favor). The PPIC survey was conducted with support from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and is the 10th in a series about Californians and the environment.

In contrast to the shift in opinion on drilling, Californians’ views on another contentious environmental policy issue have held steady since last year. Two-thirds (67% today, 66% in 2009) favor the state law (AB 32) that requires California to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.

By Kristen Eberhard
NRDC

The federal climate bill has been declared dead. What do we do now?

We turn back to our federalist roots. We make the states the laboratories of innovation while the federal government tries to get its act together. The World Resource Institute just issued a report analyzing possible progress towards meeting our emission reduction goals under existing state and federal authority. 

There’s some bad news: with our current set of tools, we can’t do enough to solve the problem. But there’s also good news: if we pursue our existing state and federal policies aggressively enough, we can stay on a reasonable path for the next five years, buying time to implement a comprehensive national plan. 

By Steven Maviglio
California Majority Report

More than 100 Ph.D. economists with expertise in California energy and climate issues released an open letter yesterday warning against any delay in the implementation of California clean energy policies.

A broad array of the nation's leading economists, including Nobel laureate Kenneth Arrow, a former professor at Stanford University, disagree with those who support suspending implementation of emission reduction policies. "Delaying action now," the letter states, "will be more costly than initiating action now."

By Traci Sheehan
Planning and Conservation League

This week the California Air Resources Board (CARB) launched the first of a series of public workshops to discuss their proposed greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets mandated by Senate Bill 375 (Steinberg).

SB 375, known as the Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act of 2008, directs CARB to set regional reduction targets for most areas of the state by this September. In addition, the law calls on California's Metropolitan Planning Organizations to prepare a "sustainable communities strategy" that will dictate how land use, housing and transportation planning will be integrated to meet the emission reduction targets.

By Traci Sheehan
Planning and Conservation League

The environmental community started the month of July with great optimism. During the past few weeks, the majority of the environmental and public health bills we were supporting received the votes necessary to move forward. This week marked the deadline for these bills to pass their respective policy committees.

Here's a round up of the environmental bills that will move forward just as soon as the Legislature reconvenes after July recess. These bills would advance the protection of our ecosystem, promote conservation of our natural resources and reduce waste in landfills.