Region: California

Does Proposition 26 Undermine California’s Climate Change Law?

No.  Not at all.  Legally, we are still all systems go for AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act. First, take a look at the careful analysis that Cara, Sean, and Rhead produced a couple of weeks ago.  It notes one extremely important fact about Proposition 26: its retroactive provisions only go back to January 2010, and AB 32 was …

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Election review: what message did voters send about the environment, and how will politicians react?

It’s natural, in reflecting on the recent election, to ask whether and to what extent the results reflect public values about protection of the environment.  (Well, at least for me, since I spend my time thinking about these things.)  My answer: not much.  But the election’s impacts on environmental issues will still be significant. While …

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Funny, It Doesn’t Look Bluish

The initial results in California last night make it seem like a sane drop of blue in the country.  Jerry Brown won for Governor; Barbara Boxer was re-elected; and Proposition 23, which would have reversed the state’s landmark climate change law, was resoundingly defeated.  Voters also approved Proposition 25, which allows the state budget to be …

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Top Ten Reasons To Vote Against Proposition 23

10.  To send the nasty Koch brothers a message to stay out of California politics. 9.  To send the nasty Texas-based Valero oil company a message to stay out of California politics. 8.  To send the nasty Texas-based Tessoro oil company a message to stay out of California politics. 7.  To send Meg Whitman a …

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The California Attorney General race and the environment

This New York Times article notes why the California Attorney General’s race is very important for our state and national environmental and energy policies.  As a close observer of that office’s work on environmental issues and as a former California deputy attorney general myself, I believe the reporter is surely correct.  This race will matter from …

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UCLA releases new analysis of Proposition 26’s impacts to state environmental programs

As Sean has written, Proposition 26 hasn’t been getting as much attention in the media as other anti-environmental measures on next Tuesday’s California ballot, but it has the potential to be a real sleeper threat.  UCLA Law just released a careful analysis of Proposition 26’s impacts to state funding for environmental and public health programs, concluding …

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Why Republicans Should Support Proposition 21

In my lonely quest to get people interested in Proposition 21, I’ve written other posts about it, and tried to answer objections.  But one objection, usually offered by Republicans, deserves a closer look, because addressing it means that Republicans should vote for Proposition 21 even if one accepts their premises about the Legislature and the …

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UCLA hosts live debate on Proposition 23 this Thursday evening

This Thursday evening, UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability will be hosting a live debate on Proposition 23, co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times, KPCC-FM (one of our NPR affiliates in Southern California), and UCLA Law’s  Emmett Center on Climate Change and the Environment.  More information on the debate, including a registration link, is …

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Nudging State Parks

The Sacramento Bee comes through with another essential backgrounder on Proposition 21.  Among the takeaway points: *The parks have a $1 billion maintenance backlog; *Nationwide experts consider the California system to be the nation’s most endangered; *Among those 10 states with the nation’s biggest systems, only California and Massachusetts lack a dedicated funding source. The …

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Why Can’t “No on 26” Run a Professional Campaign?

Today’s Los Angeles Times acknowledges what Sean flagged the other day: Fundraising for a ballot initiative to suspend California’s global warming law has flagged, but oil companies and other business interests are pouring millions of dollars into a separate ballot measure that could dry up funds to implement the law. The Times article reveals that …

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