Stop the Dirty Energy Proposition: Vote No on Prop 23

On October 10, 2010, a day of global action to work on the climate crisis, Santa Cruz residents rallied next to a Valero gas station on Highway 1 / Mission Street urging people to vote no on California's proposition 23. If it passes on November 2nd, it will suspend California's Assembly Bill 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. AB 32 requires that by 2020 the state's greenhouse gas emissions be reduced to 1990 levels, a roughly 25% reduction under business as usual estimates.

Over 90% of Prop 23 financial support has come from chemical and oil companies, namely Valero and Tesoro, headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, and Koch Industries, the largest private U.S. chemical company, headquartered in Witchita, Kansas.

The out-of-state chemical and oil companies who sponsored the initiative refer to their measure as the California Jobs Initiative, while environmental organizations and other opponents are calling Prop 23 the Dirty Energy Proposition.

The California Public Interest Research Group (CALPIRG), an organization working to defeat the proposition, explains, "California leads the way with clean energy technology. But oil companies from Texas are spending millions to fund Prop 23 and block California's global warming law. They want to keep polluting despite threats to our health and our climate."

For more information, check out: Van Jones slams Koch Industries' role in Prop 23

Crossposted to Indybay.org.