Just Do It, Arnold!
Did you see Thomas Friedman's column in Friday's New York Times? It's terrific. Friedman highlighted the huge difference Governor Schwarzenegger could make right now, by coming out publicly in support of Prop. 87: "If he, and [his] wife, Maria, openly support it, Prop 87 passes. It's that simple."
Join us, and Friedman, in urging Gov. Schwarzenegger to just do it:
http://www.yeson87.org/page/s/Arnold
Here's how Friedman described the incredible opportunity facing Schwarzenegger:
Governors don't often get a chance to make big-time history, but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California has that opportunity now -- if he's ready to get off the fence. With one move, Governor Schwarzenegger could make California America's hub for developing "green" clean-power technologies -- which are going to be the growth industry of the 21st century -- and do something that President Bush has only paid lip service to: really help to end America's oil addiction.Friedman's excellent column continued:
Passage of Prop 87 would be huge. To begin with, it would be the perfect complement to the carbon reduction law that Arnold just signed. That law requires California to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. Prop 87, for its part, sets a goal of a 25 percent reduction in oil consumption in California in 10 years. Today, California consumes about 16 billion gallons of gasoline a year, so a 25 percent reduction, if realized, would put California well on its way to meeting its new carbon emissions goal.Prop. 87 is the right move now, and supporting it publicly is simply the right thing for Governor Schwarzenegger to do.
Join us in urging him to stand with the millions of Californians who support Prop. 87, at:
http://www.yeson87.org/page/s/Arnold
P.S.: Friedman's column is so good, we want you to see more of it:
Make History, Arnold!P.P.S:
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
The New York Times
October 20, 2006
Governors don't often get a chance to make big-time history, but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California has that opportunity now -- if he's ready to get off the fence. With one move, Governor Schwarzenegger could make California America's hub for developing "green" clean-power technologies -- which are going to be the growth industry of the 21st century -- and do something that President Bush has only paid lip service to: really help to end America's oil addiction.
Do it, Arnold. C'mon, just do it.
Here's the basic story: This Nov. 7, Californians will be asked to vote yes or no on Proposition 87, a ballot initiative that would impose a higher extraction fee on oil pumped in California. (Up to now, oil companies in California have paid a very low extraction fee compared with those in other states -- a rip-off they want to keep.)
The new funds raised by Prop 87, explained The San Francisco Chronicle, "would be used to finance research and development of alternative fuels in universities; education campaigns; and subsidies to consumers who buy vehicles that use alternative fuels and businesses that produce and distribute alternative fuels. ... Oil companies would be taxed between 1.5 percent and 6 percent on oil production depending on the price of oil per barrel. The tax would end by 2017 or when the tax generates $4 billion, whichever occurs first."
Passage of Prop 87 would be huge. To begin with, it would be the perfect complement to the carbon reduction law that Arnold just signed. That law requires California to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. Prop 87, for its part, sets a goal of a 25 percent reduction in oil consumption in California in 10 years. Today, California consumes about 16 billion gallons of gasoline a year, so a 25 percent reduction, if realized, would put California well on its way to meeting its new carbon emissions goal.
But Prop 87, by also raising a $4 billion energy fund, and devoting most of it to nurturing new fuels and more fuel-efficient vehicles and buildings, would enable California to consistently enhance those companies, communities and schools now pioneering alternative energies. As anyone who has followed the alternative energy movement knows, one of its greatest weaknesses has been that Washington has constantly started and stopped subsidies for things like solar and wind power -- so technologies have been innovated here but then turned into marketable products overseas.
By combining renewable-energy targets and a $4 billion fund to consistently support the start-up of companies to reach those targets in a free-market way, California would set a compelling example for other states -- and maybe even for Washington.
[End of excerpt]
Don't forget to sign the petition:
http://www.yeson87.org/page/s/Arnold
posted by Phillip | Monday, October 23 | Link to this post
