Tonight I joined millions of Californians in celebrating the defeat of the dirty energy ballot initiative, Proposition 23. While not quite as raucous as the World Series victory (Go Giants!), the defeat tonight of two Texas oil companies was just as sweet.
The result couldn't be clearer: Californians overwhelming rejected Prop 23 and voted for a clean energy future.
By rejecting Prop 23, Californians voiced their support for economic expansion in the booming clean tech sector and improved air quality and public health. By supporting the implementation of the landmark AB 32 clean energy law, California will be able to pioneer a range of pollution reduction measures that spur cleaner energy technology. It's a true win-win situation for a state with 12.5% unemployment and in which 91% of residents live in a county with substandard air quality.
AB 32 also helps ensure the United States can compete with China and the European Union, countries that are aggressively pursuing this booming market. In 2010, the market was $10 billion. By 2020, it will reach $80 billion, becoming the world's third-largest industrial sector.
Darkest before Dawn
Earlier this year, climate deniers and a few bad actors in the oil industry from Texas took aim at California. They unveiled a measure to repeal the most promising clean energy law in the country, AB 32, and promised an expensive and brutal campaign. The Valero and Tesoro oil companies bankrolled signature gathering effort, and voila, the Prop 23 attack confidently took shape.
Nine months later, they find their attack beaten back with a strength few would have imagined. And their campaign went out with a whimper. In one of their last public announcements, representatives from Valero and Tesoro actually wrote an opinion piece that attempted to convince voters that they are neither Texas companies nor oil companies.
How did it all happen?
The Prop 23 vote unwrapped
In voting down Prop 23, Californians rejected the scare tactics and the false arguments of these two Texas oil companies. Amidst a major economic downturn, these two oil companies argued that clean energy policies cost jobs. Their transparent goal: make California's energy policies into a scapegoat for California's struggling economy. Californians just didn't buy it.
Why didn't these scare tactics work?
1.More people and communities are witnessing the benefits of clean energy. From small energy efficiency contractors to large wind farms, clean technology is putting Californians back to work. Californians understand that.
2.Voters heard from a wide range of voices they can trust about Prop 23: public health groups, environmental and community leaders, organized labor groups, business leaders from large and small businesses alike.
3.Bipartisanship -- a rare commodity these days, but a powerful and effective force -- trumped a polarizing attack. A broad, bipartisan coalition of Californians came together -- to reduce pollution, grow clean tech jobs and increase our energy independence as never before -- to rebuff the attack. A true mainstream movement for clean energy: Republicans and Democrats, large business groups, small 'main street' business leaders, organized labor, public health groups, minority leaders and community organizations, and national security and faith-based leaders. The passion on our side -- displayed by thousands of everyday Californians who spread the word about Prop 23 -- was unprecedented.
What's next?
- 20,000 megawatts of new renewable energy -- 12,000 in distributed generation and 8,000 megawatts in large scale renewable projects like solar and wind farms.
- A fully implemented Renewable Portfolio Standard to ensure that California utilities get 33% of their energy from renewable resources.
- Develop an action plan to expand greatly expand large scale energy storage, a critical missing piece in expanding renewable energy.
- Establishing a strategy to move California homes toward 'zero net energy.'
Californians are ready for such visionary progress; the election results are unequivocal on this point. Businesses and entrepreneurs already are investing in technology to realize this vision: more than $10 billion of clean tech investment has flowed into the state since Governor Schwarzenegger signed AB 32 into law only four years ago. What's needed now is strong public policy that creates a level playing field for renewable energy and incentives to expand new technologies. Brown's platform will accomplish this goal.
The broad, bipartisan coalition of Californians that united to reject the Prop 23 attack is ready to support this progress. This mainstream coalition is not going away but rather ready to support --and push for -- a clean energy future.