Texas Oil On the Ballot to Kill California Climate Laws

It's officially on: This November in California, it's the People vs. Big Oil. Texas-based companies Valero and Tesoro officially succeeded last week in getting their green job-killing, pro-pollution initiative on the fall ballot.

In March, I wrote about how these two Texas-based oil companies were behind the ironically named "California Jobs Initiative," which is aimed at kneecapping Assembly Bill 32, the state's "Global Warming Solutions Act." AB 32 is already spurring the creation of new, clean energy jobs and industries, and is set to kick into high gear this year. But if Big Oil has its way, AB 32 would be neutered until the unemployment rate drops to 5.5 percent (current stats show the state's unemployment to be at a sky-high 12.4 percent.)

In May, the oil companies and their wealthy partners succeeded in producing 800,000 signatures. Tesoro and Valero pumped at least $1 million into the signature-gathering campaign. You've gotta hand it to the oil companies: A a little more than dollar per signature is pretty cost-effective.

But here's the kicker: Not only would passing Big Oil's ballot initiative effectively kill AB 32, it would also effectively kill more jobs. Even conservatives such as Ted Costa, who previously backed their anti-climate campaign, point out that its logic full of holes.

Believe me, as a California resident who was cut loose from a big corporation last fall, I have a vested interest in the state's unemployment rate. But curtailing pollution laws won't help me: It will only line the pockets of Texas oil tycoons with more cash and make it harder for me to breathe.

Outgoing Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said Big Oil's initiative "would cripple California's fastest growing economic sector, reverse our renewable energy policy and decimate our environmental progress for the benefit of these oil companies' profit margins."

Unfortunately, anti-climate yahoos are likely to show up to the polls in droves this fall to try to shoehorn Republican candidate Meg Whitman in to replace Schwarzenegger, and also because of a tight Senate race. This makes it more important than ever for those of us who want to reduce our dependence on oil (both foreign and domestic), who want to continue to create new green jobs and industries, and who want to safeguard our natural resources to get organized and vote this initiative down.

Photo Credit: Allan Ferguson