CORRECTION: The suspension of AB32 will be voted on in the November elections.
SUBMITTED BY: Alyssa van thoen
When voters head to the polls in November, they will be asked to decide on a proposition sponsored by two Texas oil companies.
Ridiculously calling themselves the California Jobs Initiative Committee, the group wants California to suspend its ground-breaking clean energy bill, AB32.
The bill, which has served as a model for other states, is aimed at encouraging growth of the clean energy sector and curbing climate change.
If the proposition passes, AB32 will be suspended until the state’s unemployment rate stays below 5.5 percent for four consecutive quarters. Since this has only occurred three times in the past 30 years, this target is unrealistic.
The proposition is not meant to suspend AB32 ““ it is meant to kill it. The measure has nothing to do with unemployment ““ it is merely a shameless ploy for the oil companies to line their coffers.
As we can see from the ever-growing oil catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico and the ever-thickening smog over Los Angeles, the last thing our country needs is more of the same dirty energy. California must stand strong and continue leading the fight for alternative energy sources. That’s the only real way to guarantee jobs in the future.
Van Thoen is a graduate student in ethnomusicology.