California’s Fossil Future And Other Self-Contradictory Tales

I always feel guilty that Ken and I don't spend enough time on saving the planet, even though-- when push comes to shove-- it's more important than anything else we do talk about. Luckily today I asked a friend of mine, who's an actual expert to give us a run down on all this crap behind the Republicans in the California state legislature wanting to suspend the climate change law that seeks to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Nathan Havey is the Political Director at Common Sense New Media Strategies. He also blogs on a number of issues at the Huffington Post and sure is savvy on the ins and outs of the climate change debate. He's a former congressional aide and is the founder of ResponsabilityX, a grassroots effort here in Los Angeles to use new media to promote concious capitalism. This is his post:

Borrowing a a line from one of the myriad doomsday posts on the havoc AB32 will wreak on California’s economy, “some of us are more prone to become religious fanatics, extremists, or join cults.” The author of that line used it to point a finger at what the Washington Examiner called ‘environmental extremists’-- people who believe in crazy things like climate change and taking action to halt it. As my parents taught me, the thing about pointing fingers is that though one finger is pointing where you are pointing, three more more fingers are pointing back at you. (try it)

I don’t mean to suggest that those who cite California’s economic situation don’t have a point. No doubt about it, California is in a moment of crisis. But as the Chinese know (the Chinese word for crisis is also the word for opportunity), it is times like these that often precede unprecedented growth and prosperity.

For opponents of California’s celebrated climate change solutions law, the argument ranges from “greenies are crazy, climate change isn’t real, and even if it is technology (or God) will prevent any real harm” to “California’s economy is too fragile and this may (or will certainly) make it worse so we need to delay implementation until the economy improves or more studies are done.” This is like dealing with a flat tire by refusing to admit it is flat, or by rationalizing driving around on the rim because you need to focus your attention elsewhere.

So here is the deal-- AB32 is the kick in the pants California’s economy needs to regain its innovation and leadership in the United States and around the world. For far too long we have invested in life support for our fossil economy, while much of the rest of the world has read the writing on the wall and made massive investments in clean energy technologies and infrastructure.

The truth is that the regulatory framework AB32 puts in place will give California's economy a head start in transitioning to new clean technologies. As these technologies are developed they will be in great demand as public (if not legislative) pressure for clean technologies escalates around the world. California can either produce and sell that technology now, or buy it from others later.

For those who limit their perspective to the cult of quarterly earnings and near-term economic analysis, there is a chicken-little-pitched fervor of the impact AB32 will have. But here is the triple bottom line: the industries that will see costs from the implementation of AB32 are already costing those costs-- but are not paying for them (we are), the costs of climate change will be unspeakably greater, and as I alluded to above, long term economic growth in California lies down the road of sustainability.

The economic situation in California is dire. People are struggling to get by and when you're not sure from where your next paycheck will come, working on a sinking ship is better than not working at all. What we have to recognize though, is that doing the same thing and expecting different results is crazy. California has the opportunity to lead the nation and the world to a new era of responsible economic growth but it will have to overcome the chorus of near-sighted cynics to get there.