California’s Senate has just passed some important new renewable energy legislation that will, if approved in the Assembly and signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown, require utilities operating in the state to obtain one third of their electricity from renewable sources of energy such as wind, solar or geothermal. This is a big increase from the current 20% targets set by former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in a 2009 executive order.
For years, free-market fundamentalists opposed to government regulation have sought to create doubt in the public’s mind about the dangers of smoking, acid rain, and ozone depletion. Now they have turned those same tactics on the issue of global warming and on climate scientists, with significant success.
Greenopia recently released a comprehensive ranking of 50 governors in the US and compared their policies, transparency, and interest group ratings to determine which governors were eco-leaders and reveals which state governments are most dedicated to preserving the environment. Topping the list is Governor Bill Ritter of Colorado followed closely by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California.
California’s Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger announced last week that the state was creating a California Green Corps that will work to protect the state’s ecology, and provide valuable experience and training to the young people who go through the program, to help them prepare for employment in the emerging green economy. The program will provide at least 1,000 young people between the ages of 16 and 24 with jobs and training. The governor stressed that the program is targeted toward youth considered “at-risk” of failing academically, foundering in the workplace or getting into trouble with the law, and will consist of a minimum of 10 regional Green Corps throughout California.
