November 19, 2014
The November election confirmed once more that California is the place to live if you believe part of government’s role is to help solve problems of the commons. It also underscores the important responsibility California Sierra Club members and staffers have to make sure we don’t take our good fortune for granted.
The new U.S. Senate majority shift to the right means people who are stubborn climate change deniers will be helping run both houses of Congress. Some of my friends who work in Washington, DC are wondering how they’ll manage to protect existing environmental laws, much less advance the cause. Here in Sacramento, my staff and I are feeling pretty optimistic about the coming year in this state.
Here, we have a governor who has said in many ways over the last four years that climate disruption is real and the state must continue to play an active role in reducing the state’s greenhouse gas emissions. Since his re-election this month, he has continued to speak publicly about continuing California’s leadership in addressing climate change.
We also have new legislative leadership, Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon and Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins. Both have good environmental track records. Senate Pro Tem de Leon’s first major policy speech as Pro Tem was about the environment. He said a top priority in his new role will be to “continue laying the foundations of a green economy with green jobs that will be an example for the world.”
A good number of the 32 to 34 new legislators coming to Sacramento (the outcomes of two races involving incumbents are still uncertain as I write this) are smart and dedicated to clean air, clean water, healthy natural areas, accessible parks and a livable planet. They aren’t the type we can expect to be mouthpieces for interests who pollute air and water or spoil natural areas. And, based on just a few conversations with a few of those new members, some are willing to lead on environmental issues.
So what environmental issues can we expect the administration or the legislature to take up in 2015? The list is long, so here are just a few key ones:
- Climate disruption. There is a growing consensus that the state needs to create overt goals for greenhouse gas reductions for 2030 to make sure Californians stay on a path to meet—and possibly exceed—the 2050 goal set by executive order several years ago. That interim goal will make sure polluters stay on track to cut their pollution, and that the transformation to a clean-energy economy is as rapid as we know it can and must be.
- Water and drought. In 2014, we helped pass groundwater legislation and the public voted to pass a water bond. In 2015, we need to make sure that groundwater legislation gets put into practice, and we’ll be calling on Club members to help. We’ll also be working to make sure the troubling part of the water bond—the potential to use large amounts of money for water storage—isn’t used on unneeded dams that will create a disaster for the environment.
- Fracking and other extreme oil extraction methods. In 2014, we built a huge coalition of supporters for a bill imposing a statewide fracking moratorium, but were unable to overcome extraordinary oil industry spending to influence the legislature. The legislation failed on the Senate floor by just 3 votes. Then, this November, two out of three countywide measures for fracking bans passed at the polls, despite more extraordinary oil industry spending. In 2015, the anti-fracking efforts will continue in various venues across the state, including courtrooms, local councils, state regulatory offices, and the governor’s suite.
- The plastic bag ban. We thought that one was resolved this year when a bill establishing a statewide ban on single-use plastic bags, which had environmentalist and grocer support, was signed into law. Then a few big plastic bag manufacturers from out of state decided to start collecting signatures to put on the 2016 ballot a referendum designed to overturn the new law. The signature gatherers have until January 15 to collect about half a million signatures. If they meet their goal, it means another ballot fight we know we can win based on recent polling that shows overwhelming public support for the bag bans. Word to the wise: Don’t sign any ballot petitions circulating about plastic bags.
Throughout the year, we’ll be working on these and other issues, along with the Club’s volunteer leaders. We’ll be calling on members and volunteers around the state to help make sure legislators and the governor hear from constituents at key points.
Californians—and our friends across the country—have counted on Sierra Club California’s members and volunteers to speak for the environment for nearly three decades. In 2015, they can count on us again.
Sincerely,
Kathryn Phillips
Director
Sierra Club California is the Sacramento-based legislative and regulatory advocacy arm of the 13 California chapters of the Sierra Club.
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