Outcome on Proposition 23...

An article from the Wall Street Journal demonstrates how proposition 23 in California will affect the energy industry. Proposition 23 will temporary suspend California's greenhouse gas law. This law says that by 2020 California will have dramatically cut its greenhouse gas emissions. The reason policymakers want to suspend this law is because of unemployment. When employers must worry about tough regulations, spending more money to employ workers is not an option. Thus, policymakers believe that by suspending this law that employers will have more money to hire workers and more citizens of California will be employed.

This is a very interesting article because it shows how unemployment is related to trying to improve the environment. Although, we are trying to use renewable energy, enforce tougher laws on big businesses to help the environment, and pushing efforts to go green, they are all having negative effects on the economy because of unemployment. It is a question of what is worse, unemployment or damaging our planet. California's law on decreasing greenhouse emissions was a very important law because, not only did it help lower the amount of harmful greenhouse gases in our environment, but it encouraged all other states to take steps toward doing this as well. However, now, there is not really an incentive for other states to work to save the environment, because they can see the negative effects it is having on the economy in California.

I believe that California needs to find some middle ground, a compromise that allows it to improve its unemployment situation, but also does not suspend its groundbreaking law to decrease greenhouse gas emissions. I believe that even though unemployment is related to this law, there are many other conditions that are causing it and the government of California needs to look at these issues as well.

-Rianna Das

Sources:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303738504575568812369392150.html?mod=WSJ_Energy_leftHeadlines