California Green Clean Tech Companies Gear Up for Epic Fight to Preserve Green Jobs

August 28th, 2010 by Tina Casey

Forget the Thrilla in Manilla, California is the epicenter of the fight of the century, at least when it comes down to the battle between fossil fuels and clean energy tech. A new coalition of California clean tech companies, labor organizations, community groups and environmental has just launched an effort called The California Apollo Program to counter the flood of out-of-state money behind recent assaults on the state’s signature climate law, AB 32.

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While the out-of-staters naturally claim that AB 32 is bad for the economy, The Apollo Program (which was kicked off by The Apollo Alliance, a green jobs coalition) lays out the facts: after tanking along with everyone else in 2008, the California economy has grown by 5 percent, and it leads the country in green jobs creation, to say nothing of new green businesses, patents, and venture capital investment. So, who are these know-it-all out-of-towners?

Fossil Fuels vs. Clean Tech

California passed AB32, the “Global Warming Solutions Act,” in 2006, upon which the fossil fuel industry promptly backed a new ballot measure, Proposition 23, “The California obs Initiative,” that would repeal the new law. Last month, Environmental Leader reported that the out-of-state fossil fuel industry was spending huge sums to support Prop 23, including Tesoro and Valero, which at the time of the article had spent $1.5 million. Even before the Apollo Program was launched, individual Clean tech stakeholders such as solar panel leader SunPower and the utility PG&E Tech came out strongly in support of AB 32 and against Prop 23.

Here Come the Green Jobs Killers

Laura Bassett of The Huffington Post fills out the picture by reporting that another $498,000 in out-of-state funding to support Prop 23 comes from The Adam Smith Foundation, a group based in Missouri that refuses to disclose its donors, except by hinting that it has something to do withthe state’s coal industry. California Watch also reports that coal money is pouring into Prop 23 from out of state, from the country’s largest privately owned coal producer, Ohio-based Murray Energy Corp. Meanwhile, Climate Progress reports that if Prop 23 is approved, California’s growing clean tech sector could see thousands of green jobs and millions in investment go down the drain. Thanks, out-of-towners.

Image: Boxers by claudiogennari on flickr.com.

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Tags: AB 32, California, climate legislation, Proposition 23

About the Author

Tina Casey Tina Casey specializes in military and corporate sustainability, advanced technology, emerging materials, biofuels, and water and wastewater issues. Tina’s articles are reposted frequently on Reuters, Scientific American, and many other sites. Views expressed are her own. Follow her on Twitter @TinaMCasey and Google+.