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Guest post by John A. President Vaclav Klaus last nightLast night in London, I had the privilege to listen to and meet the President of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Klaus at a meeting of the Global Warming Policy Foundation. (I even got to practice some of my few words of Czech, when he signed my copy of “Blue Planet in Green Shackles“)My impression is he was quite the opposite of a machine politician, and very much a formidable intellect. By trade, President Klaus is an economist of first rank, all too familiar with the limitations of mathematical modeling as well...

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Today religious leaders representing a wide spectrum of faiths and regions across California announced they are joining forces to defeat Proposition 23, the November ballot initiative that aims to overturn California clean air and clean energy law.  "Texas oil companies should not be trying to influence air quality standards in California. Attacking California's clean air laws will result in more children with asthma and more premature deaths due to air pollution," said Rev. Canon Sally Bingham, President of the California Interfaith Power and Light. "We have a moral responsibility to protect the most vulnerable...

YES on Prop 23! Make your voice heard!  Take action!  Fight to suspend AB 32—“The Global Warming Final Solutions Act!”This bill will destroy jobs and cost businesses and families thousands of dollars!    Save California jobs.  Fight back!  Vote YES on Prop 23! Here’s all you need to arm yourself and others against global warming propaganda and lies:  -Mark Landsbaum: Arguing global warming with Arnold -Air Resources Board's pollution targets unrealistic-Overestimate fueled state's landmark diesel law  -Spanish Study Sparks Skepticism About Green Jobs

Results so far: No 23% 138 votes Total: 596 votes Yes 77% 458 votes No or Yes Click for your side. You voted on 10/20/10Yes You voted on 10/20/10No

Industrialists who own private company with annual revenues of £62bn have channelled millions of dollars to rightwing causes It likes to present itself as a grassroots insurgency made up of hundreds of local groups intent on toppling the Washington elite. But the Tea Party movement, which is threatening to cause an upset in next month's midterm elections, would not be where it is today without the backing of that most traditional of US political supporters – Big Oil.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has pointedly refused to endorse fellow Republican Meg Whitman in the race to succeed him and has stayed largely quiet on most of the major ballot measures. But he is campaigning across the state with remarkable passion to defeat Proposition 23, a measure that would suspend California's landmark global warming bill, one of the signature achievements of his administration. "You have to be aware that whatever you do can be undone by outside forces," Schwarzenegger said in an interview with the Mercury News, referring to the Texas oil companies that are the primary financial backers of Proposition...

We hear a lot about “vested interests” in America these days. Here in California – it is the cry of Global Warming alarmists who are opposed to proposition 23 that is to be voted on in the November election. Prop 23 will suspend a “Global Warming solutions” act that will push up energy prices and drive even more jobs out of the state during one the biggest recessions in living memory. Understandably there is a lot of opposition to the Global Warming Act and Prop 23 is proving surprisingly popular in a state that practically invented the Green movement. Two...

SANTA CLARA, CA (KGO) -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is blasting the backers of an effort to suspend the state's landmark global warming legislation that signed it into law four years ago. California's global warming law AB32 is a big part of Schwarzenegger's legacy. He is campaigning to stop Proposition 23, the November ballot measure that would suspend AB32. The governor told the Commonwealth Club audience that oil companies Valero and Tesoro are spending millions to promote Prop 23 with a bogus jobs argument. "Does anyone really believe that these companies out of the goodness of their black oil hearts are...

California voters believe global warming is a significant issue and are inclined to trust scientific views on the subject, but they remain closely divided on a November ballot measure that would suspend the state's global warming statute, according to a new Los Angeles Times/University of Southern California poll. California’s global warming law, passed in 2006, is aimed at slashing greenhouse gas emissions by power plants, factories and vehicles. The ballot initiative, Proposition 23, would delay implementation of the law until California unemployment drops to 5.5% and stays at that level for a year. Unemployment is now over 12%, and a...

LOS ANGELES -- Democrat Jerry Brown has moved into a narrow lead over Republican Meg Whitman in their fractious contest for California governor, while his party colleague Barbara Boxer has opened a wider margin over GOP nominee Carly Fiorina in the race for U.S. Senate, a new Los Angeles Times/USC poll has found. The Democratic candidates were benefiting from their party's dominance in California and the continued popularity here of President Barack Obama, who has retained most of his strength in the state even as he has weakened in other parts of the country. Support for Obama may play a...

Poll shows voters split on global warming measureAssociated Press - September 24, 2010 8:24 PM ET SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - A new poll shows Californians are divided over an initiative to suspend the state's landmark global warming law, although most consider global warming an important issue. A Los Angeles Times/University of Southern California poll released Friday shows 40% of likely voters favor Proposition 23, compared to 38% who oppose it. That's within the poll's sampling error margin of 3.3%age points. The measure on the November ballot would delay climate regulations until California's unemployment rate, now at 12.4%, falls to 5.5%...

The California Air Resources Board is on the verge of destroying the collaborative work of an unlikely coalition of environmentalists, labor, employers and municipalities. These diverse interests worked together to pass SB375, a bill to create more sustainable communities through regional planning. Now, CARB staff have issued SB375 greenhouse-gas emission targets that were never considered by stakeholders to the SB375 implementation process. Rather than keep all parties involved, the CARB staff has set lofty goals that communities realistically won't be able to achieve. ... The higher targets would have severe ramifications for our state's economic recovery. The MTC analysis indicated...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman on Thursday came out against a ballot initiative that would indefinitely delay California's landmark global warming law, saying she supports a more limited suspension. Whitman has long advocated suspending the 2006 law for a year if she is elected governor, but she has deflected questions about her stance on Proposition 23. Her rival Jerry Brown, the Democratic state attorney general, earlier this week challenged her to take a position. In a statement, the former chief executive of eBay said the ballot initiative fails to offer a sensible balance for protecting jobs and...

A friend of mine from California is alarmed at this AB32. He says that Prop 23 is their only short term hope to stave this global warming nonsense off at lest for a while. He sent me this email talking about an LA Times piece... We are getting killed out here, man. This AB 32 thing is the sort of one-hand-washes-another dealing that causes unnecessary cynicism in the minds of voters. Despite past claims that they'd not support it, the California energy commission is suddenly offering millions in state subsidies to the ethanol industry and one of the bailout recipients...

LOS ANGELES — A ballot initiative to suspend a milestone California law curbing greenhouse gas emissions is drawing a wave of contributions from out-of-state oil companies, raising concerns among conservationists as it emerges as a test of public support for potentially costly environmental measures during tough economic times. Charles and David Koch, the billionaires from Kansas who have played a prominent role in financing the Tea Party movement, donated $1 million to the campaign to suspend the Global Warming Solutions Act, which was passed four years ago, and signaled that they were prepared to invest more in the cause. With...

SACRAMENTO (AP) -- Oil billionaires David and Charles Koch have jumped on board an effort to suspend California's global warming law by making a million-dollar contribution this week. A subsidiary of Wichita, Kan.-based Koch Industries, the nation's second-largest private company with oil refineries and pipelines, made a $1 million contribution Thursday to the campaign for Proposition 23. It joins two Texas-based companies, Valero Energy Corp. and Tesoro Corp., in backing the measure.

Republican Senate candidate Carly Fiorina, who repeatedly refused to take a stand on Proposition 23 during a Wednesday debate, said today she is backing the measure. In a statement, Fiorina called it "a Band-Aid fix and an imperfect solution," but she said she's supporting it anyway. Proposition 23 would suspend implementation of the state's landmark climate change law until unemployment dropped to 5.5 percent or less for a full year. Critics say it's an attempt to gut the legislation.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Tuesday rebuked Valero Energy Corp. and Tesoro Corp., which operate refineries in Wilmington, for bankrolling a measure that would effectively scuttle the state's efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions. "Go home, Texas oil companies," Villaraigosa urged at a news conference aimed at encouraging voters to oppose Proposition 23, a November ballot initiative to suspend California's 2006 climate change law until the state's unemployment rate drops. "We won't compromise our environmental and health standards so you can make more money," he said. The sharp tone was an early indication of the battle expected over the measure, which...

It is almost fitting that the state which is home to the entertainment industry be governed by people who seem to be content with creating illusion rather than dealing with reality. California is on the verge of a monumental financial collapse and Sacramento is filled with blissfully unaware legislators whose only coherent response seems to be crossing their fingers and hoping the bailout fairy comes swooping in for a magical Hollywood ending. One of the many progressive policies signed into law by faux Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger was AB 32, a law known better by the story book name "The Global...

Valero Energy Corp. dropped another $3 million into the Proposition 23 campaign, according to campaign finance filings reported Friday to the Secretary of State. The Texas-based oil company has contributed more than $4 million to the initiative, which would suspend California's landmark greenhouse gas emissions reduction law until the state unemployment rate drops to 5.5 percent for four consecutive quarters. Tesoro Corp., another oil company based in Texas, has also contributed more than $500,000 to the campaign.