California stands strong in fight against climate change

California voters last night said it loud and clear – our clean energy future is NOW.

In a decisive victory against big corporate polluters, voters rejected Prop. 23, legislation designed to undo the progress the Golden State has made in tackling the challenges of climate change. The state’s flagship piece of climate and energy legislation, AB 32, which sets up a system to drive down emissions and accelerate the demand and development of clean energy technologies, will remain intact.

LA Times reports, “No environmental campaign in U.S. history can boast the level of activism in California this year: Prop 23 opponents mustered 3,200 volunteers, made 2.8 million phone calls to voters, sent out 3.4 million pieces of mail, made 379,676 on-campus contacts with college students, and operated a sophisticated computerized outreach program that identified and contacted 481,000 voters, and showered voters with 900,000 get-out-the vote phone calls and text messages in the last three days.”

This move sends a clear message to the rest of the country: the time to start phasing out dirty, dangerous energy sources is now. Let’s ride this wave of momentum straight into a clean, smart energy future.