As you read this letter, Environment California’s citizen outreach staff are working around the clock, visiting neighborhoods from San Diego to Santa Rosa to spread the word about the threats our environment faces and gathering public support for Environment California’s solutions.

As the summer heats up and energy demands rise, we’re working to extend California’s landmark clean energy laws to the entire country. The Renewable Electricity Standard would mandate that 20 percent of our energy nationwide come from renewable sources, like solar and wind, and would bring about 40 percent of the pollution cuts we need to avoid the worst effects of global warming.

Getting the word out is only the first step toward reducing air pollution and putting the nation on the road to a new energy future. It’s also going to take:

Innovative ideas

Californians are often far ahead of our elected officials in calling for strong environmental protections. And it’s going to take forward thinking to solve many of today’s environmental problems. This year we are supporting legislation that would create incentives for California businesses to reduce their use of toxic chemicals and establish a system to review and ban dangerous chemicals from California. This innovative idea would shift the burden of proof away from the public and back to the corporations that profit from selling harmful chemicals.

Bipartisan support

I am cautiously optimistic that bipartisan cooperation is making a comeback. Gov. Schwarzenegger, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez and Senate President Don Perata all have publicly stated their desire to leave an environmental legacy. In the state Legislature, both Democrats and Republicans are writing and supporting legislation, like the Solar Hot Water bill that will increase our use of solar energy.

In addition, with the recent change in Congressional leadership, we now have a real opportunity to make some progress on the federal level. In January, Congress passed the CLEAN Energy Act, which establishes a clean energy fund that will create incentives for and investments in energy-efficient and renewable energy technologies (more).

Strong policies

With our independent research Environment California can bring our common-sense experience to the table when we craft policies that provide concrete results for our environment. We advocate setting standards for the use of alternative, cleaner fuels that will allow us to further reduce our global warming emissions (more).

With these principles and your support, we’ll turn up the heat on our leaders this summer, and lay the groundwork for clean bays and beaches, a safe, sustainable marketplace, renewable energy, and more.

Sincerely,

Dan Jacobson

Legislative Director