Real Results For California's Environment
1. Global Warming Pollution Capped
California made history when Gov. Schwarzenegger signed into law the nation’s first source-wide cap on global warming pollution, an Environment California-backed measure that will reduce emissions by 25 percent in the next 14 years.
2. $3.2 Billion Solar Program Approved
In 2006, California established the nation's largest solar program committing $3.2 billion in consumer rebates to build a million solar roofs over the next 11 years.
3. Ocean Legacy Protected
Endangered
and threatened sea turtles, sea otters and other ocean wildlife stand a
better chance of survival after Gov. Schwarzenegger signed seven
Environment California-backed ocean protection bills into law in
September 2004.
4. Clean Water Enforcement Strengthened
After our research showed thousands of clean water law violations going
unpunished, we convinced lawmakers to strengthen the state’s clean
water enforcement law in 2003.
5. Highly Toxic PBDEs Banned
With
new evidence that certain highly toxic chemicals disrupted normal brain
development among children, Environment California won a ban on the worst forms of PBDEs in August 2003.
6. The Ballona Wetlands Preserved
In
September 2003, the Legislature helped spare one of Southern
California’s last remaining wetlands from development. Lawmakers
allocated funds to preserve 600 acres of the Ballona Wetlands after eight years of advocacy by our staff.
7. Key Water Pollutant Targeted
Industries must report their use and discharges of perchlorate,
a key ingredient in rocket fuel and a highly toxic chemical that has
polluted 350 California drinking water sources, including the Colorado
River. The new action is the result of an Environment California-backed
law, adopted in 2003.
8. Landmark Clean Energy Law Won
In the wake of the energy crisis, we convinced legislators to adopt the California Clean Energy Law
in 2002. The law requires
investor-owned utilities to produce 20 percent of their electricity
from clean sources by 2017. Two years later, we convinced the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the contry's largest municipal utility, to adopt the same policy.
9. Kids Protected From Pesticides
Our toxics experts were
instrumental in passing the Healthy Schools Act, which requires schools
to alert parents when pesticides are applied in their children’s
schools.
10. National Forests Defended
In 2001, we helped win new protections for 4.4 million acres of national forests
in California. Since then, we have fought to defend the Sierra and
other national forests against attempts by the Bush administration to
skirt the safeguards.
