There is a battle going on in California that has a direct impact on the future of our planet. I’m speaking, of course, about Proposition 23. Proposition 23 is a ballot initiative that would effectively repeal many of California’s revolutionary clean energy policies. There are many special interests taking advantage of the opportunities Proposition 23 presents to them.
Oil interests are especially invested in whether Proposition 23 succeeds. Heading up the movement to support Proposition 23 is Koch Industries. Koch Industries is the group that, along with Rupert Murdoch, Karl Rove, and others, essentially funds the Tea Party movement. Businessman David Koch has thus gained immense power.
ClimateProgress published an article today about Koch’s attempts to use this power to support Proposition 23. In the article, ClimateProgress quotes environmental activist Van Jones on the subject of Koch Industries and Proposition 23:
Koch Industries has promoted awful environmental policies. They’ve been literally poisoning rivers, poisoning streams, and making money off of that. They’ve promoted now this awful economic idea that if you grow new industries in California you somehow hurt the economy. That’s nuts. And now they’re promoting bad politics by backing I think extreme movements in the United States. Here you have a bad actor, three strikes and you’re out. They’re bad on the environment in terms of their practices, they’re bad in terms of their economic philosophy they’re trying to shove down the throats of California, and they’re bad in their politics in terms of their supporting extreme political ideas in America. I think if you start connecting those dots, California voters are very sophisticated, and I don’t think any of them think the people who run Koch Industries wake up in the morning thinking how can Californians have better jobs? […]
Koch Industries is a very dangerous group and their influence is increasing. The law Proposition 23 threatens to repeal is one of the most important pieces of legislation to have been passed ever. Koch Industries is yet another example of corporate power gone threatening our country. We have to stand up to it.
Later in his interview with ThinkProgress and ClimateProgress, Van Jones remarks:
If you think things are bad now, what will happen when the people are screaming and yelling at these Tea Party events are actually in charge of your government, and in charge of your life, and in charge of your kids’ future? That is, maybe you have some hope fatigue, but you got a lot of reason to be fearful enough I think to stay involved and to get involved.
Public Citizen is fighting corporate power harder than ever. Now we have another very exciting opportunity to counter the insanity espoused by corporate front groups through the Tea Party and other organizations. On October 30th, join us at Jon Stewart’s “Rally to Restore Sanity.” And don’t forget to enter our contest for the best signs. We’ll print out our favorite submission and hand it out at the rally.
With the dangerous effects of Climate Change and our precarious reliance on fossil fuels, fighting Proposition 23 is logical. It is therefore an excellent cause to fight for at the rally.
Join our other efforts to combat corporate power: Public Citizen Action Center
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