A Week of Environmental Victories and Defeats: Just Another Day At the Office

The “bottomless war chest” of the oil companies has succeeded in gutting the State of California’s proposed Senate Bill 350, a measure calling for a 50 percent cut in petroleum use by 2030.  On Wednesday, state law-makers announced  that a key component of California’s sweeping climate change bill had been scrapped as a result of an intense campaign from Big Oil, which had poured money into advertising and lobbying campaigns against the bill. 

From Natural Resources Defense Council:  “It’s a sad day when oil industry lies stand in the way of clean air, but if the industry thinks they have won a victory, it will be short-lived.  California’s leadership and communities across the state are more determined than ever to reduce petroleum dependence.”

A sad day indeed.  To the fine folks at the NRDC: Long May You Run.

On the bright side, the University of California’s chief investment officer on Wednesday said that the UC system has sold off about $200 million of direct holdings in coal and tar sands companies.  Not only are environmental issues at stake, but so are everyday concerns for the soundness of the investments that constitute the University’s ($98.2 billion) fund; as fossil fuels approach the end of their tenure here on Earth, vast sums of smart money are running away before it’s too late.