November 22, 2024 The Best Source of News, Culture, Lifestyle for Culver City, Mar Vista, Del Rey, Palms and West Los Angeles

Cap & Trade Shows The California Difference

By Thomas D. Elias

No other state has a cap-and-trade system anything like California’s for limiting and, in the long run, vastly reducing production of greenhouse gases behind climate change.

In fact, the chairmen of every key congressional committee and subcommittee on the environment where this issue is heard are all long-term climate change deniers, best exemplified by Oklahoma’s Republican Sen. James Inhofe, who once said his granddaughter was “brainwashed” when she asked him about the issue. He heads the Senate’s Committee on Environment and Public Works, a job once held by retired California Democrat Barbara Boxer.

That’s just one way California is different from most of the rest of America, especially the wide swath of “red” states stretching from the Rocky Mountains east to the crest of the Appalachians.

But the mid-July vote in which California legislators overwhelmingly extended the cap-and-trade program until at least 2030 exemplifies why almost one-third (32 percent) of Californians said in a springtime poll that they’re at least somewhat interested in seceding from the Union.

On that issue, votes in both houses of the Legislature exceeded the two-thirds supermajority needed to prevent threatened future lawsuits claiming cap-and-trade is a tax, not a fee. It takes that large a margin to pass a new tax, meaning this doesn’t happen very often.

But it did this time, and seven Republicans who voted for the extension were critical to its getting 55 votes in the Assembly, where 54 out of 80 were needed. There was also a single Republican vote for cap-and-trade in the state Senate, where 27 of 40 votes were needed and the extension actually got 28. The GOP votes were vital because a few Assembly Democrats defected to the “no” side.

Those eight Republicans made up more than 20 percent of the GOP’s legislative membership; a vote like that to fight climate change could never draw nearly so much Republican support in any other state these days.

But this is only one area where California is vastly different from most of America. Some other fields where polls and election results show most Californians want policies at variance with those of the Trump Administration and much of Middle America: gun control, sanctuary policies for at least some undocumented immigrants and strong voting rights, to name just three.

In that light, some are seeing the cap-and-trade vote as more than just an extension of a unique state policy. They see it as something like the first salvo in their wished-for divorce proceeding from the Union.

This is nowhere better expressed than in an open-letter essay in the new journal Grizzly, published by the nascent California National Party, whose purpose is a push for independence.

“You can do whatever you want,” the essay says to the rest of America. “You want a country where everyone looks like you? You can have it. You want a government that thinks like you? You can have it. In California, we just had a Senate race where only Democrats ran. You’ll have your own presidential races where the choice is between one conservative Republican and another even more conservative Republican. Good for you. You want no environmental restrictions? You can have it. We’ll shed a tear when you start open-pit mining in Yellowstone, but we won’t do a thing to stop you. You want to establish an Evangelical state religion? We won’t have any say in what you do anymore.”

That’s putting it pretty strongly, but it represents a little bit of the frustration some Californians felt when several small states imposed their political will last year via the Electoral College.

“Think about his for a minute,” the essay continues, “You won’t have us always butting in with our political correctness… And don’t worry about losing us. You don’t need us. You’ve got the oil and the gas and the amber waves of grain. You can build pipelines…you can drill offshore.”

That may be a very fanciful vision, but there’s little doubt about how different California is from most of the rest of America. The secessionists are merely saying they’d like to formalize that reality.

Related Posts

LAPD Motorcycle Officer Hospitalized After 405 Freeway Crash in Sepulveda Pass

November 21, 2024

November 21, 2024

Collision Near Skirball Center DrivePossibly Involving a Tesla Caused Major Traffic  The 405 Freeway was the scene of a motorcycle...

Santa Monica Police Release Body Cam Footage of Deadly Force Incident Outside Headquarters

November 21, 2024

November 21, 2024

Graphic Video Shows a Violent Assault on an SMPD Officer by a Knife-Wielding Suspect The Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD)...

Breakaway Café Opens New Venice Location with Beachside Grab-and-Go Window

November 20, 2024

November 20, 2024

Bayse Brothers Bring Their Signature Breakfast Dishes and Good Vibes to Venice Breakaway Café, a popular breakfast and lunch eatery...

Last Minute Additions to the Best Thanksgiving 2024 Feasts and Pies To Go

November 20, 2024

November 20, 2024

If Other Faves are Sold Out, Here’s All The Quality Places to Try Now Celebrity chefs Susan Feniger and Mary...

Everytable’s Holiday Meal Collaboration To Support LA’s Unhoused Youth

November 20, 2024

November 20, 2024

Chef Created Thanksgiving Meal Benefits My Friend’s Place. Everytable, the mission-driven company committed to making scratch-cooked, nutritious meals accessible to...

Los Angeles City Council Codifies Sanctuary Protections for Migrants with New Citywide Ordinance

November 19, 2024

November 19, 2024

Mayor Bass Prioritized the Ordinance after Trump’s Mass Deportation Threats The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to officially...

The Palms Community Council’s Executive Committee Schedules Special Meeting for Nov. 20

November 19, 2024

November 19, 2024

Meeting to Address Open Board Positions and Committee Updates The Executive Committee will hold a special meeting on Wednesday, Nov....

Hammer Museum Presents 10th Edition of MoMA Contenders: Screenings, Conversations with Top Filmmakers

November 19, 2024

November 19, 2024

Lineup Features Films by Steve McQueen, Sean Baker, and Brady Corbett The Hammer Museum will host the 10th edition of...

Film Review: Wicked

November 19, 2024

November 19, 2024

By Dolores Quintana Director John Chu (Crazy Rich Asians, In The Heights) has crafted an effervescent take on the blockbuster...

Randy’s Donuts Arrives in Culver City with Free Donuts and a $250 Gift Card Giveaway

November 19, 2024

November 19, 2024

Grand Opening on November 19 Includes Sweet Giveaways Starting at 6:00 a.m. The time is finally here. Randy’s Donuts is...

Nicole Nagel’s Futuristic Eric Moss Designed Brentwood Home To Hit Auction Block

November 18, 2024

November 18, 2024

The Spaceship-Like Property Heads to Auction With No Reserve in December German actress Nicole Nagel, who was part of the...

LA Controller Kenneth Meija: City Left $513 Million of Homelessness Budget Unspent

November 18, 2024

November 18, 2024

Inefficiencies Blamed for Underspending Despite Record Allocation in FY2024  The City of Los Angeles hasn’t spent over half of its...

West LA College Expands Zero-Cost Textbook Programs with $600K Grant

November 18, 2024

November 18, 2024

College Aims for 50 Zero-Cost Textbook Programs by 2025  West Los Angeles College (West) is expanding its zero-cost textbook program...

(Video) At Vistamar School – Discover the way high school should be

November 18, 2024

November 18, 2024

Students achieve remarkable outcomes with our strong academics, small classes, andpersonalized approach. Our graduates don’t just attend college—they excel. Vistamar’sunique...

(Video) Celebrating 60 Years of Excellence in Education

November 18, 2024

November 18, 2024

Join our international community! Preschool through 12th grade, private school in West Los Angeles and Pacific Palisades, No French knowledge required...