IN THE NEWS: CALIFORNIA CLIMATE CHANGE POLICY, EXPENSIVE, ANTI-POOR

Sad to say, local activists have hailed California's latest mandates as a shining example of where the village should go as well....This, however, is what Californians have to say:

POLICIES FACING REVOLT FROM Civil Rights Groups--Hugely expensive green mandates will hit poor Californians the hardest.
 
In April, civil-rights groups sued to stop some of California’s policies designed to address climate change. Then on Monday, California governor Jerry Brown signed into law SB 100, which requires the state’s utilities to obtain all their electricity from carbon-free sources by 2045. Before signing the bill, Brown said the legislation was “sending a message to California and to the world that we’re going to meet the Paris agreement.” In fact, it will only increase the hardships that California’s climate policy imposes on the poor, as detailed in the lawsuit.

High electricity prices should be a concern for California policymakers, since electric rates in the state are already 60 percent higher than those in the rest of the country. According to a recent study by the Berkeley-based think tank Environmental Progress, between 2011 and 2017 California’s electricity rates rose more than five times as fast as those in the rest of the U.S. SB 100 will mean even higher electricity prices for Californians.

In addition to cost, the all-renewable push set forth in SB 100 faces huge challenges with regard to energy storage. Relying solely on renewables will require a battery system large enough to handle massive seasonal fluctuations in wind and solar output.....Increasing reliance on renewable energy also means increasing land-use conflicts.  READ MORE HERE.