CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERS ANNOUNCE OPPOSITION TO TEXAS OIL COMPANIES' DIRTY ENERGY INITIATIVE

LOS ANGELES, CA – May 6, 2010 – As the horrific Gulf of Mexico oil spill continues into its third week, Southern California's top environmental leaders today announced their opposition to stop the Dirty Energy Proposition – a ballot measure financed by Texas-based oil companies that will kill California’s leading clean energy and air pollution standards.
 
“The tragedy in the Gulf Coast should serve as a painful reminder to those of us in California just how deadly and costly our addiction to oil can be,” said Terry Tamminen, President, Seventh Generation Advisors and former Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency. Tamminen is also the author of “Lives Per Gallon: The True Cost of Our Oil Addiction.” “California is leading the way toward a clean energy future that decreases our reliance on oil and sparked an economic renaissance that is driving billions of dollars in investments and creating hundreds of thousands of jobs throughout our state. The Texas oil companies' dirty energy proposition will kill our clean economy and lead to more tragic accidents like that in the Gulf.”
 
According to the Secretary of State, oil companies have contributed at least 69 percent of the more than $2.6 million dollars being spent on the deceptive ballot measure campaign. Opponents say it will kill the development of clean energy and keep Californians dependent on oil.
 
“It's horrifying that while oil continues to spill in the gulf, oil companies are spending millions of dollars to rollback California's clean energy law,” said actress Amy Smart.

“The gulf spill demonstrates that the oil companies simply cannot be trusted to protect our environment or our economy," said Mary Luevano, Director of Policy for Global Green USA.
 
“If the Dirty Energy Proposition is successful in persuading voters to permanently suspend AB 32, we are letting them trash our air, our beaches, any economic growth we have incurred independent of their products and destroy the momentum we have enjoyed with clean energy innovation,” said Sarah Sikich, Director of Coastal Resources, Heal the Bay.
 
Clean energy and air advocates point out that Texas oil companies, like Valero (whose CEO received a 64 percent salary increase last year and now earns $10.9 million) (Ticker: VLO), have a vested interest in keeping California addicted to oil.
 
“Make no mistake: the oil companies know that California’s clean energy law is sparking a revolution. They can see that our state’s economic gains will mean their financial loss,” said Damon Nagami, Staff Attorney, NRDC. “That’s why oil companies are spending millions to repeal our clean energy law.”

“The only job creation on the Gulf of Mexico right now is the unemployed fisherman cleaning the oil wreckage with bales of hay,” said Tami Clark, Interim Executive Director, Santa Monica Baykeeper. “In California, people are hired every day for new jobs to install cutting-edge technologies, be part of multi-million dollar investment projects and are keeping California on the forefront of green industry. California has had the foresight to protect not just its beaches but its economy from becoming endangered.”
 
Valero (Ticker: VLO) and Tesoro (Ticker: TSO) were recently named the #12 and #32 polluters in the nation in the “Toxic 100 Air Polluters” report recently issued by the University of Massachusetts, Amherst’s Political Economy Research Institute (PERI).
 
For the latest campaign news and developments, please visit www.StopDirtyEnergyProp.com, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

READ OUR RELATED BLOG ENTRY: "Say No to Dirty Energy"

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