How will the Golden State’s green reputation hold up at a time of deepening energy worries?
THE GLOBAL energy crunch caused by Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has given Joe Biden’s presidency a slogan usually associated with Republicans crowing about energy independence: “drill, baby, drill”. In addition to releasing 1m barrels of oil a day from America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the Interior Department will resume new lease sales for oil and gas drilling on public lands, reneging on Mr Biden’s campaign promise to end the practice.
Because California’s rules predated the Air Quality Act of 1967 and the Clean Air Act of 1970, when federal officials first set national standards for air quality, the feds granted the state waivers which allowed it to set its own, stricter pollution rules. California has applied for more than 100 waivers since 1967. Today, states can choose to adopt the Environmental Protection Agency’s rules for vehicle emissions, or California’s. By 2022, 16 states followed California’s standards.
The target was achieved early, in 2016. Lawmakers then required the state to cut emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030. Today California still has the second-highest total emissions among the 50 states. Yet as of 2016 only New York had lower emissions per person. Lastly, Californians have been suffering the effects of climate change for years. Wildfires have incinerated towns and their smoke has dirtied the air. Drought has dried up water supplies. Extreme heat has baked cities and farms. And rising seas threaten coastal communities.
The Golden State’s tireless NIMBYs are also hampering the fight against climate change. Anti-growth activists have used the California Environmental Quality Act to block public-transit projects and new housing, which is often denser and more energy-efficient than are old buildings and single-family homes. Estimates suggest that California could produce 112 gigawatts of offshore wind power, yet NIMBYs fret that floating turbines will blight California’s coastline.
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