Well, our govinator is getting all kinds of friendly press lately, what with his new sexy green campaign making him friends worldwide. He's tooling around in his Hydrogen powered Hummer. He's lecturing republican groups on the virtues of giving up the "question global warming" tactic, telling them "you'll become political penguins on an ice floe". This sounds really good on paper.
Problem is, that's all it is. Words on paper, like a script. Turn the page with me.
Long before there were cool blogs like CALITICS that actually kept track of shenanigans in the Gov's office, those of us involved with state level politics had to count on email rings to keep abreast of things. I worked hard for Gray Davis, and had known him since he was Jerry Brown's Chief of Staff. In 2001 I feared the neocon bullseye would land on California because I knew the inherent evilness that was inhabiting the oval office then as now, and what they had in mind. I heard from folks all over the country about this. My email volume was huge. I even noted at the time Grover Norquist had a pretty good hand in all of it.
It seems Schwarzenegger and energy go way back. You could say it was energy that landed him the job. Way back before the recall when Enron decided California was ripe for the plucking, Arnold met with Ken Lay and select other energy company execs, ex LA Mayor Richard Riordan and fellow angeleno Michael Milken, where they exchanged niceties and discussed his movies. One suspects, with little but circumstantial proof, and given the outcome, that there was some talk of triangulating the (literally) powerless rage Californians felt about the blackouts into a strategy that could split the solidly Democratic electorate and shoehorn Arnold into the job. Arnold says he doesn't recall any such meeting.
Now, fast forward to today and Arnold's supposed "green initiative". Hey, the Hummers are green, and everything's coming up roses. Isn't it? Except - one of California's most plentiful sources of energy, THE SUN, is still not being tapped to even a fraction of its capabilities. You would think after the thorough ass-reaming we got from the power companies before, that we would be outraged at the thought that we discourage the use of any alternative energy source. Post recall, post power crisis, we had a multi-billion dollar lawsuit against Enron and the other members of the Texas Pirate cabal of energy companies, which would have at least put a little of that $$ back into our coffers drained by phony blackouts, gaming scams and schemes. It was especially galling that they blamed their lie on "lacking generator capacity due to overly harsh environmental regulations". All the sorts of big lies engaged in by energy companies who just don't want to spend the money to upgrade dirty plants. We of course, have already paid that tab as a nation. Pregnant women can't eat fish because of mercury contamination caused by dirty power generators. It is recommended that all of us avoid swordfish for the same reason. The huge spike in Autism may be caused by a combination of mercury exposure in childhood environments.The upshot of our multi-billion dollar lawsuit? Settled by the new governor for pennies on the dollar. It seemed that was part of the plan all along.
Now, take a good look at today's "new" Arnold and his plans. Specifically, his Million roof plan for solar energy. Sounds great on paper, once again. Like a good action movie. But, guess what? This legislation has resulted in a 78% DECLINE in rebate requests for solar systems. Why? A midnight provision slipped in that requires applicants to sign up for costly pricing plans offered by utilities that charge significantly higher rates for electricity during hours of peak demand., according to a Los Angeles Times article. How much higher? Try DOUBLE. Actually, MORE THAN DOUBLE. "The solar industry in the desert in the Southern California Edison territory is dead" said the energy efficiency expert with the City of Palm Desert.
"The fact that some customers may find themselves paying HIGHER electricity bills if they decide to install solar...is unfortunate and indeed perverse" said the president of the California Public Utilities Commission.
We are paying over 3.70 per gas here. Yet we are number 4 in domestic petroleum production. Our power rates will be creeping up, the money will flow from the economic engine of the country back east to Texas once again as the long hot summer kicks in. Our public will needs a major overhaul! It's as if the neocons are experimenting to see just how much loot they can squeeze out of us before they are tossed out.
The net net of all this, is that people have STOPPED doing solar in California because it doesn't pay. Almost like they planned it that way. Systems that should have been done haven't been. Future plans are being abandoned. Every day we get farther away from our goal of alternative power sources instead of closer. It's just not possible that we have been sold out to the rapacious neocon pirates ( the ones not dead or in jail) by Arnold again?
Is it?