Bipartisan power for renewable power: Letter from former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will be full-page ad in L.A. Times

Environment California

SACRAMENTO – On the eve of a landmark vote by the California State Assembly, former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is weighing in on his state’s future with an appeal to Democrats as well as his fellow Republicans.

California is poised to become the second state (after Hawaii) committed to generating 100 percent of its electricity from renewable and zero-carbon sources. Now, Schwarzenegger has written an open letter to legislators, urging them to pass Senate Bill 100 (SB 100).

To amplify that message, Environment California, which has led the campaign for SB 100 for two years, has purchased a full-page ad in Tuesday’s Los Angeles Times, featuring a blown-up copy of that letter.

“California keeps proving we know how to invent a future few could even imagine,” Schwarzenegger wrote, saying the state has the “opportunity to take another important step forward” when it comes to renewable energy.

“Governor Schwarzenegger recognizes that California has a chance to be on the bright side of history,” said Dan Jacobson, state director of Environment California. “Many legislators have already decided that they’re going to vote for healthier communities today and a more livable future for our children. We hope that lawmakers on the fence take Governor Schwarzenegger’s well-informed opinions into account before voting. ”

Scientists agree that to forestall the worst impacts of climate change, we must stop burning virtually all fossil fuels by mid-century. SB 100 takes that urgency into account. If the bill passes, and Gov. Jerry Brown signs it, California will commit to a clear timeline of clean electricity usage targets, culminating in 100 percent by 2045.

“This is bigger than party and bigger than politics,” wrote Schwarzenegger. “The California Legislature must pass SB 100 and usher in a new fundamental era of California innovation and share our famous ambition with the rest of the country and the world.”

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Environment California is a statewide citizen-funded environmental advocacy organization dedicated to protecting California’s air, water and open spaces.