Warming Wednesdays: California renewable energy standards pass legislature

Sometimes we win something. The Union of Concerned Scientists says "pass the bubbly!"

According to the San Francisco Chronicle:

California lawmakers have approved a bill that would create the most ambitious renewable energy standards in the nation, giving utilities less than 10 years to receive one-third of their power from wind, solar and other alternative sources....

The bill's author, Democratic Sen. Joe Simitian of Palo Alto, says it maintains California's place as a national leader in clean energy, provides environmental benefits and will create jobs. He says the legislation also protects ratepayers from excessive costs.

Apparently we can count on Governor Jerry Brown to sign the bill. I'm currently reading Mark Hertsgaard's HOT: Living Through the Next Fifty Years on Earth (more in a subsequent post) and was pleased to learn that Brown got the state on the right track on climate issues when he was in the same job back in the 1970s.

California's electricity consumption today is roughly the same as thirty years ago, even as the state's population and economy have grown tremendously.

I didn't know that. Thanks Jerry.

Despite every other legitimate concern, we cannot ignore that our economic and social system is rapidly making the planet less habitable. So I will be posting "Warming Wednesdays" -- reminders of an inconvenient truth.