Why Californians and especially Bay Area voters should vote NO on Proposition 23

(We had a great time at yesterday's Palo Alto Festival of the Arts, and we were the only political campaign to have a table set up in the Free Speech area. In addition to talking to people and giving out flyers to voters, we had the brochure below urging them to vote No on Proposition 23. More info is available here. -Brian)

Save our water, save our streams, save our jobs

Please vote NO on Proposition 23

On behalf of the Brian Schmidt for Water District 2010 campaign, we encourage all California voters to turn out and vote against Proposition 23, a cynical proposition funded by Texas oil companies to effectively kill California’s premier law combating climate change. You can help California and help your community by stopping Proposition 23.

Proposition 23 will hurt our economy, especially our local Bay Area economy

Proposition 23 only helps the Texas oil companies that are funding it – independent legal analyses show no overall economic harm is caused by implementing measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Particularly in the Silicon Valley, we need to provide leadership and support the transition to a green economy that we’re seeing right now

Proposition 23 will hurt our streams, the Bay, and your Water District

Climate change is reducing our water supply by changing the snows of the Sierras into rain, which is much more difficult to store. In our local area we have the chance for more droughts and less reliable and predictable rainfall patterns. We will have increased risk from flooding, both from the potential of bigger storms and especially from the rising water levels in San Francisco Bay and at near sea-level creeks feeding into the Bay. Proposition 23 will hamstring efforts to combat climate change. Your taxes already have to be spent to deal with climate change impacts, and the tax impact will get worse if Proposition 23 succeeds in killing efforts to protect the climate change.

Proposition 23 is telling the nation and the world to do nothing to stop the climate crisis

Texas oil companies are telling Californians that we’re too poor and weak to do anything about climate change, but also saying Proposition 23 is just about California’s actions. It’s not. While Proposition 23 will leave us poorer if it passes, the message it sends to the vast majority of the world that’s far poorer than us, is that they should ramp up their emissions also.

Please vote NO on Proposition 23, and please support efforts and candidates who assist the fight against dangerous climate change. It’s a local issue, it’s a global issue, and your vote makes a difference.