Election Got You Down? California is Still Winning
On Election Day, November 8, 2016, Los Angeles County voted well. California voted well. The rest of the nation? Not so much.
I can't sugarcoat the new reality at the federal level concerning climate change. There are literally thousands of articles detailing Trump's threat to climate action and I won't repeat the news. (However, if you've been living in a bubble the past twenty days, read here and here and here and here.)
But California is different. California is a bulwark against the madness -- a sign that government can help grow the economy and act boldly on climate. California is proof that climate action works.
Look how we voted. LA's Measure M -- Metro's transformative transportation measure -- won by a wide margin. Los Angeles can look forward to more rail, bus and bike lanes that will relieve traffic and reduce our region’s greenhouse gas emissions.
LA voters also approved Measure A, the parks initiative that can help local communities fend off drought and extreme heat.
At the state level, we have wonderful laws — AB 32, SB 32, SB 350 — that set California on a course to dramatically reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. There are also great alliances working on collective action, including the Alliance of Regional Collaboratives for Climate Adaptation, a group of local officials working on climate solutions.
Meanwhile, at the city level, Mayor Garcetti's sustainability pLAn powerfully mitigates against greenhouse emissions while preparing for climate impacts, curbing the urban heat island and providing for local water.
Paradoxically, the city of sprawl and freeways and smog Los Angeles can be a climate model for the nation and the world . . . a thin but strong silver lining in the fight going forward.
