CA Global Warming Law Remains Popular

Over the last few months, a Republican and industry-backed campaign has attempted to provoke controversy over AB32, California’s global warming bill, but voters don’t seem to be falling for the bait.  The Public Policy Institute of California conducted a poll showing that around two-thirds of Californians support the bill, which plans to reduce state emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.  California residents seem unconvinced of the job-killing-climate-policy linkage that Republican candidates for office, including Meg Whitman, have used as an argument against the bill, according to the LA Times.  However, only a small majority (53%) of those polled thought action on greenhouse gas reduction should be taken right away.

An additional poll by the PPIC also showed that more Californians oppose the expansion of offshore drilling along the California coast compared to last year. 59% of the California residents polled did not favor more offshore drilling, compared to 43% in 2009.