Proposition 23: The Real Job Killer

by Brendan Smith and Jeremy Brecher

Published on Monday, October 4, 2010 by The Huffington
Post Distributed by Common Dreams
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/10/04-2 

The climate denial lobby behind Proposition 23 in
California argues they're fighting to protect jobs by
overturning what they like to call California's "Job
Killing Global Warming Law." But don't be fooled: if
passed, Proposition 23 will remove all hope of
protecting California's economy -- and its workers --
from the worst effects of climate change.

Proposition 23 seeks to suspend AB32 -- the 2006 Global
Warming Solutions Act, aimed at reducing California's
carbon emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 -- from going
into effect until state unemployment falls to 5.5
percent or lower for at least four consecutive
quarters.

Framing Prop 23 as the "California Jobs Initiative" is
a clever bait-and-switch by out of state oil tycoons
like David Koch [1] to halt any and all efforts at the
state level to address the climate crisis and save
California's already slumping economy.

Voters in California -- and every other state -- need
to realize that failure to cut greenhouse gas emissions
risks destroying millions of jobs and grinding
California's economy to a halt. The effects of climate
change need to be thought of as a "negative stimulus"
to the economy, leading to reduced profitability,
decreased investment, job loss, and falling wages.

A case in point is the effects of rising seas on
California's ocean economy. In 2005 researchers at the
National Ocean Economics Program at California State
University, surveyed the impact of key ocean industries
[2] -- including construction, tourism and recreation,
and transportation -- on California's overall economy.
Using 2000 data, researchers found that the state's
ocean economy is the largest in the US, ranking number
one overall for both employment and gross state product
(GSP). It directly provides approximately 700,000
direct and indirect jobs -- which in turn generate more
than $24 billion in wages and salaries. They also
evaluated the total value of all economic transactions
within 19 coastal counties and identified $1.15
trillion of economic activity, or 86% of total state
economic activity.

This entire ocean economy is threatened by just one
element of climate change: rising sea levels. Seas have
already risen seven inches in San Francisco Bay over
the 20th century, and new findings indicate that in a
do-nothing scenario California sea level may rise by as
much as 5 feet this century. Here is a selection of
some of the employment impacts we can anticipate if we
fail to address the climate crisis:

* Public and Health Sector Workers: According to the
Pacific Institute [3], flood and storm damage along
California's coastline threaten 55 health care
facilities, 140 schools and 58 power and wastewater
treatment plants. The impacts will be felt by every
Californian working and living along the coast, ranging
from nurses and teachers to water and energy workers. 

* Building Trade Workers: With 77% of California's
population living in coastal counties, over900 billion
in "near shore" homes are at risk from water damage. In
a do-nothing scenario housing prices along the coast
are likely to plummet, and areas along the coast
vulnerable to flooding could become all but
unbuildable. The potential large-scale disinvestment
followed by long-term depression in the construction
industry would be catastrophic to building trades jobs.

* Port and Airline Workers. Sea level rise, storms, and
waves will threaten California's seaports and airports.
Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Oakland seaports handle 40
percent of US container shipping and nearly a quarter
of all foreign trade. Rising sea levels with high waves
and tides are likely to damage port facilities. San
Francisco International Airport is thirteen feet above
mean sea level and Oakland International airport is
nine feet about mean sea level -- making both highly
vulnerable to rising seas. Crippled seaports and
airports unable to support normal traffic would mean
fewer jobs for port and airline workers. 

* Tourism and Recreation Workers. Nearly a million
Californians work in tourism and recreation. All are
affected by climate change, but beaches are especially
vulnerable to sea level rise and accelerated erosion.
Even if sea level rises only three feet or so, the
best-case scenario, it would cause a 26% reduction in
beach width [4] in Los Angeles and Orange County
beaches and the elimination of Las Tunas beach. Park
rangers and hotel and restaurant workers will be among
the thousands of workers whose livelihoods are at risk.

And that's not to mention the effects of ocean
acidification and climate-produced heat waves, fires,
air pollution, and water shortages. Proposition 23 is
the real job-killer. Why? Because there are no jobs on
a dead planet. Copyright (c) 2010 HuffingtonPost.com,
Inc.

Brendan Smith and Jeremy Brecher are the editors, with
Jill Cutler, of In the Name of Democracy, American War
Crimes in Iraq and Beyond (Metropolitan, 2005).
Brecher, a historian who has authored more than a dozen
books including Strike!, writes for the Nation magazine
among other publications. For his documentary film work
he has received five regional Emmy Awards. Legal
scholar Brendan Smith ([log in to unmask]), a former
senior congressional aide specializing in defense and
human rights policy, is coauthor of Globalization from
Below, and has written for the Los Angeles Times, The
Nation, and the Baltimore Sun.

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