It's about time: Schwarzenegger turns more critical of environmental laws

Russ Steele

From the Sac Bee Capitol Alert:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger prides himself on trying to balance environmentalism with economic considerations, but he has grown more critical of environmental obstructions in this recessionary period, especially as he pushes for a jobs package in the Legislature.

More details in the Sac Bee Capitol Alert, but I just loved this part:

"So the environmentalists so many times are a little bit confused about that and they are confused because they want to have renewable energy but then when it comes to the permitting process, of getting that renewable energy and building the solar plants, they are then in the way. And they then talk about, 'You cannot go and destroy this squirrel.'

"I say, 'What squirrel? I was out there, I didn't see a squirrel.'

"They say, 'Well, there could be a squirrel coming very soon.'

"So I say, 'But there's no squirrel there right now.'

" 'But you've got to protect things that could be there.'

"So I say we can't do that. I mean, how can you be competitive if you go and start worrying about the squirrel that doesn't exist? And they talk about a snake and that the horn and the sheep and the this and the that and all those kind of things. And I'm an environmentalist. I want to protect the environment. That's why I'm interested in building renewable energy. But sometimes people become fanatics and they go overboard."

Amen! I think that the Governor is starting to get it!  He is finding out that an unelected State Fish and Game employee, who attends the church of environmentalism, has more power than he does if his Fish and Game staffer chooses to delay projects and obstruct economic development to protect an imaginary squirrel.  Time to make some changes - Repeal AB32 and all CARB implementing administrative rulings.