When Adrian Grenier and I founded SHFT.COM we made a deliberate choice to be apolitical. Our mission was to position sustainable ideas and designs and focus on the market driven solutions to the problems of climate change. But the absurd and infuriating introduction of Prop 23 -- funded by two Texas oil companies and the infamous Koch brothers -- and the almost immediate damage it would cause to the state as well as it's national implications, made it impossible for us to watch from the sidelines.
SHFT has been making original video series and distributing them across wide platforms. They are entertaining videos with a sustainable message like our LIGHTEN UP series about bands mitigating their carbon footprint while on tour. So when we were approached by a political action committee to make a series of PSA's against Prop 23 and distribute them, the model was in place and we got on board.
AB 32, the law Prop 23 seeks to gut, is the first comprehensive environmental law (Arnold's legacy), and one that other states are looking to emulate. California's leadership on environmental policy is not new. But it needs to continue -- not just for the state, but for the rest of the country and to encourage legislation on the federal level. The passing of Prop 23 would turn the clock backwards on the support of clean technology companies in the state, on green jobs, on emissions standards, and it would send a message to the rest of the country that if California can't do it, nobody can.
The logic behind 23 is that our unemployment rate is so high that we can't afford it. They propose that AB 32 be suspended until unemployment in the state goes down to 5.5% for four consecutive quarters, which has happened only once in the state's history. It's a manipulative and empty argument, preying on economic fear and ignorance of the issues. AB 32 will keep the clean technology businesses in the state, and those companies will continue to employ Californians in the green job sector- the biggest growing sector in California. If Prop 23 passes, these clean tech businesses will move to other states and to China, taking thousands of new jobs along with them.
AB 32 is landmark legislation that will not only improve air quality, but also the economy and employment in the state. I urge everyone to vote No on Prop 23 on Tuesday and to share these PSA's with friends and colleagues through whatever social media channels you have at your disposal. I urge you to particularly engage folks who are indifferent or disillusioned during this mid-term election. This is an issue that should transcend politics and unite us. It moved us to act; we hope it moves Californians to vote.