Ladies & Gentlemen of CARB:
Let me begin by saying I am proud to be a resident of the state
that is the vanguard of those seeking a serious, meaningful
approach to tackling the climate crisis that looms so large in the
present and in our collective future. California's 100% clean
energy mandate is wildly & wonderfully ambitious and gives me
hope for the future. The challenge it presents is "How do we get
there?"
It has come to my attention that there have been alarms of
discontent about dark money funding public research that, in turn,
sways policy decisions. I am reminded of the fact that the biggest
polluters--among them the fossil fuel industries that have embraced
the position of denial & deception for decades, causing
repeated and irretrievable delays in public policy &
action--now profess to be "all in" to address "reasonable"
solutions. Makes us wonder what took them so long!
But there's more to the "all in" and the "reasonable" than meets
the eye. The term Green Washing comes to mind,
which emerges as (forgive the pun) a shell game. You know who the
culprits are: they're also the forces that kept anything very
meaningful from emerging from the COP 26 in Glasgow.
While the use of dark money to shape policy continues.
Clearly, as the shapers of public policy, you must keep your
eyes open. I urge you to do the difficult work of due
diligence: follow the money.
Thank you for your work and your attention.
With hope for the future which rests in your hands,
Greg
Bell