Speaking at Shoreline Park against a backdrop of the Santa Barbara Channel and its oil platforms, Mayor Marty Blum and Councilman Das Williams, joined by Tam Hunt of the Community Environmental Council and professor Walter Kohn, a UCSB Nobel laureate in theoretical physics, said it was time to turn to cleaner fuels, boost research in solar and wind technologies and invest in energy efficiency.

"We are not trapped," Mr. Williams said. "There is no reason why we need to be dependent on these oil rigs or on countries with horrible human rights records to provide our oil. We need to live our values."

The city of Santa Barbara, Mr. Williams said, has already switched 150 diesel trucks, including its fire trucks, to B20, a fuel that is 80 percent diesel gasoline and 20 percent soybean oil. Many of the city's remaining 370 cars and trucks are fueled by natural gas, or they are hybrids -- that is, they run on both gas and electricity.

"It's important to lead by example," Mr. Williams said.

Proposition 87 would provide grants, loans and subsidies to cities and school districts that are seeking "greener" fleets with vehicles that use less gas. Consumers buying electric cars, hybrid cars and cars that use biodiesel fuel would receive incentives, too. Some of the funds would be used to start up a CleanTech Silicon Valley, and $100 million would be set aside to train a new work force in clean energy technology.

The goal of the measure, proponents said, is to reduce the use of oil in California by 25 percent during the next 10 years. Proposition 87 would prohibit the oil companies from raising the price of gas at the pump to pass on the cost of the tax to consumers.

According to the federal Environmental Protection Agency, 95 percent of Californians live in areas that do not meet state and federal air quality standards. Santa Barbara County meets federal but not state clean-air standards.

California is the third largest oil-producing state in the country, after Texas and Alaska. It supplies about 230 million barrels of oil per year, or about 12 percent of U.S. production.

To date, state records show, the "No on 87" campaign has received more than $40 million in contributions from the oil industry. Other opponents include taxpayers associations, farm bureaus and chambers of commerce across California. These critics say that regardless of the promises it makes, Proposition 87 would surely drive up the price of gasoline. The opponents note, too, that, according to the state legislative analyst, the drilling tax could reduce state income taxes by up to $10 million per year.

Carpinteria Councilman Gregory Gandrud has signed on to the official list of opponents of Proposition 87. He says it is unfair to ask the oil industry to pay a new tax in addition to the oil royalties and income and property taxes it already pays.

"I don't believe in singling out any particular industry for taxation," Mr. Gandrud said. "Proposition 87 simply punishes companies for producing oil in California and will shift production outside of the state. California's economy is going to be hurt by it."

Mr. Kohn, on the other hand, believes that the world's oil production will peak within the next 10 years. Proposition 87, he said, would provide ways to switch to cleaner fuels and also promote such technologies as solar and wind power. Speaking at Shoreline Park, Mr. Kohn said he recently co-produced a film on solar electricity, "The Power of the Sun," out of frustration with "a kind of complacency in America" about global warming.

"When it comes to energy, you'd better care about the whole world," he said.

For the complete article please link to:

http://www.newspress.com/Top/Article/article.jsp?Section=LOCAL&ID=564811680815644733