Green Options » ballot initiatives http://greenoptions.com/tag/ballot-initiatives Posts tagged 'ballot initiatives' Thu, 06 Nov 2008 03:30:52 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 en Mixed Bag for State Environmental Ballot Initiatives http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/11/05/mixed-bag-for-state-environmental-ballot-initiatives/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/11/05/mixed-bag-for-state-environmental-ballot-initiatives/#comments Thu, 06 Nov 2008 03:30:52 +0000 Timothy B. Hurst http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/11/05/mixed-bag-for-state-environmental-ballot-initiatives/ ballot boxes
[Update: I seemed to have overlooked an important constitutional amendment passed in Minnesota that established a funding mechanism for conservation programs. My apologies to our friends in the North Star State. See comments for more.]For many Americans, participatory democracy means choosing between the people who will choose for you. But for voters in 36 states, electoral democracy exists beyond the parameters of representative government. In the states where the tools of direct democracy like referendums and ballot initiatives are employed, preferences of voters are gauged directly on amendments to state constitutions, specific policy questions, budgeting issues and more. Of the 153 measures at stake across the country in yesterday’s election, about a dozen dealt with energy and the environment. Below are the results and analysis of eight of the more notable measures (in no particular order):

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]]> http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/11/05/mixed-bag-for-state-environmental-ballot-initiatives/feed/ California Will Vote on Misleading Renewable Energy Initiatives http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/10/22/california-will-vote-on-misleading-renewable-energy-initiatives/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/10/22/california-will-vote-on-misleading-renewable-energy-initiatives/#comments Wed, 22 Oct 2008 11:46:50 +0000 Jennifer Lance http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/10/22/california-will-vote-on-misleading-renewable-energy-initiatives/ wind turbinesCalifornia Propositions 7 and 10 mislead voters with words like “renewable energy” and “alternative fuel”.

I like to think of myself as an informed voter. I always read the California General Election Official Voter Information Guide, but I am a sucker for anything with “renewable energy” or “alternative fuel” in the title (or childrens’ hospitals and farm animals).  When I first read about Propositions 7 and 10, I thought they sounded like good ballot initiatives.  Who wouldn’t want all utilities to be required to provide 50% renewable energy by 2025? It was only after I discovered leading environmental groups opposed these propositions that I began to question these statutes.

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