More reasons to vote for Tom Steyer
10-minute read
This Week
More reasons to vote for Tom Steyer
Bad changes to state climate funding
Wildfire prevention dropping fast
Floating wind turbine terminal planned for Long Beach
Ocean heat wave plus super El Niño means bad news for sea life
School air conditioning money will go back to PG&E soon
Adding solar and wind much better than removing carbon dioxide
Brief climate news
Climate jargon explained
Contacts for Santa Cruz County
About me
Unrelated advice
Click on the underlined links to learn more.
Note
Next Cruz Climate newsletter will be June 15, 2026, two weeks from today.
More reasons to vote for Tom Steyer
Tom Steyer at a Memorial Day paddle-out in Capitola, from KSBW
By 7 pm tomorrow, June 2, you must vote in person, make sure your ballot is in the mail, or it’s in an official drop box. I’ve endorsed Tom Steyer for governor, and you should vote for him, too. Tom is by far the best candidate for helping with climate change. Here are a few more reasons to vote for him.
Attacks on Tom: Nearly half the money spent on the governor’s race by special interest groups attacks him. Including Facebook (Meta), the California Chamber of Commerce, the California Association of Realtors, and the California Building Industry Association. PG&E alone has spent over $13 million against Steyer. “There is one person that the corporations are going after, including Big Oil, who is spending millions of dollars to stop me,” said Steyer.
Supporters of Xavier Becerra: AirBnB, McDonald’s, and Facebook (Meta) have donated over half a million dollars each to support Xavier Becerra. Days after Becerra said “we need Chevron,” the company gave $500,000 to support him. “This is the first time I’ve ever seen [large corporations] have this kind of an impact on a governor’s race,” said long-time Republican strategist Martin Wilson. “It’s totally unprecedented.”
Becerra’s bad track record: Becerra has protected Big Oil profits, hid the names of bad police officers, and threatened journalists at UC Berkeley for publishing police misconduct records. And he won’t stick to California’s climate goals.
Tom joined a recent Capitola paddle-out: On Memorial Day, he joined many other surfers supporting military veterans. While wearing a “class traitor” baseball cap. “I wasn’t born a billionaire, I won’t die a billionaire, and I’ll never govern for billionaires,” said Steyer. “As governor, I’ll raise taxes on billionaires, and I’m the only leading candidate who will say that.”
Sources:
Seema Mehta, L.A. Times, 8-minute read
Ian Monroe, Clean Technica, 11-minute read
Jeanne Kuang, Cal Matters, 5-minute read
Ricardo Tovar, KSBW, 2-minute video
Dakota Smith, L.A. Times, 5-minute read
Alex Nieves, Politico, 5-minute read
Bad changes to state climate funding
Oil refinery in Southern California, from the L.A. Times
Analysis: California’s cap-and-trade program makes companies pay the state for each ton of climate pollution they add to the air. Then the state uses a special fund for projects to reduce climate pollution and prepare for climate disasters.
But the California Air Resources Board just voted to overhaul the program, and a lot of people are not happy. Including three board members, several state lawmakers, and many environmental groups.
New problems include:
The fund will drop $2 billion dollars every year.
Most of that comes from handing out a lot more free climate pollution permits.
Half of those permits will go to dirty fuel companies, meaning higher profits and more climate pollution.
Of the money that’s left, $1 billion is dedicated to the doomed California High Speed Rail project. And $1 billion goes to fill a hole in the general state budget.
More money will go to our twice-yearly climate credit on PG&E bills.
None of this will help with climate change in the near future.
The overhaul means less money for projects like public buses and commuter trains; affordable housing in cities and towns; and wildfire prevention like controlled burns and forest thinning. These projects help us recover from climate disasters faster, and reduce air pollution and climate pollution quickly. We need to move fast to avoid terrible climate tipping points.
Both PG&E and Southern California Edison, the electric utility for most of Southern California, support the overhaul. Big oil companies and the California Chamber of Commerce don’t think it goes far enough!
Quotes: “These additional allowances would not only endanger our [climate pollution] targets,” said Pam Odell of Climate Action California. “They would also flood the auction market and depress [cap-and-trade] revenues.”
“What we know is that climate change impacts are accelerating,” said Laurie Wayburn of the conservation group Pacific Forest Trust. “This is going to push us back four or five years.”
“Newsom’s air regulators are handing billions to oil executives at the expense of our climate, health, and affordability for working families,” said Bahram Fazeli at Communities for a Better Environment.
Limitations: Some of the free permits could “possibly” be recalled if the oil companies are caught cheating. Seems highly unlikely.
Actions: What’s done can be undone. Tell our next Governor and your state Assembly and Senate members to fix these problems right away. Check Contacts for Santa Cruz County below.
Sources:
Alejandro Lazo, Cal Matters, 3-minute read
Hayley Smith, L.A. Times, 6-minute read
Kurtis Alexandar, S.F. Chronicle, 6-minute read
Wildfire prevention dropping fast
Fire crew cutting brush to prevent wildfires, from the article
Preventing wildfires that destroy forests, wildlife, businesses, and homes is a very good investment. Large wildfires also make lots of climate pollution. But California’s largest wildfire prevention programs, including good fires and forest thinning, are dropping fast.
Funding from the state cap-and-trade program will decline. And wildfire prevention funds are almost gone from a climate bond we approved just two years ago. Taxpayers like us will be paying that off, with interest, for 40 years.
Combined, that cuts $600 million per year to $150 million next year. With deeper cuts after that. Even after a recent study found that every dollar spent preventing wildfires saves $3.75 in damages.
And the federal government is cutting back, too. They manage more than half the forested land in our state. After big job cuts, wildfire prevention project approvals are taking much longer. And good fires on federal land dropped by almost half in 2025.
Fire season in Santa Cruz County has started, and runs through late fall. Whether you live in the forest or in town, prepare your family, home, and neighborhood for wildfires now. See the CAL FIRE Hardening Your Home website for details.
We’ve just cleaned our roof and gutters, and removed a bunch of tree branches hanging over the roof. Got rid of mulch and leaves along one side of the house. And added more gravel around two sides, while moving some potted plants away from the house. We still need to do more.
Noah Haggerty, L.A. Times, 5-minute read
Floating wind turbine terminal planned for Long Beach
Illustration of the planned turbine terminal, from the article
California plans to spend nearly $5 billion dollars at the Port of Long Beach to support floating wind turbines. These giant machines must be assembled on shore before they are towed out to sea. Then they are anchored and connected to underwater power lines.
Floating wind turbines are already installed offshore of China, France, Norway, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. They can generate electricity almost 24 hours a day. Because the wind is nearly constant over parts of the ocean. The UK gets a big chunk of their electricity from offshore wind, at a very low price.
Turbines built in Long Beach would be installed 20 to 60 miles offshore, barely visible from the shoreline. Together the planned floating wind turbines could generate more electricity than 10 Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plants.
California is in this for the long haul. Tell Governor Newsom and your state Assembly and Senate members that you want them to continue supporting offshore wind farms. Check Contacts for Santa Cruz County below.
Hayley Smith, L.A. Times, 6-minute read
Ocean heat wave plus super El Niño means bad news for sea life
Kelp floating in Monterey Bay, from the article
We already have an ocean heat wave offshore of California. It’s our seventh in seven years. And this one was definitely caused by climate change. Pelicans and other seabirds are starving and dying as the fish they eat swim to colder, deeper waters. Now we have forecasts of a super El Niño that could increase ocean temperatures even more.
“With El Niño, the fear is that the kelp that persisted [after the ocean heat waves] may now decline,” said Dr. Anita Giraldo Ospina of Monterey Bay Aquarium. “And recovering kelp may not get a chance to get back to what they were before.” Warmer water makes purple sea urchins even hungrier, so they eat a lot more kelp. Kelp forests provide food and shelter for many kinds of ocean life. And populations of red abalone could drop, heading much closer to extinction.
You and I can’t do much about this soon enough. But we can vote for climate friendly politicians at every level of government, from school boards to President. And ask everyone you know to do the same.
Ezra David Romero, KQED, 6-minute read
School air conditioning money will go back to PG&E soon
Map of Santa Cruz County school districts, stretching from the toasty summit to the cool, foggy coast, from the County Office of Education
Global overheating also makes public school buildings hotter. Yet too many of them have broken air conditioning, systems that are too small, or none at all. The state CalSHAPE program provides money to upgrade heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in public schools. Using heat pumps that lower indoor air pollution, reduce climate pollution, and filter out wildfire smoke. One analysis found that for every dollar invested, the community gets $30 in benefits. Mostly from healthier students that learn better. And more than 4,000 schools across the state need HVAC upgrades.
But the Newsom administration has not awarded nearly $200 million dollars in CalSHAPE funds. At the end of this year that money goes back to utilities like PG&E. They could use the funds to increase record-breaking profits even more, or lower our utility bills 20 cents a month.
“Our members and our students are very literally dying for this money,” said Mitch Steiger of the California Federation of Teachers union.
Tell Governor Newsom and your state Assembly and Senate members to extend and improve the CalSHAPE program. Check Contacts for Santa Cruz County below.
Leah C. Stokes and Jonathan Klein, L.A. Times, 5-minute read
Adding solar and wind power much better than removing carbon dioxide
Part of a small system that removes carbon dioxide from the air, from the article
Too much carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is the main cause of global overheating. So we should just remove a bunch, right? Nope.
New research found that direct air capture or DAC is much less efficient and costs a lot more than using solar power and wind power to reduce CO2 emissions from dirty fuels. And we need to store that captured carbon dioxide for centuries to help our climate, another expensive problem.
Right now most captured CO2 helps pump more oil out of the ground. Which we burn, creating more carbon dioxide. Plus DAC that uses dirty energy makes more air pollution and climate pollution.
Solar power and wind power costs keep dropping fast. DAC costs have barely budged, needing big improvements that might not ever happen. Our few DAC plants are small. While most of the world is installing giant solar farms and wind farms as fast as possible, to replace very expensive oil and natural gas.
“Like any other hazardous waste, it’s still much cheaper to stop carbon dioxide emissions at their source, than clean them up later.”
We need to reduce climate change as fast as possible, before we cross critical tipping points that lead to much worse disasters. Let rich people invest in this technology that won’t be ready for decades.
Until then, buy from companies that actually reduce climate pollution, instead of buying controversial carbon credits. Pay a little extra every month for the cleanest electricity from the 3Cprime power plan. And if you can afford it, switch to an electric car or electric truck.
Yannai Kashtan and Jonathan Buonocore, Latitude Media, 4-minute read
Brief climate news
The California Energy Commission approved another big utility battery project, this time in the hills east of Livermore. Using the same state “opt-in” process that the smaller battery farm near Watsonville is following. CEC, 5-minute read
Our state will pay for about 1,000 fast chargers for electric cars. Most will go into low-income or disadvantaged areas, like many parts of Santa Cruz County. Clean Technica, 2-minute read
California has about 800,000 electric car chargers at homes where most charging happens. How many gas cars and trucks can fill up cheaper at home overnight? Clean Technica, 5-minute read
Nearly 100 electric car chargers installed in new affordable apartments over the hill. Costs less if installed during construction. Clean Technica, 2-minute read
Climate jargon explained
Battery farm: Many big utility batteries in one location
Big utility battery: Utility-sized rechargeable battery that stores clean electricity for later use, also called a battery energy storage system or BESS
Cap and trade: When governments put a declining cap on climate pollution, then companies buy and sell allowances under that cap
Carbon credit: One ton of carbon dioxide or equivalent climate pollution, removed or kept out of the air
Carbon dioxide: Main climate pollution gas causing global overheating and climate change
Clean energy: Cheaper energy from the sun, wind, dams, or underground heat, that creates very little air pollution or climate pollution
Climate change: Long-term changes to Earth’s weather caused by climate pollution, including global overheating and too much ocean acid
Climate pollution: Gases in the air that trap the Sun’s heat and cause climate change, mainly carbon dioxide and methane, also called greenhouse gases or carbon pollution
CO2: See Carbon dioxide
Direct air capture (DAC): Removing carbon dioxide directly from the air
Dirty energy: Expensive energy from coal, oil, or natural gas, that creates air pollution and climate pollution
Dirty fuel: Coal, oil, gasoline, diesel, propane, or natural gas that creates air pollution and climate pollution, also called fossil fuel
El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO): Global weather changes in cycles that last several years, caused by changing winds and sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean
Electric car: Car that runs on electric motors and a large rechargeable battery
Electric truck: Truck that runs on electric motors and a large rechargeable battery
Electric vehicle (EV): Any kind of vehicle that runs on electric motors and a large rechargeable battery, including cars, trucks, trains, and boats
Emission: Gases or particles released into the air, like carbon dioxide, or soot from burning coal
Fast charger: Electric vehicle charger much faster than a home charger
Fire season: Dryer months with higher wildfire risk
Floating wind turbine: Wind turbine that floats in the ocean, anchored to the seafloor with strong cables
Global overheating: Rapid increase in worldwide temperatures starting around 1970, also called global warming
Good fire: Carefully setting a fire to prevent fires, reduce fire damage, and improve forest health, also called controlled burn, prescribed burn, prescribed fire, or cultural fire
Heat pump: Two-way air conditioner that can cool or heat a building, heat a hot water tank, or boil water for factories
Methane: Climate pollution gas 80 times worse than carbon dioxide, second-worst cause of climate change, but it doesn’t last as long
Natural gas: Fuel pumped from underground, almost all methane, that adds climate pollution when it leaks, and when it’s burned for power or heat
Ocean heat wave: Unusually warm sea water lasting for months
Offshore wind farm: Group of wind turbines set up in the ocean or a large lake
Solar farm: Large land area covered with solar panels
Solar panel: Panel that turns sunlight into electricity
Solar power: Clean electricity made from sunlight, mostly using solar panels
Tipping point: Global overheating temperatures that would quickly cause a big, permanent change for the worse
Wind farm: Group of wind turbines in one area
Wind power: Clean electricity made from wind blowing through wind turbines
Wind turbine: Tall machine with long fan-like blades that makes clean electricity when the wind blows
More at climatejargon.com
Contacts for Santa Cruz County
City council: Watsonville, Scotts Valley, Santa Cruz, or Capitola, depending on where you live
County supervisors
County Resource Conservation District
Regional Transportation Commission (SCCRTC)
Central Coast Community Energy (3CE) and PG&E
State Assembly: Gail Pellerin, Dawn Addis, or Robert Rivas, depending on where you live
State Senate: John Laird
California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), Air Resources Board (CARB), and Energy Commission (CEC)
Governor Gavin Newsom
U.S. Congress: Jimmy Panetta or Zoe Lofgren, depending on where you live
U.S. Senate: Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff
About me
I’m Rex Sanders, a science writer who’s lived in Santa Cruz County more than 20 years. Each week I check dozens of reliable sources for climate news that affects our county. Focused on how we can create a better future together.
Unrelated advice
It is a bad sign when the people of a country stop identifying themselves with the country and start identifying with a group.
Robert A. Heinlein