California has always been a leader when it comes to sustainable energy and eco-friendly decisions, and they continue to be a leader in this field. When I first moved here, I was amazed at all of the different ways one could throw something away: there’s compost, trash, landfill, recycle, etc. There are trash monitors in my campus' cafeteria to ensure that we are throwing things away in the correct bin. Every lightbulb and source of energy here, at least on my campus, is eco-friendly. California is incredibly conscious about its imprint upon the environment.

T2he California legislation has recently moved to pass State Bill 100 (SB 100), a move to make California’s energy completely sustainable by 2030. This was something brought up in early 2017, and the Assembly just denied it last month. Besides its immense popularity, SB 100 failed based on the wishes of constituents of those within the legislature, namely utility companies and workers unions. This was a huge blow to all in favor of it, but SB 100, the revised version, is being decided upon again in 2018.

Even in a state like California, where the majority of voters are incredibly liberal and should all agree on a sustainable energy policy, policymaking is incredibly difficult. This shows, at least to me, the power that those with money have, even despite the overwhelming will of the people.

SB 100 is a bill that sounds radical, but is a perfectly appropriate reaction to the state of the climate. With the many hurricanes, forest fires and floods of the past few months, something needs to change while it still may change, and SB 100 prioritizes this change at a rapid but necessary rate.

California must pass this bill and set a precedent for the rest of the states. While we cannot hope for a bill this radical in a Senate that has some members who still don’t believe that climate change exists, this is a necessary step in showing the government where people are in terms of climate change. While not everyone believes in it, this bill could inadvertently lead to education about climate change and the very real effects it has on the world, and a wider acceptance of the proven fact of global warming. Awareness radiates, but there must be a focal point, and I believe it is this very crucial bill.