November 9, 2006

Prop 87 or Not, California Remains Hot Alt-Energy Spot

California voters turned down Proposition 87 on Tuesday, the proposed tax on crude oil which sought to levy a tax of 1.5 percent to 6 percent on the price of every barrel of oil pumped from a California well.

The estimated $4 billion that would have been raised over 10 years was to be given as grants to scientists and universities or as subsidies to industries for developing clean energy alternatives, The LA Times reports.

The argument over whether a tax on oil company production would be passed along to motorists dominated television commercials since early spring. Chevron Corp, Aera Energy, and other oil companies spent nearlyt $100 million to defeat the the proposition, writes the San Jose Mercury News. Proponents, including celebrities and politicians such as Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Julia Roberts and Geena Davis, spent more than $57 million, most of it contributed by Hollywood producer Stephen Bing.

Environmentalists claimed other victories, most notably The defeat of Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Tracy, who as House Resources Committee chairman tried to rewrite the Endangered Species Act. He lost out to wind energy consultant Jerry McNerney, The AP reports.

The defeat this had no impact on the market value of the alternative energy sector on Wednesday, Charles Morand writes at Alt Energy Stocks. Unsurprisingly because California remains one of the hottest, if not the hottest, alternative energy spots in the world, Proposition 87 or not.

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