Missouri Group Jumps in California's Battle Over Proposition 23

Arnold Schwarzenegger is the Republican governor of California. The movie star is also an advocate for the environment, a rarity for a Republican these days. Recently he was instrumental in passing one of the toughest ant-global warming laws in the country.

Of course the oil companies immediately started working against it. Some nerve when one of them just created the worst disaster in recent history with the gulf oil spill.

It's hard to imagine that with all of the proof for global warming, (almost every environmental scientist and weather expert has said it exists), some die hard conservatives still say that it doesn't exist, or maybe they just don't care at all about their children's future.

They say despite all of the pollution, the weather changes are just a natural occurrence. They do occur naturally, just look at the last ice age, but not as rapidly as they are occurring now.

I live in Missouri, a conservative state. We recently had a mock election to tell Washington that we don't want "health care shoved down our throats." The initiative passed by an overwhelming margin. We now have a Democratic governor but that may change next election.

Kit Bond, a former governor, is the Republican senator from our state. But now a group from Missouri named the Adam Smith Foundation has joined in the fight against California's tough environmental laws. And they won't even say where the money is coming from.

According to the St. Louis Post Dispatch: " With oil industry and pro-environment money flowing heavily in a California ballot fight, one major contributor stands out: a little-known Missouri advocacy group that donated $498,000 and refuses to say where the money comes from."

The group is the third largest contributer to fight Proposition 23, the oil companies bid to neutralize the anti-global warming law in California. The Adam Smith Foundation started three years ago to promote Republican principles in Missouri. Its name comes from an 18th century philosopher named Adam Smith who promoted the benefits of a free market.

Proposition 23 is a big stumbling block to environmental progress in this country. Next thing that you know, some not to bright individuals will be saying that oil spills are actually good for the environment. If Proposition 23 passes it will just allow the big oil companies in California to pollute even more.

Source: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_4fe07474-8717-5fce-bfb8-e6521aad53eb.html