Guest essay by Eric Worrall
A small but vocal group of Californians want to secede from the Union, to avoid President-elect Trump’s climate policies.
Climate Change Secession
Some private citizen groups in California, distraught at the prospect of an America under President Donald Trump, are advocating that the state secede from the union.
Constitutional scholars (and most Californians) assure us the separation is not going to happen. But is there any instance in which California could go its own way? What if Trump withdraws the nation from the United Nations Climate Change Accord and rejects the validity of the global warming threat altogether?
Could and should that set the stage for environmentally precocious California to break ranks with the president and join the Climate Change Treaty as a separate entity? It is not all that outlandish, considering California would not be declaring itself a sovereign state. It would simply be using its existing progressive greenhouse gas emission reduction policies to directly participate in a worldwide crusade to slow the rate of human-induced global warming. That shouldn’t exclude it from being a member of the United States in good standing.
California’s unilateral action could arguably be justified as a legitimate manifestation of States’ Rights that would serve as an inspiration at home and abroad. We are talking about policies aimed at having 33 percent of the state’s electricity come from clean, renewable energy by 2030 and 80 percent by 2050.
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Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/edward-flattau/climate-change-secession_b_13497438.html
Other voices urge that California remain part of the Union, so they can oppose President-elect Donald Trump’s policies from within.
California must lead, not secede
In the Trump era, California must do what it does best — lead
More than a month after the presidential election, many Californians are still stunned by the results. Admittedly #CalExit is a great rallying cry, but secession is not the answer. #CalLeads is a better solution.
Rather than secede, we can do what California does best — lead.
It’s possible the Trump administration will find bipartisan common ground on solutions to our nation’s problems, but it’s equally possible Washington will continue to merely seethe in its dysfunctional swamp. We shouldn’t wait to find out.
Obviously, California still has its share of challenges — from housing costs to education to water — but we’re working on them, not waiting for answers from Washington.
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Read more: http://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/California-must-lead-not-secede-10804752.php
California’s ambitions to be a leading example of renewable energy success are a fantasy.
Last year (2015) California imported 99,210 GWh (33%) of their electricity from out of state, mostly from the South West, up from 25% in 2010. If California seceded they would have to negotiate some fossil fuel electricity import deals real quick, or the lights would go out.
But look on the bright side – if California secedes, Governor Jerry “Moonbeam” Brown finally gets to be President of somewhere.
Well, as a Canadian, I know a little bit about separatists (i.e., Quebec, and sometimes Alberta [only when oil is over $100 a barrel, though]).
Two things to look out for:
1) saying California can go if they pay $ for whatever reason. Unfortunately, when we try that on Quebec, they say “yeah, but we actually LOST money when we became part of Canada way back in 1867”. Good luck disproving THAT logic.
2) Montreal (and Natives) threaten to separate from a separate Quebec. Basically the idea is that if there are no legal grounds to keep Quebec in Canada, Quebec can’t use legal grounds to keep them IN.
Fun times…
The funny thing is, I believed Secession was the ultimate alt-right, State precedes over Union, “I don’t want DC swamp ruling me”, and “don’t mess with the constitution” move. I believed this to be so “lone-star state”, confederate nostalgist state of mind…
I cannot stop laughing seeing moonbats proving me wrong.
Rather amazing, isn’t it, that there are people who now want to act like the very Rebels they condemn so often.
if #Failifornia manages to secede, two things will happen for sure:
1. it will be just like Venezuela in <10 years
2. Resident Evil and i will be Texas residents before secession is a reality.
Maybe California can join the long-ago failed attempt of eastern Oregon and northern Nevada to form a new state. The attempt collapsed into laughter when some pundit suggested a name for the new state: NevOre- NevOre Land.
I think after the first term, California will end up coming out to vote for Trump. He did get 30% of the vote. A better economy, immigration fixed and lower taxes will attract more Hispanics, all the libertarian votes, fence-sitting Democrats and non-entitled folks. The hard core selfish, self leathers, guilt ridden rich movie actors and neomarxbrothers who felt the Bernie’d of course are beyond reason.
Darn! Spell Helper:felt the Bern and self loathers
What can we, as concered citizens, do to help prevent the door from hitting their ass on the way out?
I’m still waiting for that exodus of Hollywood-moonbats who promised to self-deport to Canada or NZ. Until that exodus happens, I’ll just believe this seccession talk is more of the same puffery.
I’d say give it back to Mexico but there’s no way we could build a wall long enough or high enough, for that matter, to keep some of those with wings from flying over.
I have occasionally entertained the idea of EXPELLING California.
I’d be happy to build a border at the edge of Oregon – unfortunately too many Californians have already moved up. That’s how we lost our forestry industry – they brought their votes with them.
My advice to the Immature lefties and closeted misanthropes in California is to kick back, smoke some homegrown weed, put on some Eagles tunes, eat some Cheetos and relax. Before you know it, you’ll get another chance to elect a different president.
Indeed, this is goes for anti-Trump crybabies across the whole country (unless smoking marijuana is illegal in your state, you’re overweight, have gluten, dairy or orange food allergies, or you hate the f**king Eagles, man).
A little encouragement:
Never happen. The Democrats would lose too many electoral votes for the remaining US. It would turn US into a lop sided Conservative country and the Marx Brothers wouldn’t allow it. California will continue its’ Climate Change support regardless of what Trump does or says and be very vocal about it. Unless there’s a concentrated effort in debunking the AGW scam there will always be followers. Only when the followers realize the price they’re paying economically, socially, and personally for no gain will the scam cease.
I propose that we only allow the part of the state west of the San Andreas faultline to secede. The rest of us voted red, please don’t make us go! Have mercy on the sane people left in this state.
San Bernardino and Riverside Counties outside of their eponymous capital cities would be pink.
So, inland CA could be the States of Jefferson (northern CA and Sacto Valley), Sierra (San Joaquin Valley) and Alta California (interior southern CA, less Imperial County, which is really Mexico).
Orange and San Diego Counties might possibly vote to stay in the Union, along with Central Coast counties, splitting the seceded state into two enclaves, but I’m not sure I’d want them. Except maybe for the US Navy and Marines.
SF would be screwed, as its water comes from the very un-PC, man-made Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite NP. Maybe they could haul icebergs from Antarctica via wind and solar-powered ships.
Compared with 2012 (I was wrong about Del Norte). Main difference is wealthy Orange County found fat cat Romney acceptable:
Placer County also switched for Clinton in 2016, but has only 375,000 people, many of whom work in Sacramento and others in the ski industry. Orange has about 3.2 million.
If the citizens of California are so bent on the CO2 issue, Trump could give then an option. Have a referendum and should 75% agree then: no fossil fuels of any kind will be transported to the state; no electricity produced from any fossil fuels will be provided; no products of any kind that use fossil fuel as an ingredient or during manufacture will be provided. The state can go fossil fuel free and lets see how long they last before we have refugees or worse.
What about wind power with coal backup, as CA receives from OR and WA?
Also, environmental purists don’t consider hydropower to be a “renewable”. CA would be toast in the summer without hydroelectrical power from the PNW.
Works for me. +1
One should first and foremost recognize the voices behind such an ill-conceived concept. They by definition are low-information individuals. The knee-jerk cry for secession is all the evidence needed. These are the proverbial tree surgeons who are standing out on the limb they desire to detach. They seem to not have noticed that when you cut off the branch its not the tree that falls.
Greetings from Paradise [lost]
If you add up the imported power and the non-dispatchable wind and solar CA production, all CA needs for energy independence is an additional 15GW dispatchable capacity, a mere 15 1-GW nuclear power plants or 15 1-GW flex-fuel (coal, gas, diesel) power plants, or you know any mix of these. I mean, a state that has Google and Facebook can certainly find the will to build a mere fifteen 1-GW plants, can’t they?
(Actually, that’s “we” since I live in CA. We could always ask China or India for help, since they are bringing a plant online what, every 3,4 days or so?)
Cheers,
JCS
Of course, there’s also the question of just where Southern CA would its water.
Maybe letting So Cal go off into LA LA land would stop Lake Meade’s water level issues?
You all could, but you can’t or won’t build such capacity. Even before Fukushima, CA had given up on nuclear due to irrational fear of radiation, the China Syndrome and earthquakes on fault lines. And of course in a state where beach fires are considered pollution, fossil fuel plants are out of the question.
Even 40 years ago, CA considered banning the internal combustion engine.
The sooner it slides into the sea, the better. Except for all the refugees from the land of fruits and nuts.
That’s a good idea. Without CA Trump would have won the popular vote too…
If those Californians think that fossil fuels are so bad then they should just stop making use of them and all goods and services that involve the use of fossil fuels. It is their money that keeps the fossil fuel companies in business. It is not necessary for California to leave the union. The federal government is not forcing and cannot force people to use fossil fuel or any goods and services that involve the use of fossil fuels. If you are one of these people then go out and shutoff the main breaker to your home and leave it off. Shut off the gas and the water too. Water companies make use of fossil fuels to bring people the water that they sell. Do not use your car or public transportation. Food at your local market is harvested and transported using fossil fuels so do nto buy any from them but grow and raise your own with water you collect on your own property. Do not buy any products whose manufacture and transport involved the use of fossil fuels.
We must all understand is that even if we could somehow stop the climate change which has been going on for eons, extreme weather events and sea level rise will continue for they are part of our current climate. There is no known climate that will cause extreme weather events to not happen any more. The next ice age will reverse sea level rise as it has done so many times in the past. Colder ocean temperatures and the build up of new ice sheets on land will cause sea levels to lower.
One should know that here in CA collecting water on your own property is now forbidden. Water belongs to the state, collecting it for your own use, like in a rain barrel, is prohibited.
Not where I live here in Orange County. The city will even provide rain berrels if you need them. I collect rainwater that comes off my roof and I can use that water anyway I see fit. The city has restrictions on my use of city water but not rain water. There is also nothing that prevents me from going down to the beach and collecting as much sea water as I can take home. At home I am free to convert the sea water to fresh water and then return the salt to the sea. In our town, the city collects all the rainwater that flows along the streets in an underground network of pipes. The water is pumped up to a channel and then dumped outside of the city limits, The pool of water is now enormous and neither the city nor the EPA has taken any action to prevent this liquid greenhouse gas from evaporating back into the atmosphere.
I have been doing my part to conserve on water usage by using rain water to water my garden for as long as possible.
(I didn’t have time to read the whole thread, so if I am repeating a previous comment, I apologize.)
Does this mean they believe they can secede from the atmosphere?
I agree that California should not secede from the Union. Things will change, California can facilitate that change. Many of us in the UK feel the same way about seceding from the EU, but apparently strength in unity is good in the US, but bad in Europe.
If things change the way California wants them to change, there will be a shooting civil war in this country. Oh, yes, and, the Brits are smart to get off the toboggan ride to hell that is the EU, where the other side of the civil war will be the jihadists that Angela Merkle has imported from the Middle East.
The EU is bad because it’s not a popularly chosen, representative regime, but misrule by crooked bureaucrats and their paymasters. European voters have no say in who runs the criminal enterprise, as they do, however remotely, in selecting members of their national parliaments.
Actually, if the area which encompasses southern California and southern Nevada were to secede, we northern Californians along with the northern Nevadans would be quite happy to see them leave the Union.
” if California secedes, Governor Jerry “Moonbeam” Brown finally gets to be President of somewhere”
He gets to be President of LA and SF. The new State of Jefferson gets to overcharge him for his water.
If Hillary et al campaign for secession of California, they will lose in the referendum and call for a recount, blame the Russians of hacking, blame evil white supremacists for their loss and get Martin Sheen to influence election officials to overturn the winning votes. All their efforts will fail and Mrs. Obama will lament to Oprah that since she didn’t get her way, the entire nation has lost its hope
http://tomwoods.com/ep-805-should-california-be-split-up/
These left wing Marxists don’t remember what Abraham Lincoln did to other last group of Democrats that tried secession and nullification. He said the Union must be and shall be preserved.