{"id":9387,"date":"2025-09-22T12:47:30","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T19:47:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/daviddilworth.com\/pol\/?p=9387"},"modified":"2026-03-19T13:44:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T20:44:09","slug":"and-you-thought-it-was-republicans-destroying-environmental-laws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/daviddilworth.com\/pol\/and-you-thought-it-was-republicans-destroying-environmental-laws\/","title":{"rendered":"And You thought it was Republicans Destroying Environmental Laws"},"content":{"rendered":"

WTF ? ! ? ! ! !
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

We’ve always thought it would be Republicans who would destroy Environmental Laws in California . . . They’ve been trying and failing for decades.<\/p>\n

Nope, its the Democrats successfully Dismantling California’s Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

More accurately its the “Business” Democrats<\/span><\/strong> – who are quietly taking apart CEQA piece by Huge piece.<\/p>\n

California’s Environmental Quality Act – CEQA – is the major Dam holding back<\/span><\/strong> otherwise unrestrained powerful greed of DREGs (Developers, Resource Extractors, Polluters and Governments)<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For 50 years CEQA has been instrumental in stopping outrageously harmful projects up and down California: Golf Courses, worthless Highways, Monstrous Landscape obliterating Mansion “subdivisions,” spraying Cities with Pesticides, and on and on.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

But Business is relentless. When Republicans couldn’t even get elected to Sacramento anymore, California’s Chamber of Commerce quietly Re-aimed their attack – targeting Business Democrats.<\/span> And while you weren’t watching, they started ripping CEQA to Shreds.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Governor Jerry Brown and Assembly Speaker Steinberg got this campaign going a few years ago by falsely and wrongly declaring that Traffic Jams<\/span> and Parking Problems – were not legally environmental impacts anymore and got SB743 passed and signed<\/span>. Steinberg wanted CEQA damaged so he could get a Sacramento Stadium built. <\/a><\/strong>(Of course that had nothing to do with getting his name on it.)
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

SB 743 replaced the Level of Service (LOS) metric with Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) as the primary measure for assessing transportation impacts. What’s wrong with this – is previously Both LOS & VMT were already recognized as separate<\/em><\/span> Environmental Harms.<\/strong><\/p>\n

But Steinberg and California Chamber of Commerce wanted LOS ripped out because so many places in California are already in Full-Time Gridlock called LOS-F (F as in failing).<\/strong> And when you have Full-Time Gridlock at LOS F – CEQA required Environmental Review to list and explain ALTERNATIVES – like more Bus Service, Ride Share, Bike Lanes, etc.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Alternatives that REDUCE Car travel – Not Pretend Gridlock Doesn’t exist.<\/p>\n

So for the first time since\u00a0 CEQA was enacted – Science was ripped out of California Environmental Protection – by the “Business” Democrats.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Every Developer’s Dream.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

They don’t want “no Steenking Science” holding up their bulldozers.<\/p>\n

Now in 2025 we have Governor Newsom and Senator Wiener protecting huge projects from CEQA, from ANY environmental review.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

And Yes, “Business” Democrats<\/span> <\/strong>are doing it in back rooms, secretly – because they know voters overwhelmingly vote for environmental protection.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

There’s a Reason a group formed called “Progressive Democrats.”
\nIts because the “Business” Democrats are really Republicans in Disguise. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Meaning<\/strong> Californians who really want our environment protected – need to take action. Progressive Democrats are trying to return California’s Democratic Party to its own Mission !<\/strong> (What a concept !)<\/p>\n

SB 607 turns CEQA Upside down<\/strong> – by making harming our environment ok by default – as opposed to today and for the past 50 years – where evidence of potential harm triggers environmental review.<\/span><\/p>\n

So tell everyone you know and especially your Assembly folks and State Senators to STOP SB 607.<\/strong><\/p>\n

You’ll be happier for it.<\/p>\n

And so will our wild animal neighbors and ecosystems who have lived here for millennia before we showed up.<\/strong> And so will your children who are extra vulnerable to the toxics those projects use and release.<\/p>\n

# # #<\/strong><\/p>\n

Notes: All, 100%, of California Republicans Take Money from Big Oil companies.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Around half, 51%, California Democrats Take Money from Big Oil companies. Guess which half make up the “Business Democrats?”
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

https:\/\/scorecard.ecovote.org\/scorecard\/<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WTF ? ! ? ! ! ! We’ve always thought it would be Republicans who would destroy Environmental Laws in California . . . They’ve been trying and failing for decades. Nope, its the Democrats successfully Dismantling California’s Environmental Quality … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":1,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[15,17,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-environmental-harm","category-greed","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/daviddilworth.com\/pol\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/daviddilworth.com\/pol\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/daviddilworth.com\/pol\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daviddilworth.com\/pol\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daviddilworth.com\/pol\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9387"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/daviddilworth.com\/pol\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9387\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9472,"href":"https:\/\/daviddilworth.com\/pol\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9387\/revisions\/9472"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/daviddilworth.com\/pol\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daviddilworth.com\/pol\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daviddilworth.com\/pol\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}