On climate change, easier to be Californian than American

Sunday, December 16, 2007
By Joe Nation

I have a confession to make.  During my college days at the University of Colorado, I occasionally masqueraded as a non-Texan, despite having grown up and spent most of my life near Dallas.  I never lied, of course, if someone asked me where I was from.  I just never brought it up and certainly never volunteered that fact.

One reason for hiding my background was that Texans weren’t particularly popular or welcome in the late 1970s in Colorado.  The oil crisis that decade had created many multi-millionaires in Texas, and most, it seemed, had chosen to spend those millions in Colorado buying real estate and, well, sometimes being Texan, which can sometimes be found next to obnoxious in the dictionary.

I also never quite self-identified as a Texan.  Of the 21 cousins and siblings in my generation, I was (and still am) the only one to ever leave the state.  During my first trip to California as a 12 year old, somehow I just felt as though I fit here.

I mention this only because of a similar experience this week at the United Nations climate change conference in Bali.  But at least this time, I’ve discovered, I am not alone at hiding my true identity.

In Bali this week, I am a Californian.  Of course, I am an American, but I don’t introduce myself that way, nor do I volunteer that fact.  Foolishly, I think that no one will realize immediately that a Californian is also an American.

And as in my Colorado days, there is an oil connection.  Or more precisely, a climate change connection because of our addiction to oil.  So Americans (certainly those representing the current administration) here in Bali are the equivalent of Texans in Colorado nearly three decades ago.

Other Californians here have commented on the same phenomenon.  They also identify themselves not as Americans, but as from the Golden State.  (One observer from Oregon told me that she also identified herself as a California, but primarily because no one knows where Oregon is.)  American equals Bush, who seems unpopular except perhaps in Texas, and Californian equals Schwarzenegger, who remains popular, it seems, everywhere overseas.  Iraq has certainly hurt America’s reputation, but the main reason for the popularity of California here is the recognition that, in the minds of most, Californians made progress on climate change possible.

And therein lies both the good and bad news to report from Bali.  Regrettably, the United States position has evolved only slightly since last year.  Despite both mounting scientific evidence of severe effects from global warming and positive movement among other industrialized nations, the Bush Administration remains stuck in opposing mandatory emission reduction targets.  And, as I teach in my climate change policy class, the U.S. position remains “you go first” in a world that requires bold U.S. leadership.

The good news involves continued positive steps by California and a growing number of other U.S. states that are parting ways with Washington on climate policy.  The Western Climate Initiative, the northeast Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Florida, and recently, the Midwest Climate Initiative suggest that we are reaching a critical mass in forcing a change in national climate policy.  These U.S. states, which represent nearly 40% of greenhouse gas emissions, have established very aggressive reduction targets and have agreed to establish “cap and trade” markets to reduce emissions in the most cost-effective manner.

These actions in other U.S. states have brought more good will toward America and Americans.  There remains obvious frustration and disappointment with the Bush Administration, in particular, on climate policy.  But despite that frustration, it has been uplifting to hear attendees from around the world and native Indonesians talk openly about how much they admire and respect America and its people.  Who knows, at the next U.N. conference in Poland next December, with a President-elect who will almost certainly make climate change a priority and with continued action by U.S. states and perhaps Congress, I may once again introduce myself as an American from California.

Joe Nation is the climate change adviser for ENVIRON International, a consulting firm. The former state assemblyman lives in San Rafael.