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There are all kinds of things I don't like about California politics. But this is most definitely not one of them. Kevin Drum:

If you look at total per capita energy use, it's actually declined since 1970 (compared to a modest increase in the rest of the country). At the same time, smog levels in Southern California have been substantially reduced. And do you know why? Largely because California has passed laws forcing it to happen.

Of course, we all know the result, don't we? As the Republican Party and the corporate community are so fond of declaring, regulation like this inevitably leads to economic disaster. Businesses fail, incomes drop, and the economy goes into a tailspin. It's nothing short of a disaster.

And yet, the predictable screeching of the corporate community, delivered on pretty much an annual basis, appears to have been wrong. California's economy has been doing just fine during the decades we've pursued these policies. Imagine that.

Less than a decade ago, we were beginning to understand that environmental protection and economic growth often work hand in hand. Both the science and the economics of the issue were finally beginning to be understood. But then in came Bush, and out went science.

The data is already in. Smart environmentalism leads to economic growth. The West already gets it. Eventually, the rest of the nation will too.