The head of an oil industry trade group described California's landmark climate change law as "political correctness gone mad" and said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appears "hell bent on becoming a real life Terminator" to the refining industry.
In an e-mail letter sent Tuesday to members of the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association, Charles Drevna, the group's president, said passage of Proposition 23, the ballot initiative that aims to roll back the state's greenhouse gas reduction law, is key to stopping climate change laws in other states and would mean "the difference of life and death" for the oil industry.
"Unfortunately, Proposition 23 is not just a California issue. A defeat of Proposition 23 in California could energize environmental fanatics around the country and in Washington to match California's destructive policies," Drevna said.
"At that point, our industry might find itself in the position of the Titanic facing the iceberg — headed for disaster without time to alter course."
Proposition 23 aims to suspend the state's climate change law (AB 32) until the jobless rate hits 5.5 percent for four quarters in a row.
Proponents of the initiative say AB 32 will kill jobs and lead to higher energy prices.
The climate change law, signed in 2006 by Schwarzenegger, aims to cut carbon emissions statewide to 1990 levels by the year 2020.
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