Green flack thinks <2% annual growth in CA 'cleantech' is impressive

The fallout from the news that 16 Assembly Democrats were willing to go on the record with their concerns that AB 32 will drive up gas prices and cause economic pain to struggling folks in their home districts continues to grow. It’s gotten attention not just in California but national play.

This has led to pushback from enviro groups, a coordinated campaign involving lots of press releases and social media commentary about how wonderful AB 32 is. But this campaign is going down a route it’s going to regret. It is attempting to once again depict green policies as engines of job creation. Look at this Tweet from a Silicon Valley PR type:

California “cleantech” has gotten an array of subsidies, tax breaks and favors from the state government for decades — especially since Gray Davis took over as governor in 1999. The effort ramped up in 2003 when would-be Global Green Giant Arnold Schwarzenegger succeeded Davis. It grew even more intense in 2010 when Jerry Brown ran for governor on a platform that asserted he would create 500,000 green jobs.

Meanwhile, in 2008, Barack Obama ran for president on a platform that claimed he would create 5 million green jobs. In 2009, after he took office, the federal spigot opened wide for subsidies and favors for state-level green-job programs courtesy of the $880 billion stimulus package approved by Congress.

But all the Golden State has to show for this massive push is 20 percent growth in 10 years?

That’s not even 2 percent growth per year when you take in compounding.

Thankfully, the Sacramento media have done a bang-up job of exposing the dishonesty of Jerry Brown’s 2010 green jobs claims.

Oh, wait — that’s right. The pack doesn’t think that’s a story.

Sheesh.

Back to the PR type who thought 20 percent growth over 10 years was impressive. She has an excuse. She’s an English major.

Susan Frank can bond with Sacramento journos over their shared innumeracy.