Prop 64 is hazardous to your health

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http://sanfranciscobay.sierraclub.org/yodeler/html/2004/11/feature2.htm

Big business lobbies have put an initiative on the November ballot to eviscerate citizens' ability to enforce environmental safeguards. Proposition 64, "Limitations on Enforcement of Unfair Business Competition Law ", would leave California's air, water, food, forests and lands much more vulnerable to attack by polluters.

The UBCL is a crucial tool to defend the environment. Unlike many federal environmental laws, most California statutes do not contain "citizen suit" provisions authorizing environmental organizations to enforce these laws on behalf of the public against other private actors. The UBCL is the sole remedy in these situations.

UBCL cases have:

* stopped oil companies from polluting drinking water;
* halted illegal clearcutting in the Sierra Nevada (in a case brought by the Sierra Club);
* cleaned up air pollution caused by oil tankers in the Los Angeles Basin;
* protected children from lead poisoning;
* blocked cruise ships from repeated dumping;
* stopped diesel-truck pollution;
* forced bottled-water companies to filter out arsenic and bacteria;
* required warnings of pesticide dangers to children.

The initiative would block environmental enforcement actions like these brought on behalf of the public by community groups. Prop. 64 would limit actions only to government and certified classes of individuals who have lost money or property. With government's enforcement ability severely limited by budget constraints, private enforcement of the sort allowed by the UBCL is vital to protecting our health and resources.

Oil, auto, and utility companies, along with other corporate donors wishing to avoid accountability for the damage they cause, have poured over $10 million into a deceptive advertising campaign for Prop 64. The American Lung Association, California Nurses Association, Consumers Union, Gray Panthers, and the California Labor Federation have joined Sierra Club California and the state's other major environmental groups in a grassroots campaign against the measure.

More information on Prop 64 is available at www.sierraclubcalifornia.org and www.electionwatchdog.org