Thanks to the collection of almost a quarter of a million signatures, Californians will get to vote in November on whether to increase the state's Renewable Portfolio Standard from 33 percent in 2020 to 50 percent in 2025.

Jim Gonzalez, head of Californians for Solar and Clean Energy, started the increased RPS initiative because he didn't think California was doing enough to combat climate change. We don't know if Mr. Gonzalez has cracked a newspaper in the past few years, but California has been pretty active in its efforts to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, while twisting the federal government's arm as well.

But even in a state as green as California, not everyone is in support of the new standard. Californians Against Another Risky Energy Proposition (can't these groups come up with catchier sounding acronyms than CSCE and CAAREP?) think Gonzalez is asking for too much too soon and his proposal would only result in much higher energy prices. Coal power is already banned for electricity generation both within the state and imported from other states.

We think Mr. Gonzalez, who happens to be a former San Francisco supervisor, is right-on for wanting more electricity generated from renewable sources. After all, if more states had substantial RPSs, then maybe we wouldn't be looking to such extreme measures as extracting oil from tar sands to get more precious hydrocarbon energy. But, we can't help but be reminded of the carnage that almost befell San Francisco in their effort to be environmentally friendly. To our Californian readers, vote carefully in November.