Our view: Using severance tax for alternative energy is more than reasonable.

California has already taken the lead on scientific innovation with its stem cell research initiative. And with the greenhouse gas limits agreed to by the governor and state lawmakers this summer, the state is taking the lead on finding solutions to global warming.

With Proposition 87, we have a chance to take the lead on both scientific innovation and developing alternative fuels. Vote yes on Prop. 87.

Prop. 87 would impose the state's first severance tax on oil extracted in California to pay for research and incentives to find and use alternative energy sources.

We're the nation's third largest oil producer, pumping 230 million barrels a year. The top two oil-producing states have severance taxes. In Texas, it's 4.6 percent of the value of the oil. In Alaska, it's 12.25 percent. California's would range between 1.5 percent and 6 percent, depending on the price of oil at the time.

Imposing a severance tax is not unreasonable, and even without the language in Prop. 87 barring oil companies from passing the tax on to consumers, it wouldn't raise prices at the pump. Oil prices are controlled by a global market, which sets the price. Alaskans don't pay more for gas because their state has the largest severance tax.

The best part of Prop. 87 is that it would spend $4 billion during the next 10 years to find alternative energy sources. A quarter of that will be pumped into the state's universities for research. The rest will go toward taking the research from the lab and into our gas tanks -- or replacing them altogether -- and providing incentives for using alternative fuels.

All of California's severance tax would be used to wean us off petroleum. That's a good place for this money, and 10 years from now, the whole nation might be grateful we made that investment.

Vote yes on Prop. 87.