14 DAY TRIAL // The San Francisco Bay Area has announced plans to drastically reduce local greenhouse gas emissions. Specifically, the folks at the local Air District Board say that, should things go as planned, it will only be around four decades before this urban area releases about 80% less emissions than it did back in 1990.
All things considered, it is likely that the five oil refineries currently operating in this part of the US will be the ones affected the most by the Air District Board's plans for the Bay Area.
This is because, according to several reports, these refineries presently produce about 50% of the greenhouse gas emissions the urban area is documented to release in the atmosphere on a yearly basis.
This means that, if the San Francisco Bay Area is indeed to curb emissions by 80% when compared to 1990 levels, these refineries will have to make major investments in greening up their working agenda.
The Air District Board decided to set this very ambitious goal for the San Francisco Bay Area to fight back climate change and global warming.
The Board hopes that, once greenhouse gas emissions are lowered, public health will also have a lot to gain, Mongabay reports.
“Climate change is one of the major challenges the region will face in coming years.”
“By adopting this resolution, the Air District is making a strong local commitment toward the development of climate protection activities that can also make a real difference for public health and well-being in the Bay Area,” stresses Jack Broadbent with the Air District Board.
This urban area is not the first in the US to become actively involved in curbing pollution levels and trying to limit climate change and global warming.
Thus, it was back in 2005 when California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced that the state of California was to try to reduce emissions back to their 1990 levels by the year 2020. According to specialists with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the state is well on track to achieving this goal.