14 DAY TRIAL // California is the spearhead state in the US on issues related to reducing the effects of climate change and global warming, and yet it's pushing for even more measures to be approved, which would further establish how exactly the world's eighth largest economy is going to go about achieving the goal set forth by a 2006 bill, which states that carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions need to be reduced by as much as 30 percent from projected business-as-normal levels by 2020.
Republican governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has led the legislative efforts tirelessly for the past years, making California one of the landmark states in the world, for action against pollution. The only obstacles left to surpass in implementing the 2006 law are the ones related to finding an exact route by which to apply its principles. Some economists and representatives of large businesses say that the plan is too “rosy” and that there is no way the state economy could handle so much pressure in just 11 years.
But advocates of the measures say that the impact on the economy will be negligible, whether it's positive, or negative – it will have little influence in the state's strength in the nation. But the benefits for the environment will be overwhelming, they say. And two to three decades from now, the effects of the changes California makes today will be visible.
"[The 2006 law] provides a road map for the rest of the nation to follow," Schwarzenegger says, referring to the fact that the federal government still has no plan set in to reduce pollution. However, Barack Obama says that, as soon as he takes office, on January 20th, he will focus a large portion of the nation's resources to fighting global warming.
"We have laid out a plan which if followed can transform our economy and put us on the road to a healthier state," argues Mary Nichols, California board Chairman. The plan that the state seeks to get approval for asks for 33 percent of all electricity used by 2020 to come from renewable sources, like the sun and the wind. Also, the state will be the first to introduce a carbon cap-and-trade system that will allow polluters to purchase permits from small companies, which will in turn use the money to grow.