Posted on 09/27/2006 10:54:58 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
SAN FRANCISCO
California will become the first state to impose a universal cap on greenhouse gas emissions Wednesday when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signs into law a sweeping effort to curb global warming.
In a signing ceremony scheduled for San Francisco's picturesque Treasure Island, the Republican governor and Democratic lawmakers will celebrate a bill that has given the state global notoriety for taking the lead on an issue largely ignored by the federal government.
"We are trying to bring other people in and inspire them and work with them," Schwarzenegger said Tuesday in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.
California's efforts on global warming have been in the spotlight since Schwarzenegger and the state's legislative Democrats reached an accord last month to cut greenhouse gases.
The negotiations culminated in the last week of the session, handing the Republican governor a key victory in an election year where he has sought to portray himself as a friend to the environment. He faces state treasurer Phil Angelides, the Democratic nominee who also has embraced the state emissions cap.
The law imposes a first-in-the-nation emissions cap on utilities, refineries and manufacturing plants in a bid to curb the gases that scientists blame for warming the Earth. Two years ago, a state board adopted tight regulations on automobile tailpipe emissions, an initiative that is being challenged in federal court by automakers.
State reports have predicted the effects of global warming could be severe for the state, leading to earlier melting of the Sierra snowpack and threats to the state's water supply. It also could lead to changes in the growing season in the nation's No. 1 agricultural producer, even jeopardizing the Napa Valley wine industry.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair will participate in the bill-signing ceremony via satellite. In August, he and Schwarzenegger reached an agreement for California and Great Britain to develop new technologies to combat global warming.
New York Gov. George Pataki will join Schwarzenegger at signing events in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Schwarzenegger also will sign a second Democrat-sponsored global warming bill with consequences beyond the state's borders. That bill will prohibit California's large utilities and corporations from entering long-term power contracts with suppliers whose electricity sources do not meet the state's greenhouse gas emission standards.
The measure is intended to force coal plants in the western U.S. to install cleaner technologies.
California's efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions from industry and automobiles are part of a goal to reduce the state's emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, an estimated 25 percent reduction. California is the world's 12th largest producer of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide that are trapping heat in the Earth's atmosphere.
Schwarzenegger issued an executive order in 2005 calling for an even more ambitious reduction cutting the levels of greenhouse gases to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.
In an interview Tuesday, Schwarzenegger described the law as one step in a long-term strategy by the nation's most populous state to combat global climate change. He said the state should further reduce industrial emissions and adopt initiatives such as placing greater emphasis on renewable energy and hydrogen-fueled cars.
The industrial emissions cap has been praised by environmentalists as a step toward fighting global climate change, but business leaders have warned that it will increase their costs and force them to scale back their California operations.
Industry officials say California lawmakers must ease other regulatory burdens to counter the higher costs they face with the tighter emissions standards.
An example could be eliminating the sales tax levied on new equipment, said Dorothy Rothrock, vice president of government relations for the California Manufacturers and Technology Association.
"If we do continue to discourage California manufacturing, emission will happen elsewhere without regulation, and we will not have achieved our goal of reducing emissions," she said.
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But no new nukes, no offshore drilling.. Oh well.
Okay, what is this, like the 30th article posted on Arnold and the warming thing. Enough, please. Thanks.
this is backdoor Kyoto - and my take on it now, is that its likely to succeed. once enough of the highly populated states enact these kinds of provisions (and many will), it will become the de-facto regulation for many things - especially affecting the auto industry.
--I do sincerely hope that power producers simply refuse to sell power to Commiefornia--
I can remember when there was so much support for Arnie here at FR that several here wanted the born in the US requirement dropped so he could run for president.
What was a good law yesterday is still a good law today.
Brownouts for Everyone!!!! This is going to be REAL popular next summer when temperatures are over 100.
Wasting his time on this crap when he could be out helping our Republcian Senate nominee Dick Mountjoy.
Whenever he doesn't tell people to vote for Mountjoy he's helping Feinstein. No two ways about it.
Not even the Dalai Lama could help Mountjoy , at least he got Maria to eat something yesterday ... meanwhile the Gub's lead grows in the polls, but he still won't say Yes to Dick!
I guess it doesn't matter that morons are in charge in California. This state is pretty much ungovernable.
Sorry about that, but it ain't likely to happen. lol
This is a California home based site, yaknow. A few here take mighty exception seeing it decimated by a Trojan Horse with an R emblazoned on his halter..
I would recommend taking a long walk as the day will be full of lots of the Gub's gaseous emissions... I too will be glad when this election cycle is in the can.. :-}
Good. This will make Illinois more attractive to business.
http://cbs5.com/
LIVE NOW: Gov. Schwarzenegger Signs Global Warming Bill Into Law
Top of the page,, Click Live Web Cast to see the event.
Pataki is now speaking.
6000+ words of common sense and debunking:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1708709/posts
Senator James Inhofe
SENATE FLOOR SPEECH DELIVERED MONDAY SEPTEMBER 25, 2006
I am going to speak today about the most media-hyped environmental issue of all time, global warming. ...
Global Warming -- just that term evokes many members in this chamber, the media, Hollywood elites and our pop culture to nod their heads and fret about an impending climate disaster.
Tom Brown, local head of Environmental Defense now speaking on behalf of ED and the NRDC.. and thanking those who have helped bring about this historic legislation.
Illinois? what makes you think Illinois isn't going to do the same thing? states like NY, NJ, the whole northeast - are going to do the same thing. Illinois is hardly a conservative state, they will do the same thing CA has done. and other states are going to be in that pool also.
Tom King PG&E - PG&E shares commitment to the legislation, blah blah blah.
Pataki being there shows just that, Tom Brown mentioned the Northeastern compact of pollution fighting states, makes sense that Pataki show up ,,
folks have been warned... we'll see what happens when the sky falls and who they blame then
Succeed at what? Chasing all manufacturing businesses out of California? Making every commodity more costly causing more poverty and less productivity in the U.S.? Increasing business for China? Achieving the Marxian vision?
aRnold about to sign the bill and create some action
what?
No Maria by his side or Susan Kennedy or the Dalai Lama?
absolutely right.
that's why I post to some of the folks here who say "let CA go to h*ll". its going to affect far more then CA, many other states will pass this, and when enough states with enough total population do pass this - many of these regulations will become de-facto national standards. Sure, there will be plenty of "non kyoto" states where businesses can relocate their plants to. But the effect on automobiles will be nationwide, the same way CA tailpipe emissions have gone nationwide in the form of "50 state" cars.
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