by Robert in Monterey [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Calitics points out that in the grand scheme of things, AB32 may only be a symbolic gesture,given that the airline industry’s carbon emissions alone could hit 1.5billion tons a year by 2025. AB32 is an accomplishment, but should onlybe considered the very beginning.

State senator Jack Scott will serve as the next chancellor of the California community college system,reports the LA Times. Scott, who is chairman of the Senate EducationCommittee, will be termed out of office at the end of this year.

The last thing California needs is teachers abandoning the state—butwhat else can you expect from mass layoffs? According to the LA Times, school districts in other states have been aggressively courting teachers in California. What with 1/3 of the teaching force due to retire in the next decade, the state is facing the specter of a major shortage.

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Three and a half weeks in advance of Super Tuesday, Hillary Clinton made her first trip to California yesterday,greeting union workers and Latino voters in LA, reports the LA Times.Among other California politicians, she met with LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa andAssembly Speaker Fabian Nunez. (You can play spot-the-politician in the picture above.) She will next head on to Nevada, whichholds its caucuses on January 19.

Senator Barbara Boxer is heavily criticizing the EPA’s refusal to grant California a waiverto limit carbon emissions from vehicles, reports the LA Times. She hasthreatened to issue a subpoena for documents showing White Houseinterference in the EPA’s decision, which the EPA justified by callingglobal warming an international problem which needed to be dealt withat the national level, rather than state by state.

by Julia Rosen [courtesy of Working Californians blogs]

Dan Weintraub is skeptical that we can continue to grow our economy under the greenhouse gas regulations resulting from the passage of AB32. He is afraid that increased costs on businesses will drive them out of the state. Fortunately for us all there is somebody who is tracking the reduction of greenhouse gases in conjunction with economic growth. SacBee:

A key measure that sums up the entire challenge is one that compares carbon emissions per million people to the state's economic output.

Ideally, the two lines would move in opposite directions.

"We want the economy to grow while we want emissions to decline," said Doug Henton, an economist and Next 10 adviser. "That's it in a nutshell."

Interestingly, that's also pretty much what has been happening over the past decade – even without the state's intervention. California has been using less carbon per person while its economy has been growing.

read more »

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

A federal judge has ruled that the state of Vermont has a right to enact legislation requiring stricter auto emissions standardsthan the national standards, thus giving a boost to California’sefforts to do the same as it implements its anti-global warming bill,reports the LA Times. This is the latest carbon emissions ruling infavor of reducing emissions (the last one was when the Supreme Courtruled that the EPA could indeed regulate carbon emissions), so here’shoping that California wins its own case in federal court.

The Contra Costa Times articulates the obvious: it hasn’t been the most productive year for the California legislature.Some hopes rest on the special session Governor Schwarzenegger hascalled to address health care reform, and water storage and floodprotection legislation, but the Times says don’t count on it.

The Sac Bee also reports on the perception of the ineffectiveness of the legislative session that ended yesterday. Legislative bingo sounds like fun though.

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Governor Schwarzenegger has vetoed legislation that would provide unfettered media access to the state’s prisons, thus joining the ranks of former governors, including Gray Davis andPete Wilson, who also vetoed similar bills. According to the SF Chron,State Senator Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles), the sponsor of the bill,believes that it would improve the transparency of the state prisonsystem, while the Governor believes it would “glamorize murderers” and“traumatize crime victims and their families.” On the other hand,there's nothing glamorous about the condition of our prisons, either.

Acommittee commissioned by the Governor to come up with a proposal toimplement the reduction in carbon emissions mandated by AB 32 has endorsed setting up a carbon cap-and-trade systemfor the state of California, according to the Torrance Daily Breeze.Air Resources Board Chairwoman Mary Nichols supports setting up amarket for carbon credits, but many Democrats and environmentalists arerightly insisting that strong regulations be put in place first. TheSan Jose Merc outlines the report’s specific recommendations here.

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Catherine Witherspoon, a former executive officer of theCalifornia Air Resources Board, has testified before the Assembly that thegovernor’s office placed undue pressure on the board to curtail its efforts tolower carbon emissions . Members of the Assembly, including Loni Hancock, thechair of the Natural Resources Committee, are now considering reforming the wayCARB officials are appointed and rules about term limits. The blatantdisrespect the governor’s administration is displaying towards those chargedwith implementing a bill he himself endorsed certainly deserves no less of aresponse. The California Progress Report provides some more reportage and in depth insight intothe hearing.

In any case, Britain has taken note of California'spioneering role in fighting climate change in the US, with the BBC praising thescope of AB 32 and its domino effect across the country. Interestingly enough,however, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, is quoted as being the speaker ofCalifornia's state "parliament." Would that we had one.