[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By John Geesman
Green Energy War

Wading into one of the most self-regarding political cultures on the planet, Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, last week injected a small bit of perspective into California’s celebration of the release of the “Draft Scoping Plan” for implementation of its heralded “Global Climate Solutions Act.”

“It would be nice if California, one of the largest economies in the world, cut greenhouse gas emissions to 5% below 1990 levels,” he told a Sacramento gathering, “it would send a strong message to the rest of the US.” The Kyoto Protocol calls for industrialized countries to reduce their emissions by an average 5.2% below 1990 levels in the 2008 - 2012 period. The assembled Californians remain focused on the political battles still to be fought to achieve the Global Warming Solutions Act’s target of bringing emissions down to 1990 levels by 2020.

by David Dayen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

Building on Bob's report about the San Francisco Clean Energy Act, the California Air Resources Board has released its draft blueprint designed to fall in line with the mandate of AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act, by cutting emissions 30% by 2020.  

The 75+ page plan includes a range of policy recommendations.  Chief among them is increasing the state's renewable electricity standard.  The plan also contains provisions for a regional cap-and-trade program that could work in harmony with other more specific policies to reduce pollution economywide.  The plan also says CARB will consider a vehicle "feebate" program that would provide incentives to consumers to buy cleaner cars.

In addition, the proposal includes plans to reduce emissions from heavy-duty trucks with hybrid engine technology and better fuel economy.  Like many of CARB's proposals, the heavy-duty truck provisions would improve public health by also reducing smog-forming pollution.  The plan also advocates for a high-speed train system in California.

Jim Downing at the SacBee has more here.  Analysis on the flip:

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Frank D. Russo

A poll released earlier this week shows 91% of Democrats, 85% of independents, and 61% of Republicans support strong state action to implement a reduction in greenhouse gases as required by the landmark bill passed by the legislature in 2006 and signed by Governor Schwarzenegger. The clear findings of this poll show that likely California voters not only support this action, but that they feel reducing global warming is very important to the future of the state, and that candidates and legislators who oppose action may not fare too well with the voters this fall.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

Beats Assemblymember Lloyd Levine by Two-to-One

By Frank D. Russo

Fran Pavley, (pictured at right) served three terms in the California State Assembly before having to leave because of term limits, has decisively won the Democratic primary and will be returning to the State Senate to succeed Sheila Kuehl in representing the parts of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, including the San Fernando Valley and Beverly Hills, West Hollywood and the Westside of Los Angeles.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Colleen Flannery
Outreach Coordinator
Sierra Club California

Remember last year’s budget debacle?

California’s legislative Republicans held up the budget for more than a month as they tried to roll back environmental protections – and as everyday Californians rolled their eyes at the lack of leadership they showed.

Now, they’re at it again. They’ve already said they plan to postpone implementation of California’s Global Warming Solutions Act, roll back diesel pollution reductions and undermine the 8-hour work day. These proposals probably will become a big part of the negotiations surrounding California’s 2008-2009 budget.

So this year, Sierra Club California and its environmental, health and labor allies have taken an early, unified stand against the efforts to undermine our environmental and worker protections.

California needs solid proposals to close a budgetary gap that’s yawned to more than $15 billion.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Bill Magavern
Director
Sierra Club California

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposed budget once again reminds us that sustainability has many meanings.

In his May Revise, the governor proposed several one-time fixes, including borrowing money from the Public Transit Fund.

That brand of unsustainable borrowing could keep Californians from enjoying safe, clean public transportation. Increasing public transit ridership improves air quality – and lowers commuters’ gas costs.

The May Revise offers no sustainable source of funding for AB 32, California’s Global Warming Solutions Act. True solutions to our state’s global warming emissions will emerge when polluters pay for the cost of cleaning up the emissions they create.

We’d also like to see the Resources Agency gain a more permanent source of funding, since it’s one of the first agencies to suffer the pinch of budget cuts.

Many bright ideas shine through the smog of today’s tight fiscal times. For example, the governor’s revised budget provides $50 million to help low-income truckers meet state diesel standards early. And our state parks will stay open, following tremendous pressure from outdoors-loving Californians.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Traci Sheehan
Executive Director
Planning and Conservation League

Last Thursday, the Planning and Conservation League's Tina Andolina, along with representatives from the American Planning Association, the California Center for Environmental Law & Policy, and the California Farm Bureau Federation, testified at the State Capitol on the environmental, water, and land use implications of Propositions 98 and 99, two competing measures that will appear on the June 3rd ballot.

Both of these measures claim to reform eminent domain law by limiting the ability of local jurisdictions to take private property simply to give it to a private developer. However, as Andolina explained to legislators and journalists, that's where the similarities end.