Friday, October 29, 2010
Once again California has to take the lead
Because Congress is so fucking unreliable. The latest action by a California state board should be good for the rest of the country because the winds generally move from west to east.
The California Air Resources Board today will unveil new rules and regulations for a cap-and-trade program. It will set a ceiling on the amount of carbon that refiners, power companies and major manufacturers can emit each year.This is why the only honest supporters of California's Prop 23 have been major corporate polluters in the state. They don't want to buy the cow after getting the milk for free all these years.
While details of the regulations aren't yet available, ARB officials have already indicated that they plan to take a pro-business approach. They will initially give companies pollution allowances for free, rather than selling them at auction.
"Because of the state of the economy, to go to a large auction quickly just isn't realistic," ARB Chairwoman Mary Nichols said in a legislative hearing earlier this month.
The cap-and-trade program essentially places a cap on the amount of carbon emitted by the state's 500 largest polluters. Companies that pollute less then their limit – to be set by the state – can sell their unused allowances to companies that pollute heavily, creating market incentives for the companies to reduce emissions voluntarily.
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