Nerds Deterimine Fate of California: CARB Accepts Report on Greenhouse Gas Emissions

This is an incredibly nerdy story, but one that will effect every single person in California and our environment. LAT:

But by unanimous vote, the California Air Resources Board adopted a number that will ultimately drive the operations and habits of every industry, business, farm, household and automobile in the Golden State.

The board's decision that 427 million metric tons of greenhouse gas were released over California in 1990 effectively launched a massive scientific and regulatory effort aimed at combating climate change that scientists say is threatening the planet.

As board Chairwoman Mary Nichols put it, "This was the crucial first step: Now California can lead the nation in the effort to slash greenhouse gases."

The CARB has been moving forward with all deliberate speed towards implementing AB 32. This was a major step, from which most other decisions will be made.

California's 2006 landmark global warming law, the first in the nation, requires that, 13 years from now, the state reduce its emissions of planet-heating carbon dioxide and other gases to 1990 levels.

But what were those levels? That's the question that scores of state, federal and industry economists and engineers finally determined after a year of feverish data-mining involving 13,000 separate calculations.

There was a massive amount of data that needed to be collected, analyzed and reported. Now that the CARB has accepted those numbers they can move forward on implementing regulations that will move California's greenhouse gas emission back in line with what it was in 1990, not an easy task.

Changing directions won't be easy: Greenhouse emissions have risen an estimated 13% since 1990. The air board figures that if nothing were done, emissions would rise to 600 million metric tons in 13 years. To reach 1990 levels by 2020, the state will have to slash emissions by 30% over projected levels.

And that's only the beginning: Globally, planet-heating gases will have to be cut 80% by mid-century, scientists say, to avoid the worst effects of climate change, including rising sea levels, melting snow caps and glaciers, spreading deserts, water shortages and species extinction.

It is a daunting task, but California is leading the rest of the country on environmental regulation and greenhouse gas emission reductions and that is done through the actions of the CARB.