Hard choices for governor: 2 new bills on warming

Sacramento — After cutting a deal with Democrats on historic legislation to cap greenhouse gas emissions in California, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger faces decisions this month on two other bills that could dramatically reduce pollution from the auto and energy industries — the state’s two largest contributors to global warming.

With much less fanfare than for the global warming bill, which Schwarzenegger is expected to sign next Wednesday, Democratic majorities in the state Senate and Assembly approved legislation that would require half of the cars sold in the state to run on alternative fuels by 2020 and another bill that would prohibit California utilities from buying electricity generated by high-polluting power plants in other states.

Lawmakers describe the bills as mandating specific changes that will be needed to meet the governor’s overall goal of reducing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by 25 percent by 2020. Opponents of the legislation say the bills are impractical, will cost Californians money and illustrate how profoundly the reductions could affect the economy.

“We are, it seems, in an era of great expectations for our energy and transportation fuels,” said Tupper Hull, a spokesman for the Western States Petroleum Association, which opposes both bills. “But any economist will tell you that when you try and distort market forces, you run into trouble — mainly higher prices.”

San Francisco Chronicle