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Calif. unveils major plan to slash emissions
State aims to reduce pollutants by 10 percent by 2020
6/26/2008
(Excerpted from a Reuters newswire piece.)
LOS ANGELES - California on Thursday took a major step forward on its global warming fight by unveiling an ambitious plan for clean cars, renewable energy and stringent caps on big polluting industries.
The plan, which aims to reduce pollutants by 10 percent from current levels by 2020 while driving investment in energy technologies regulators said will benefit the state's economy, is the most comprehensive yet by any U.S. state.
CARB said the measures will benefit residents of the most populous U.S. state by reducing pollution-related illnesses including as asthma and bronchitis and stimulating investment in new energy technologies that will create jobs.
But not everyone was as confident.
California Assemblyman Chuck DeVore said the high price of renewable energy sources would pressure Californians' wallets and drive manufacturing industries out of the state.
"All the studies suggest that nuclear has the lowest emissions, and you also get energy that would be affordable to working-class Californians," he said.
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