California Adopts Tough Climate Plan Despite Economic Downturn
Solar panels have been built by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) surrounding the Rancho Seco nuclear power station near Sacramento, California. Local voters in 1989 elected to close the nuclear plant as it was similar to the ill fated Three Mile Island power plant in Pennsylvania.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - California on Thursday adopted the nation’s most sweeping plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions, issuing rules that could transform everything from the way factories operate to the appliances people buy and the fuel they put in their cars.
The Air Resources Board unanimously approved the plan despite warnings it will put costly new burdens on businesses at a time when the economy is in extreme crisis, with California forecasting a staggering budget gap of $41.8 billion through mid-2010.
Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he believes the regulations will spur the state’s economy and serve as a model for the rest of the country.
