Congress Hears CA Leadership on Global Warming

State Senate president pro tem Don Perata (D-Oakland) and Assembly speaker Fabian Núñez (D-Los Angeles) told the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee that the federal government should follow California's lead in attempting to curb global warming and also should not stand in its way. In addition, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger chimed in via a letter to committee chair Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) that bipartisan action on global warming is imperative. The packed March 1 U.S. Senate hearing still had a few political holdouts. "I believe California's programs will fail," said Senator James Inhofe (R-OK). He warned of dire economic consequences if the nation curbs greenhouse gases. California's plans, however, got support from most senators. "When people say we can't do it - California is doing it," said Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY). She and others called for a major national effort along the lines of the Manhattan Project or the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Schwarzenegger urged Boxer to "continue to develop market-based approaches to reducing carbon emissions." He asked "Congress to develop a national market-based cap and trade program that helps solve this growing threat to our planet and builds a forward-looking economic sector for our nation. This approach harnesses the power of the marketplace by giving financial value to carbon allowances and creating a financial incentive for emissions reductions." Perata suggested that while the federal government continues to fiddle as the globe heats up, California is using the time to develop fixes for climate change. "When India and China decide they're not going to choke on their air, we will clean it up for them," he said.

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Congress Hears CA Leadership on Global Warming

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