State renews 'climate battle'

.
California's next great experiment [in fleecing the public] starts today.

The state Air Resources Board will outline this morning a plan to slash greenhouse gas emissions 30 percent by 2020 and prepare the state for much deeper cuts in the years beyond.

The bottom line for consumers, according to the agency's analysis: Electricity and fuel prices will rise.

The cuts to climate-warming emissions are required under Assembly Bill 32, a state law passed in 2006 that committed California to the nation's most aggressive global warming strategy.

Industry groups say the plan will dramatically drive up the cost of doing business. [snip]

To get the last 20 percent of the emissions cuts, the board has called for the creation of a market that would put a price on the right to produce greenhouse gases.

The "cap and trade" system, set to begin in 2012, would allow firms to buy and sell emissions permits. The state would control the volume of permits available, and ratchet down the supply over time.

Industry groups argue the permits amount to a heavy tax that will hurt businesses and increase prices for consumers.

[the scam begins. What could we possibly do between now and 2012 - 4 years - to forestall this scam? We could elect non-Democrats...]

READ MORE