Will wonders never cease?
Oil companies warm to law on emissions
SACRAMENTO—Oil companies on Thursday embraced Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s new executive order to fight global warming by boosting the consumption of alternative fuels and cutting carbon emissions from car and truck exhausts by 10% over the next 13 years.
So now oil companies are applauding a plan to reduce carbon emissions—and cynic that I am, that makes me wonder whether there’s something wrong with Schwarzenegger’s plan.
But perhaps, it’s just that oil companies think that this is the best deal they’re going to get in California—and if they oppose this, something far more draconian and inflexible (or, perhaps, more effective) is coming down the pike.
Cynicism aside, it’s a bit bewildering to realize how different the political climate is in California than in Oregon and Washington. In California, a Republican governor is proposing major reductions in gas and diesel emissions—and the oil companies line up behind it. But to the north, Democratic governors are still treating the climate like a political hot potato: too hot to touch, except with a few token gestures.
C’mon, guys. We’re getting left in the dust—and by the Governator, no less.
