California's Heavyweight Bout Against Global Warming.

Dan Weintraub lays out just how perilous the road ahead is for regualtors charged with meeting the greenhouse gas emissions mandate. Most of the heavy lifting will be on the Air Resources Board, and the size and scope of the problem is staggering.

According to Weintraub:

What will it take to achieve the benchmark? Consider that California could take every one of its 14 million passenger cars off the road, and still be less than halfway toward its goal. Shutting down 100 state-of-the-art, natural-gas-fired power plants still wouldn't get us there. Closing the entire cement industry, although it is a major source of greenhouse gases, wouldn't finish the job.

CARB is set to come out next summer with its recommendations for first steps--what Weintraub calls "lowing hanging fruit". What comes after that is anybody's guess.

Air board will do the real work on global warming. [Sacramento Bee]