Russ Steele
Since the Governor signed AB-32, Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 on September 27, 2006, the California Air Resource Board has been implementing regulations to control CO2 in California. AB-32 was designed to bring California into near compliance with the provisions of the Kyoto Protocol as possible. In signing the bill, Schwarzenegger declared, "We simply must do everything we can in power to slow down global warming before it is too late... The global warming debate is over."
Spain adopted a similar initiative to bring the county into compliance with the Kyoto Protocol in 1997. A 2005 study projected Spain participation in the Kyoto Protocol would force Spanish companies to pay more than 42% more for natural gas and 24% more for electricity than under the baseline projection. Spain now has the highest unemployment in the eurozone, with 17.4 % in the first quarter of 2009. In the last quarter of 2008 it was 13.9%. The Spanish government expects it to peak at 15.9%, but the European Union says it could go as high as 19%.
Half of the cities in the United States with 15 percent-plus jobless rates last month are in California. El Centro was at the top of the list with a 26.8 percent unemployment rate. Yuba City had the second-highest jobless rate at 17.7 percent, while Merced, Modesto, Fresno, Redding and Stockton also endured 15 percent-plus jobless rates, according to a recent federal report. On the other hand the capital region is faring better than many other metropolitan areas with only a 11.1 unemployment rate. Government hiring?
President Obama held Spain up as an example of how the United States should go green. California is the greenest state in the nation, becoming the model for other states to follow. The question is, will California unemployment rate follow Spain into the green swamp? Stay Tuned.
