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Western Climate Initiative

With a federal climate change bill apparently dead, it seems logical that more progressive pockets of the continent can pursue their own regional climate change strategies. The Western Climate Initiative is doing just that. On Tuesday, California, New Mexico, and three Canadian provinces announced a plan to commence a regional cap and trade system by 2012.

According to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the plan "will be the most comprehensive carbon-reduction strategy adopted anywhere in the world." No doubt it will be fought by conservative voting blocks as well as the Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman.

Even if the nation as a whole is apparently incapable of addressing climate change, it's good to see that some regional leaders get it and are making moves to tackle the biggest issue facing humankind today.

– Mitchell Flexo

(Via Greenspace, LA Times)

Photo: A solar demonstration plant in Lancaster, California. (Brian Vander Brug/LA Times)

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