More electric cars, more solar power expected as state struggles to reach tough new climate standards
By Paul Rogers
California is already a world leader in developing environmental policies that address climate change.
But under a landmark bill sent to Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday requiring far steeper reductions in greenhouse gas emissions than anything the state has ever attempted, the next 15 years will likely see big changes for California residents.
Among the possibilities, experts say:
Rules requiring automakers to make hundreds of thousands of electric cars.
Penalties for people who buy gasoline-powered vehicles 
. New tax credits and incentives for solar farms and wind power. Tighter building-efficiency standards on windows, heating and water systems in homes and businesses.
Labels at the supermarket showing each product's carbon footprint . Hydrogen-powered trucks. Landfills that are required to capture natural gas and use it to heat homes. A big push for batteries to store energy at homes.
Even with all those changes, however, the new targets will be difficult to reach.
"This is going to be damn hard," said Jim Sweeney, director of the Precourt Energy Efficiency Center at Stanford University. "It's a herculean task."
The task is spelled out in Senate Bill 32, which lawmakers passed after more than a year of debate. Under the measure,
California is required to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030, despite population and economic growth.There are key existing laws already in place that will help. For example, Brown signed a law last year
requiring that the state's utilities produce 50 percent of their electricity from solar, wind and other renewable sources by 2030. And in 2009,
President Barack Obama required automakers to double gas mileage standards nationwide from an average of 27 miles per gallon to 54 by 2025.http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_30298296/more-electric-cars-more-solar-power-expected-stateWhy does the government need to regulate all these things. What nonsense!
