Just when Southern California motorists were expecting to see some relief from high gasoline prices in the next few weeks, they now may have to wait well into next winter — at least..
Half of the 16 U.S. metro areas where the economy grew at a 6% rate or better last year were in Texas, led by the energy-rich Midland region’s 24.1% advance in gross domestic product, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. . . Among the metro areas with the 25 largest economies, Dallas was the leader, followed by San Jose, Calif., up 6.7% and San Francisco, up 5.2%.
Federal data indicates Californians paid $171 billion in higher costs for power over the last 20 years, compared to the national average. For perspective, this works out to roughly $12,300 per household, but bear in mind the total includes residential, industrial, commercial and government usage.
In coming years, the new legislation means California’s homes and buildings are expected to use dramatically less electricity and the power grid will increase its share of renewable energy. Brown also hopes to achieve much of what the Legislature rejected through executive orders and regulations. That will mean more electric cars on the road and increased use of biofuels, as part of a far-reaching effort to slash greenhouse gas emissions.
As ExxonMobil works to increase production at its explosion-damaged Torrance refinery and ease stubbornly high local gas prices, some residents of the South Bay city told their City Council this week that they want the refinery to address safety issues, the Daily Breeze reports. Meanwhile, air-quality regulators have once again postponed a hearing over whether the refinery should be allowed to ramp up fuel productions using outdated pollution controls in place of updated equipment damaged in the refinery explosion in February.
In coming years, the new legislation means California’s homes and buildings are expected to use dramatically less electricity and the power grid will increase its share of renewable energy. Brown also hopes to achieve much of what the Legislature rejected through executive orders and regulations. That will mean more electric cars on the road and increased use of biofuels, as part of a far-reaching effort to slash greenhouse gas emissions.
One irony is that wildfires diminish the impact of California’s anti-carbon policies. In 2007 environmental scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the University of Colorado at Boulder found that “a severe fire season lasting only one or two months can release as much carbon as the annual emissions from the entire transportation or energy sector of an individual state.” NCAR’s Christine Wiedinmyer estimated that southern California fires that burned for one week produced as much carbon dioxide as a quarter of the state’s monthly fossil-fuel emissions.
An article in the upcoming issue of the Business Journal says that Californians have paid nearly $3 billion extra for gasoline since an explosion in February nearly shut down the Exxon Mobil refinery in Torrance, causing prices to jump at the pump. But the plant’s plan to reopen may finally be approved by regulators next week, the Los Angeles Times reports, which could help lower gas prices in a matter of weeks. Exxon Mobil has wanted to temporarily use old air-pollution control equipment so it can increase production but regulators have balked at that proposal for months. In the meantime, the additional cost of gas has taken an average of $75 from every man, woman and child in the state.
In votes whose broad margins belied the intense struggle that came before, lawmakers approved what remained of Senate Bill 350 after the bill was stripped of a proposal to require a 50 percent reduction in petroleum use in motor vehicles by 2030.
The environmental lobby has tried to turn climate change into a social justice issue even though its anticarbon policies disproportionately harm the poor. Honest Democrats are starting to admit this, as we saw in this week’s stunning revolt in the California legislature.
During the recession, the share of Americans with disabilities dropping out of the labor force increased. The same occurred with people younger than 65 who chose to retire. But the retiree figure returned to historical norms when the economy improved, while the figure for workers with disabilities continued to rise.
“We might get another bill next year, we might just keep doing it by regulation,” Brown said. “California is not going to miss a beat. Be very clear about that. We don’t have a declaration in statute, but we have absolutely the same authority. We’re going forward. The only thing different is my zeal has been intensified to a maximum degree.”
California typically has gasoline prices higher than the rest of the nation but the gap has been wider than usual, particularly in Southern California, because of troubles with refineries, according to some analysts.
The most controversial part of the bill is a provision requiring the state to reduce petroleum use in motor vehicles by 50 percent by 2030. And depending on your point of view, the stakes are these: On one side, the Pope (see Courage Campaign ad here); on the other, enslavement to a Tesla-loving, freedom-hating California Air Resources Board.
Goods movement, energy, manufacturing and construction provide good-paying blue-collar jobs, and collectively employed 20.5 percent of Californians in 2014, according to the California Employment Development Department. However, because of their emissions, these industries are also among those most affected by climate policies. Losing them and the jobs they create would simply add to the challenges already facing too many Californians.