By the end of the week, California lawmakers will decide the fate of a sweeping measure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the subject of intense lobbying on both sides and a priority of Gov. Jerry Brown.
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.
In a barrage of advertising, oil companies have focused criticism on the broad authority that Senate Bill 350 would give the ARB to implement petroleum reductions. The legislation does not detail what the ARB will do. But to hear the oil companies tell it, the most likely scenario is that the ARB will siphon gas from your tank while making you and your five kids – at least one of whom is in diapers – push your minivan home.
