Isn’t there something a little counterintuitive about tapping into recycling money to help pay for global warming programs in California? But that’s exactly what Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to do. The governor has been touting his massive global warming bill for the last year, suggesting this legislation will make California the bellwether of green policy. But alas, he has yet to find the money to fund these megaprograms, which include expanding solar rooftops across the state. And like any good Republican, Schwarzenegger doesn’t want to impose fees on carbon emitters to help pay for some of these programs. The best option is to use the state’s leftover recycling dollars to help kick-start the A.B. 32 programs, said Stanley Young, spokesman for the California Air Resources Board. The recycling fund is used to pay back consumers who recycle bottles and cans. “Once we develop a fee structure we would pay that money back,” Young said. State recycling officials say there’s usually a balance in the recycling fund every year (that’s because not everyone is recycling their cans and bottles). That leftover money is earmarked for various recycling programs and other incentives to encourage people to recycle, said Mark Oldfield, recycling specialist with the California Department of Conservation. So to what extent would the governor’s plan to take from recycling dollars? “That is what is still being discussed; I don’t have the answer to the question,” Oldfield said. It wouldn’t be the first time a governor has tapped into recycling funds. In 2003, Gov. Gray Davis borrowed from recycling to balance the state’s budget. That loan has yet to be repaid.
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A. “There has been a very slight cooling, but not anything really significant.” So the buildup of heat on Earth may be on a brief hiatus. “Global warming doesn’t mean every year will be warmer than the last. And it may be that we are in a period of less rapid warming.”
B. “Tonight’s forecast: Dark. Continued dark throughout most of the evening, with some widely-scattered light towards morning.”
Which of the above is George Carlin and which one is the global warming scientist?
Concerning recycling, I just love how SJ Water company is always putting out a message of “Conserve Water” as a precious resource but they care nothing about the trees that they print all their bills on. Most companies like PG&E, Comcast, ATT, etc. off customers to pay online with a credit card. This feature is only offered through SJWC is you drive into an office and pay in person. Come on SJWC, if you’re going to care about natural resources, just make the paperless conversion and start helping the environment. Get the message right! PGE has done an excellent job in this regard.
Another Taxpayers Scam where voters were promised the money would be used for 1 thing and not Governor Legislature uses for something different
And they wonder or don’t care what we think about their lack of truthfulness or why we vote down all new taxes
VOTE NO ON ALL NEW TAXES
As fate would have it, I was changing out a CFL in the bathroom when it dropped and busted.
Needless to say my dog and I are in the hospital recovering from mercury poisoning. (Good thing the hospital has WiFi!)
But the health of me and my dog is not the issue.
Does anyone here know where I can buy mercury pollution offsets?
#4 you may want to check out CA Climate Action Registry http://www.climateregistry.org/
or PG&E’s Climate Smart Program
Sorry to hear about you and the dog….
Good luck!
Read the fine print in those offsets.
The one big source I know of is refrigerant recycling. CFCs and HCFCs are potent greenhouse gasses. When someone recycles a refrigerator, they get credits for capturing the freon or HCFC.
Two problems. 1- Freon is valuable. You don’t need offsets to make people recycle it. It’s like a special credit for recycling gold.
2- It’s not a real reduction. No one buys credits when they put coolant into new refrigerators. I could generate limitless “offset credits” by bleeding coolant from old refrigerators, putting it in new refrigerators, and then repeating the process.
It makes Sergei and Larry feel better about their party jet, but it doesn’t help reduce global warming one bit.
It makes Sergei and Larry feel better about their party jet, but it doesn’t help reduce global warming one bit.
Party jet is correct. And NASA lets them, and other Google aircraft owners, use Moffett under the pretext of using the party jet for research.
If more of you people would stop complaining about others and get started installing CFL bulbs the world would be a better place.
Think globally and act locally. (regardless of whether you end up in the hospital with mercury poisoning)
And give Sergey and Larry a break.
Sure they may have a big jet and all, but I bet they talk to Al Gore at least once a week.
I don’t know about the rest of you but knowing that Al and Sergey and Larry are in charge of saving the planet makes it easier for me to sleep at night … well at least when I get off this respirator it’ll be easier to sleep at night.