Mayors support emissions bill

Municipal leaders from across the state converged on Sacramento last week to encourage passage of new laws to curb global warming.

A dozen mayors and locallyelected officials, including Westlake Village Mayor Susan McSweeney, visited with Assembly Speaker Fabian Nñez and Assemblymember Fran Pavley of Agoura Hills in a show of support for Assembly Bill 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act.

AB 32 sets limits on greenhouse gas emissions.The bill soon faces a vote in the Senate.

"As mayors, we have been doing everything we can to save our cities' precious resources by using energy more efficiently, investing in clean transportation options and improving the quality of our homes and office buildings," said Heather Fargo, mayor of Sacramento. "But there are practical limits as to what cities can accomplish on our own."

The mayors said their cities would feel the heat, literally and figuratively, as global warming gets worse. For example, the health crisis stemming from this summer's heat wave, which took the lives of more than 130 people in California, fell on the shoulders of local police, health and fire officials.

Scientists said more heat waves are coming, resulting in increased incidents of heat stress and heat mortality. Global warming is caused by the spike in greenhouse gas emissions.

"My bill. . .will direct the California Air Resources Board to establish a program that will require the reporting of statewide greenhouse gas emissions, and use that as a baseline to put a limit or cap on those who contribute emissions in order to begin to reduce their emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2020," Pavley said.

The United States has 5 percent of the world's population, but produces more than 25 percent of the world's greenhouse gases. Opposition to the bill is coming from the oil industry and other manufacturing interests.