By snoadmin
Effective Jan. 1, 2013, a cap and trade program will be implemented, affecting the Cal State University and University of California, and forcing the systems to pay the price for high levels of carbon emissions.
These facilities will be charged a fee for emitting greenhouse gases.
Either go green or pay the green. Cap and trade is a solution projected to reduce California’s carbon emissions by a substantial amount.
The Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, also known as Assembly Bill 32, mandates the state reduce the level of carbon emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2020.
University of California, Los Angeles is projected to pay the most – up to $8.4 million.
The rate of carbon credits is predicted to range from $10 to $40 each.
The resulting fee for both university systems could be as much as $28 million a year.
But this can, and will rise.
The legislation, once in place, will have no limit on how much tax credits would cost at a given time.
The choice to reduce carbon emissions is essentially optional.
Businesses with the money can continue to emit as much greenhouse gases as they want, as long as they buy the appropriate amount of credits. Only when a business can’t afford to will it be forced to change its behavior. Businesses without the extra cash or capability of lowering emissions will have to face the consequences.
We can only hope the fee is too much for big business to ignore. Small businesses have no choice.
As for us students in the CSU and UC systems, we will pay the price. The $28 million in potential fees is just another expense to tack onto our budget and our campuses will be affected regardless of how far our efforts go to lower emissions.
Long Beach has taken several steps to lower our carbon footprint already. Not only is the city becoming more and more bike-friendly, it has taken action in improving public transportation.
Many buses are now hybrids and routes have been extended to accommodate more public transporters.
All plastic bags have been banned from grocery stores in Long Beach and paper bag alternatives cost 10 cents each. This encourages shoppers to use reusable bags instead of disposable bags.
Cal State Long Beach has incorporated water fountains on campus specifically to refill water bottles and canteens, which lowers the amount of plastic bottles.
These improvements were made by the city of Long Beach and CSULB, before the threat of a fee.
The steps taken towards a greener city should be rewarded rather than taxed. With dismal state support, this bill will continue to suck us dry of every last penny.
