Arnold Schwarzenegger is betting on green.
Probing the California initiative in unprecedented detail, NOVA conducts in-depth interviews with Governor Schwarzenegger, skeptics and supporters of the plan, and ordinary citizens and business people whose lives will change significantly when the new regulations take effect.
Known as AB 32 (Assembly Bill No. 32), the 2006 law mandates a statewide rollback of carbon dioxide emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, and a further 80 percent reduction by 2050—a goal also shared by President-elect Obama. If implemented in full, California’s effort will be one of the most ambitious to address global warming by any political entity in the world.
The sense of urgency is acute, because California is unusually susceptible to the effects of climate change, notably from drought, which has already resulted in devastating wildfires and chronic water shortages in large sections of the state. California’s major population centers are also threatened by rising sea level—another problem linked to increasing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
NOVA details the three-pronged approach that Governor Schwarzenegger is promoting, which calls for improvements in energy efficiency in homes and commercial buildings; increased reliance on renewable power sources, primarily solar and wind; and capping the amount of emissions that cars can emit.
See previews and find out more at pbs.org
By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.