In responding to the threat of climate change, California has been far ahead of the federal government. It's an exciting and worrisome place to be.
Exciting, because California has rightly acknowledged the threat that global warming poses to its future and to that of all countries.
Worrisome, because if California were to go it alone in cutting greenhouse gases and transitioning to a cleaner economy, other states and nations might continue with business as usual, overwhelming any progress here.
Yet as the Nov. 4 election has demonstrated, California will not need to go it alone. In speaking by video to a conference in Los Angeles last week, President-elect Barack Obama repeated his vow to seek federal legislation that would cut greenhouse gas emissions nationwide to 1990 levels by 2020, with an additional 80 percent cut by 2050.
He also promised "a new era of global cooperation on climate change" – in other words, an international treaty that President George W. Bush has spurned.
It was revealing that Obama chose a bipartisan summit in Los Angeles, convened by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and four other governors, to make his second major policy address since the election. Clearly, the sun is rising over California's influence on climate policy.
One sign of California's clout is the ascension of U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman of Los Angeles to head the House Energy and Commerce Committee. On a 137-122 vote in his Democratic caucus last week, Waxman unseated John Dingell of Michigan to head this powerful panel, which has authority over major bills involving energy, health care and climate policy.
Unlike Dingell, who has long been aligned with the Detroit auto industry, Waxman supports stringent laws to cap greenhouse gases and improve the fuel efficiency of trucks and cars. Had Dingell retained his chairmanship, it would have complicated Obama's efforts to pass strong environmental legislation and retool the auto industry for the challenges ahead.
Waxman's new post means that he and California Sen. Barbara Boxer, who heads the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, will play pivotal roles on future climate legislation. And by the time Obama finishes making all his appointments, Waxman and Boxer could have several California connections within the new administration.
Last week, Obama's transition office announced its intent to name one of Waxman's aides, Philip Schiliro, as the White House director of congressional relations.
Mary Nichols, who heads the California Air Resources Board and is charged with implementing the state's main climate law, Assembly Bill 32, has been mentioned as a possible candidate to serve as Obama's EPA secretary. Other Californians are being considered for posts at the energy and interior departments.
While some analysts continue to dismiss California's climate policies as acts of symbolism, the actions of the president-elect indicate otherwise. These policies are being closely studied by other states and countries, and they could well become a template for the new president and his environmental advisers.
At the very least, Obama and his transition team seem highly interested in California's trailblazing efforts, and in the trailblazers who have put the state on the map.
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