California can't stop global warming on its own. Its environmental regulations won't save the whole world, and its energy policies won't wean the nation off fossil fuels
What it can do is set an example, and it has approved radical laws and programs to achieve that — such as a renewable portfolio standard that sets a course for the state to get 33% of its power from renewable sources by 2020, a cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gases and a law that restricts the use of ocean water for cooling coastal power plants to protect marine life. If these policies succeed, they will demonstrate to other states and the federal government that it is possible to fight global warming and reduce deadly pollution without ravaging the economy. Yet a report released Monday by the Little Hoover Commission, a bipartisan advisory panel that advises state lawmakers, shows that they might instead serve as an example of what not to do.
Without better coordination, oversight and study, California is in danger of committing another colossal energy failure along the lines of its effort to deregulate its electricity market in the 1990s, a flawed approach that opened the market to gaming, cost ratepayers billions, undermined confidence in state government and contributed to the recall of Gov. Gray Davis.