Opinion Editorial: No CARB Diet Headed to California

California has been through enough.  You can't hardly open a report of jobs lost and employers fleeing to other states or out of country. This just happened in Los Alamitos.

The California economy hasn't really produced a single "net" job, and we badly need to get Californians back to work and now there is an even bigger threat to our economic recovery that won't go away -- CARB.  How do we create jobs or do anything productive in our state under the shockingly, burdensome, environmental regulations that are soon to be enforced by the California Air Resources Board, CARB?

The bureaucrats at CARB, led by longtime environmental activist Mary Nichols and her boss, Governor Brown, want to turn back the environmental clock to 1990 and use the pollution standards of 21 years ago to lead our state into the future. I wish I could turn back the clock 21 years. We can't and neither can California. Common sense needs to be addressed by our Governor and the paper-pushing bureaucrats in Sacramento. Our state is quite different today than it was in 1990. We had a smaller population, aerospace and other businesses were thriving, farmlands were blossoming, real estate was exploding, and the future looked bright.

The California we love, the quality of live our children deserve is NOW in real jeopardy!

Yet a majority in Sacramento, people who are supposed to represent us, are forcing us onto their "HIGH CARB DIET." They want more control, and, in just about 150 days, the Cap and Trade scheme created by the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 will slam the door on our hopes of economic recovery.  On New Year's Day, Jan. 1, 2012, the very day we begin our resolutions for a new year, head for the gym, tighten our purse strings and resolve to live healthier, CARB plans to force us all onto it's dreadful diet of rules, regulations, taxes, exploding costs for goods and services and a business climate that no employer can tolerate!

CARB's diet is loaded with recipes that will destroy the state we love.

A local group has been formed to Educate, Activate and Motivate our fellow Californians to get the truth and facts out to Californians. These laws and regulations will go into effect unless something is done. Why haven't we heard about this from our Sacramento politicians? Maybe they forgot what they did in 2006. With these new regulations, the cost of gasoline alone could soar to more than $8 a gallon in California; the cost of electricity will rise by at least 30% and you will see the costs of all goods increase as businesses start to comply with the new regulations being enforced by CARB.

A petition is being filed, and at least 300,000 signatures of registered voters is need this fall. You can sign the petition at www.cfactsocal.org. Get your friends, neighbors, businesses involved to learn more about these impending regulations and the need to take immediate action. The truth behind Cap and Trade in California must be told and now.

Warren Duffy and his wife, Pam, are spear heading this effort and can be contacted at the website. Donations can also be made there to help in the upcoming legal fight that will be waged. While Cap and Trade on the federal level appears dead until after next year’s elections, it slipped in under the radar in California. The members of CARB were not elected, rather appointed by your legislature - accountable to no one and with the power to impose massive fines that will cripple every business. Compliance will have to be passed along to the consumer. Businesses will be leaving California in massive numbers as soon as CARB starts their fines and penalty enforcement. It is critical that you take this issue seriously!

Dean Grose is a Los Alamitos resident and its former mayor.

Editor's Note: Opinion Editorials are submissions to Patch, and they are not intended to reflect the views of Patch.com