California passes strictest environmental law in the U.S.

This morning, I heard a very encouraging news piece about the environment. NPR (National Public Radio) and numerous other sources reported that our CA state legistlature and the governor... yes, that governor (Arnold Schwarzenegger) had passed one of the strictest laws in the country to limit greenhouse gas emissions. The goal is to reduce the state's greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, a cut of about 25 percent. This is incredibly encouraging for the direction of the country since California has always been a leader in environment laws and other states have historically followed California's lead. It's quite incredible to realize that California would be the 8th largest country in the world if it was a separate country. Thus, it's impact can be substantial not only for the US but the rest of the world.

Now, some of you may ask why I am writing about this in a 'travel' blog. Good question. The answer actually has a lot to do with my experiences while living abroad in Beijing. Earlier this week, I recounted the amusing story of how a sandstorm almost sidetracked a trip I took on the Old Silk Road (see here). Although at the time, we were near the edge of one of China's biggest deserts, sandstorms are a perennial problem in many western parts of China. Because of years of unchecked deforestation in those parts, sandstorms have become signficant problems even for cities much further east, especially in Beijing. When I lived there in 2002, there were quite a few days when a sandstorm would envelope the city in a gray-yellowish haze of sand and smog. Although the Chinese government has finally acknowledged the problem, fixing it is still years away. Given the continuing mad rush to grow its economy, it's hard to believe that China will be environmentally responsible any time soon. Last month, I heard scientists tested air particles on a mountain top near San Francisco and discovered traces of sand, coal, and sulfur that originated from China!! If that doesn't prove that our environment is in danger and that global warming is real, I don't know what will... for those of you who hasn't seen the film, An Inconvenient Truth, I strongly urge you to see it. It is a very non-partisan, fact-based documentary... the pictures of a rapidly receding snow line in Kilimanjaro (Africa) and melting glaciers in Antartica are startling.

As for traveling to Beijing, I would recommend checking with your travel agent about sandstorm risk for the period you plan to be there. If I recall correctly, sandstorms occurred around late Spring.