The LAT is reporting that California regulators at the Air Resources Board have adopted the country's first carbon trading program: "'This is an historic venture,' said Mary Nichols, chairwoman of the California Air Resources Board, as the panel voted 9 to 1 to approve some 3,000 pages of regulations and supporting documents, crafted over three years of intense negotiations with businesses and public interest groups."
Concerns over the economic impact of the regulations appear to have been discounted. In the very next paragraph of the article, Ms. Nichols states: "'[M]ost political people said we should do as little as possible as slowly as possible.' Instead, she said, 'we are being cautious and careful, but in the context of a very bold effort.'"