The California Air Resources Board has implemented a regulatory program called the Low Carbon Fuel Standard that has the potential to promote clear-cutting of the Amazon Rain forest and starvation in developing countries due to the conversion of food into fuel.  The policy of turning food into fuel is a mistake that needs to be corrected, and some regulations, though well intended, need to be more carefully considered.  The Low Carbon Fuel Standard, and its consequences, are the subject of an Opinion Editorial I wrote that was published this morning in the LA Times.  Highlights are below and the complete editorial can be found at the LA Times website HERE.

Lowering emissions, raising red flags

The Low Carbon Fuel Standard was intended to reduce California carbon emissions, but it may come with some terrible unintended consequences.

The Low Carbon Fuel Standard, a regulatory program established under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, 

was intended to reduce California carbon emissions, but it may come with unintended consequences. 

(Frederic J. Brown / AFP / Getty Images )

We've all seen the movie: Some small, seemingly unrelated actions lead to dire and unintended consequences. It happens in real life too, especially in government. The Low Carbon Fuel Standard, a regulatory program established under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, was intended to reduce California carbon emissions, but it may come with some terrible unintended consequences.

The concept underpinning the standard is that most Californians would pay a little more at the pump if that guaranteed cleaner air. But what if the program also unwittingly supported the economy in places like Iraq, promoted clear-cutting of the Amazon rain forest, increased hunger in nations such as Haiti and Guatemala, and eliminated jobs in California? These are some of the unintended consequences if we don't change how the standard is implemented...

...The policy also requires California gasoline to be "improved" by adding ethanol. Alas, the highest-scoring and only cost-effective ethanol is sugar cane ethanol from Brazil. We would then have to ship Brazilian ethanol to California, using much fossil fuel. Environmentalists, including Jane Goodall, cite sugar cane production as the primary reason huge Brazilian corporations are clear-cutting pristine rain forest. We should not have to choose between clean air and massive deforestation...

...And what of California's economy? I want to see a petroleum-free world, like many others. My wife and I own one car, a 45-mpg hybrid, and I bicycle everywhere I can. But as long as Californians are still using gas to fill their tanks and to heat their homes, they should have some of the jobs in that industry. There are more than 200,000 such jobs in Southern California. These are well-paying jobs, and driving them overseas doesn't make sense...