Redlands power plant is worst polluter in California

Sep 11 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Greg Cappis Redlands Daily Facts, Calif.

Redlands is home to the highest polluting power plant in the state, according to a new study.

The Mountain View Power Plant on the city's northwest side, owned by Southern California Edison, emits about 1.85 million metric tons of carbon dioxide a year, according to a report released Tuesday by the nonprofit Environment California Research and Policy Center.

The study says the nation's power plants are the leading cause of carbon dioxide pollution, a greenhouse gas that scientists say leads to global warming. The more greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere the greater the chances for natural disasters like droughts, floods and hurricanes, according to the study.

The study results were released Tuesday during a news conference at Crafton Hills College in Yucaipa.

During the news conference, Redlands Fire Department Battalion Chief Jim Topoleski said that although he is not a scientist, in his profession he sees the effects of global warming.

Fire season is 78 days longer, and the mountain snowpack is melting one to four weeks earlier than in the past, Topoleski said.

"We have done some reasonable changes for the better," he said while standing in the shade of a solar panel on the Crafton Hills College campus.

As examples, he cited the college's solar panel farm, which provides about 80 percent of the school's power, and the windmills near Palm Springs.

Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Assembly Bill 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act, into law in 2006. It set a goal for reducing greenhouse gases by 2020.

"It's vital California leaders implement AB 32 as it's designed," said Emily Kirkland of Environment California.

Redlands Mayor Pete Aguilar and San Bernardino Mayor Pat Morris both used the phrase "think globally, act locally," while they spoke Tuesday of initiatives to "go green" in their respective cities.

Aguilar said reasonable solutions need to be enacted to create a level playing field between new and existing power plants.

Allen Hernandez of the Sierra Club said traffic and the Redlands power plant are two of the leading causes of pollution in the region that is often layered with smog blocking views of the surrounding mountains.

"If you ever wanted to see a place where global warming is real," Hernandez said. "This is the place, the Inland Empire."

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