On Nov. 21, the California Energy Commission issued its annual policy report, reaffirming past commitments to energy market transparency, conservation, affordability, alternatives to fossil fuels and pollution control.

Noting that California is the world's 17th largest emitter of greenhouse gases, the commission said the state "must incorporate its effort to reduce greenhouse gases into its energy policies." The state last summer established reduction targets for 2010 and 2020. The action plan commits California agencies to ensuring that "energy supplies serving California, from any source, are consistent with the governor's climate change goals."

Those goals require that any energy imported into California be generated at plants that have lower greenhouse gas emissions than traditional coal-fired power plants.
 

That news caused concern in Wyoming, where public officials and private businesses have been planning a long-distance transmission line to carry coal-generated electricity from large plants in the Cowboy State to the large market in California.
 

"The policy could preclude (using) coal-fired generation in Wyoming in a timely way, to meet the power supply needs of California," Steve Waddington, executive director of the Wyoming Infrastructure Authority said in an Associated Press report.
 

Wyoming could challenge California's green policy for interfering with interstate commerce. Or maybe the Golden State's clean demands will force investor-owned utilities to go green - to work to develop cleaner coal technology.
 

Montana officials should take note as entrepreneurs float plans to develop this state's vast coal resources. If the market demands cleaner energy, that's what suppliers will have to deliver.
 

Clearing the air in Wyoming, smoke-free mine workers

Another news item from Wyoming indicates remarkable progress on promoting smoke-free workplaces in a field in which tobacco has long been part of the culture. Arch Coal and Kennecott Energy have banned smoking in their indoor facilities and inside haul trucks, according to an Associated Press report from Gillette, Wyo. As of last week 38 Arch employees at the Black Thunder Mine had enrolled in a job-site smoking-cessation program offered by their employer.
 

The mining company previously instituted smoke-free policies and offered employees help with kicking their tobacco habits at mines in West Virginia.
 

In Montana, most employers are now required by state law to provide smoke-free workplaces for indoor work. Even in Wyoming where there isn't a statewide smoke ban, employers are recognizing that nonsmoking employees generally can maintain better health and higher productivity. The air is getting clearer in the American workplace.
 

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