California Business Minute™

Hi, I am Tim Johnson and welcome to the California Business Minute.

The New York based Natural Resources Defense Council, a nonprofit environmental
organization, released its second annual report “Ranking States’ Oil Vulnerability and
Solutions for Change.”

The 20-page document identifies each state’s vulnerability to spikes in oil prices, and
highlights each is doing ‘to break their addiction to oil.’

The vulnerability rankings are based on the percentage of personal income spent on
gasoline in each state in 2007, including state and federal taxes. California tops the
list among states NRDC says are doing the most to wean themselves from oil. Alaska
is last.

Heavily weighted in Council’s assessment is the use of vehicles that use less gasoline.
In 2002, California was the first state to pass a clean car standard that would require
all new cars, trucks, sports utility vehicles and minivans to meet pollution limits by the
2009 model year.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency denied California a waiver it would need to
implement the law. California has since filed a lawsuit against the EPA and has been
joined by multiple states as well challenging the EPA’s ruling.

I am Tim Johnson and this has been the California Business Minute.