Majority of Californians say they know nothing about emissions cap-and-trade program

Source: San Jose Mercury News

California's landmark global-warming bill was a white-hot topic in the 2010 governor's race and remains former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's signature environmental achievement.

But as the state prepares to unroll the law's cap-and-trade program in November with the first state auctions of emissions permits, a new poll finds that 57 percent of Californians say they have never heard anything about the program.

The statewide poll by the Public Policy Institute of California further found that 30 percent of respondents said they had heard "a little," while just 12 percent said they had heard "a lot."

"Cap-and-trade is a very complicated issue to the average Californian," said Mark Baldassare, president and CEO of the PPIC. "It's not something that has been at the center of attention for them. Connecting the dots between cap-and-trade and global warming continues to be a challenge for policymakers."

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