Air Board's Ambitious Plan To Battle Warming

California's air board, for years an obscure state agency, will take center stage this week when it unveils a blueprint for the nation's most aggressive fight against global warming that is expected to affect every resident, industry and government agency in the state in the coming decade.

The far-reaching plan, which comes 18 months after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed landmark legislation to curb greenhouse emissions by one-third by 2020, is likely to encourage consumers to use energy-efficient lightbulbs and replace gas-guzzling cars with fuel-sipping hybrids. It could require industry to reduce pollution or pay fees based on the amount of carbon they release.

Mary Nichols, chairwoman of the California Air Resources Board, said the draft of the "scoping plan," which the agency's staff will present Thursday to the 11-member board, will be a work in progress until the final version is adopted by the end of the year.