The working groups give participants, who may not be Plenary members, an inside-look at CED culture and an opportunity to participate in the dialogue. We strongly recommend prospective Plenary members join a working group first in order to become acquainted with the CED culture. Associates and staff of member organizations are also encouraged to become involved at the working group level, which helps to integrate the work between CED and member organizations.

If you would like more information about any CED working group, please contact John Mikulin, CED Project Manager.

Clean Air Dialogue
Co-chairs: Don Anair, Union of Concerned Scientists and Dave Smith, BP

Participants are drawn to the CED Clean Air Dialogue (CAD) because it is a unique forum for frank and honest discussion about California's air quality. It also produces important policy briefings as a result of the dialogue on air quality topics. The CAD is a working group of the CED Plenary that acts as an important vehicle for education and enhancement of the Plenary dialogue. Like our other working groups, CAD expands the dialogue's expertise and breadth by welcoming participants from non-CED organizations.

Companies like Toyota, ChevronTexaco, and BP collaborate with environmental leaders from organizations like the Union of Concerned Scientists, the Sierra Club, the Planning & Conservation League, and the Natural Resources Defense Council. Regular guests from relevant state agencies, like the Air Resources Board and the California Energy Commission, enhance the group's understanding of key air issues. Together, they look for areas where consensus exists and solutions can be put forward.

Possibly the most widely recognized of the CED working groups, the CAD decided in January 2001 to focus on liquid fuels supply and demand, anticipating a potential for imbalance over the short-, mid-, and long-term. This work has attracted new partners to CED, including Yokohama Tires, the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA), TireGuard USA, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, and the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies.

Currently, our focus in CAD is on --

• Transportation Energy, including the transition to new fuel sources and technologies like fuel cells
• Smog Check, one of the State's most significant and beneficial clean air programs
• Improved access to transportation for all Californians
• Congestion Pricing

• CED members mobilized to retain and improve Smog Check Programs and help pass such needed consumer friendly reforms as low income assistance.
• Following its genesis in CED meetings, individual CED members supported an Air Quality ballot initiative in 1998. In spite of failure at the ballot, its concept of funding the retirement of high emitting diesel engines and their replacement with newer, cleaner engines was later adopted and implemented by the Legislature and Administration.
• CED testimony was an important factor in the Air Resources Board's (ARB) decision to require SUVs to meet passenger car emission standards and to tighten requirements for two stroke marine engines, including jet skis.
• CED formed a coalition of environmental groups and corporations to exempt the state from federal oxygenate mandates-a constraint to the elimination of MTBE in gasoline. CED identified options for making gasoline safer, with fewer emissions, and has been influential at the federal and state levels on fuel related issues.
• CED comments on proposed urban fleet rules allowed the ARB to make significant revisions before public hearings. CED is also engaged with the South Coast Air Quality Management District on its fleet rules.
• Other issues that the working group covered include fuel container regulations, diesel reformulation, 2001 SIP proposals, reformulated gasoline, and OBD III.

At the core of CED is the belief that the economy and environment are inextricably linked, and that a healthy environment is necessary to our quality of life. The CED Habitat Working Group (HWG) mirrors this belief, and seeks to improve habitat conservation in California.

The Habitat Working Group has enjoyed several successes in changing how we think about habitat conservation, quality of life, and resource management. One of the greatest achievements of this working group and of the CED Plenary was the publication of the groundbreaking paper, "Habitat and Prosperity: Protecting California's Future," in which members assert that the interdependence of the economy and environment is the foundation of California's wealth and at the center of the Californian dream.

The policy paper was soon followed by a report entitled, "Land Conservation in California: Needs for the Next Decade." This report compiled all credible land conservation programs currently underway by government agencies, private companies, and non-profit organizations, and estimated a need of 5.4 million acres at a cost of $12.3 billion dollars. The land conservation report was widely used by proponents of Propositions 12 and 13, the historic Park and Water Bonds that were overwhelmingly approved by California's voters.

However, CED understands that the State cannot simply buy all the land needed to preserve our valuable ecosystems. Private landowners have long acted as stewards of our natural resources, responsible for roughly 50% of the landbase in California. The HWG is interested in developing tools to support stewardship on these lands, engaging landowners in habitat conservation while preserving the working landscape as part of California's vibrant economy.

Achievements include -

• Although CED advocates concepts-not specific legislation-individual members supported a $100 million land and water tax credit program, passed by the Legislature and signed into law by the governor.
• Recognizing the State Revolving Fund (SRF) as an under-utilized source of public funding, CED successfully encouraged the State Water Resources Control Board to use SRF to acquire and protect wetlands for water quality purposes for the first time.

During its meetings the Plenary and working groups have incorporated sustainability into the dialogue and have analyzed barriers to sustainability in California. These efforts have introduced powerful concepts to the CED Plenary that will remain a part of our on-going dialogue. Foremost among these is the belief that our work is on behalf of all Californians, and that every person should benefit from environmental health and economic prosperity. CED will thus seek solutions that optimize environmental health, provide equity and increase economic vitality at the same time.