Reuters Pictures
Century City and downtown Los Angeles are seen in this December 31, 2007 file photo. California is putting its reputation as a pioneering environmental heavyweight on the line as it prepares to launch a carbon market in eight months' time. State regulators are battling the clock, the courts and their own empty pockets as they prepare to oversee the start of the multi-billion dollar carbon market on Jan. 1, 2012. The idea of capping greenhouse gas emissions and providing cleaner companies with the potential to profit off their success in doing so is not new, but it has never been tried in the United States on this scale.
