eco-wackos stage daring $600 million daylight robbery!

California will establish a high-profile, $600 million research center to devise solutions for global warming, the Public Utilities Commission decided in a 5-0 vote Thursday.

The California Institute for Climate Solutions will have a $60 million budget each year for 10 years. The money will come from ratepayers of the state's major utilities, including Pacific Gas & Electric, which serves much of Northern California.

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A ratepayer's advocacy group, The Utility Reform Network of San Francisco, says the $600 million will go on electric bills that also might increase 30 percent in coming years to fund state-mandated greenhouse-gas-reduction programs.

"By cramming all these well-meaning proposals into electric bills, we may be creating more problems than we're solving," said TURN Executive Director Mark Toney. "With the economy in a downward spiral, higher rates mean more and more Californians will be unable to afford essentials like lighting, heating or cooling their homes, and cooking."