Air quality regulators in the San Francisco Bay Area are expected to approve a new fee for businesses next month that is tied to greenhouse gas emissions. If the measure passes, the fee assessment of 4.4 cents per ton of carbon dioxide emitted would be the first of its kind by any government nationwide.

They mine as well just call it the President Bush "regulatory trainwreck" nightmare fee.

But we think it's a pretty good idea, and a great example of local officials taking the initiative with addressing climate change. However, we also think the measure will be largely symbolic, as the fee is small enough that it is unlikely to have any impact on overall emissions.

Under the proposal by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, most businesses would pay less than $100 per year. A gas station, for example, would be assessed the hefty fee of about $1. The top 10 companies would pay more than $820,000 per year, or about 70 percent of the $1.2 million total that officials expect to collect. The largest Bay Area emitter -- a Shell oil refinery -- would have to pay $195,355 based on its 2005 emissions of 4.4 million metric tons.

The relatively small fee hasn't stopped the oil and gas industry from making its displeasure known. A spokesman for the Western States Petroleum Association told the San Francisco Chronicle that "programs and taxes like this district's amount to a balkanization of the process at a time when we've not yet really determined the best strategies."

Sounds like someone was listening to Bush's "let's keep emitting for 17 more years" climate change speech last week.