California is one of the most recognized, if not popular, states in the world because of the glitz and glamour that the state has to offer. However, looking past all those bright lights reveals a California that is actually heavy on greenhouse gas emissions.

In fact, according to California Climate Change Portal, the state contributes 1.8% of the total global GHG emissions despite it holding only 0.6% of the world's population. And when it comes to the United States, California contributes 7.5% of the country's emissions even though it only has 12% of the U.S. population.

With such a background when it comes to emissions, scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and San Francisco-based energy consulting firm, Energy and Environmental Economics, said that the infrastructure and technology changes need to be aggressive in order to reach the state's emissions reduction goal.

In order to have this low GHG-emitting California, the scientists foresee the state using lights, appliances and other devices that are highly energy efficient. In addition, electricity should come from sources that do not emit carbon dioxide, and at the same time, have cars, heating systems, and equipment that run on oil and natural gas to run on electricity instead.

But all of this can be achieved said the scientists, since this sort of plan can be technologically feasible by 2050 if today's pace of technology innovation continues.

Improving the Odds of California Becoming Green

According to scientists' findings, energy efficiency improvements can bag the state 28% of the emissions reductions required to meet their goal. But in order for this to work, energy efficiency has to improve by at least 1.3% yearly for the next 40 years.

If California will also resort to power generating technologies that do not emit carbon dioxide, they can get another 27% reduction in emissions. The key is relying more on renewable energy and nuclear power, rather than the conventional fossil fuel-power generators. Carbon capture and storage, which stores CO2 deep into the earth, must also be employed.

Lastly, the scientists suggested that the state, instead of using fuel and natural gas for things like cars, space and water heaters, should transition to electricity. This means increasing the reliance on electricity for power from 15% to 55%.

Chief scientist at Energy and Environmental Economics, Jim Williams, said that though the task looks daunting, it is not impossible because California is in the right way with its Assembly Bill 32, the state's 2006 emissions legislation.

But already today, the state is working on changing things for the better, so much so that the business of environmental technology is a booming industry. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, more than 180,000 Californians are employed by companies producing $25 billion-worth of pollution control, waste minimization, pollution prevention, and related environmental equipment and services yearly.