Today and Friday are expected to be monumental in California's fight against global warming and air pollution.

The state Air Resources Board is set to vote today on a sweeping 12-year strategy for slashing climate-altering emissions that would affect the type of cars Californians drive, the electricity they use to light their homes and even the location of future homes and jobs.

Then on Friday, the governor-appointed air board is expected to approve regulations requiring owners of nearly 1 million heavy-duty trucks to thoroughly clean up diesel exhaust, which is believed responsible for as many as 9,000 deaths a year statewide.

"It is probably the most significant board meeting we have had in decades," said Thomas Cackette, the board's deputy executive officer.

The voting comes at a politically good time from the view of state regulators, public health advocates and others seeking to influence a national response to global warming.

President-elect Barack Obama has said he intends to quickly reverse the Bush administration's decision last December to deny California authority to curb heat-trapping carbon emissions from automobiles.

Read the full story at sacbee.com.