Earlier this year, California raked in $2.7 trillion gross state product, overtaking the UK as the world's fifth largest economy -- only Germany, Japan, China and the US itself produce more annually. It isn't just our lush farming regions or the technological wonders coming out of Silicon Valley that have made California an economic bellwether, the state's strict adherence to environmental regulations, which go far and above what the rest of the nation demands, have certainly helped as well. "GDP growth in California has outpaced the US as a whole in recent years," ARE Associate Professor Meredith Fowlie told NBC News in 2017, as quoted in the 5/16/18 article in Engadget. "Over this same time period, the state has implemented the most ambitious climate change policies in the nation. And CO2 emissions in the state have fallen."