A nice way to start off an election year:

• The Dow Jones industrial average registers its worst performance since 1983 on the first trading day of the year, falling 220.86 points.

• The price of a barrel of oil briefly hits the magic number of $100.

• 16 states sue the Environmental Protection Agency over its refusal to allow California to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles.

There will be much to cover in 2008, with particular focus on how economic and environmental issues affect the U.S. presidential campaign. But for now, How the World Works would just like to call out California state Attorney General Jerry Brown for his characterization of EPA director Stephen Johnson's explanation for why California was slapped down by the Bush administration.

"The denial letter was shocking in its incoherence and utter failure to provide legal justification for the administrator's unprecedented action."

Incoherence and utter failure! 2008 is off and running!