You have to hand it to the folks at Apple Inc. Once they get the bit between their teeth, no matter how long it takes , a race to the front can be reasonably predicted.

On Monday, the Cupertino company rocked the world - at least the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's world - by abruptly quitting the business lobby on account of the latter's "recent comments opposing the EPA's effort to limit greenhouse gases." Such comments, like putting climate change through a "Scopes monkey trial," already have prompted PG&E and others to exit the chamber.

"Apple supports regulating greenhouse gas emissions, and it is frustrating to find the Chamber at odds with us in this effort," Apple VP for worldwide government affairs Catherine Novelli wrote to chamber President Thomas Donohue.

So, "we have decided to resign our membership effective immediately."

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Up to now, Apple has been slapped around for appearing slow to embrace the green mantra. It was a lowly No. 133 in Newsweek's environmental ranking of 500 U.S. companies. HP and Dell were ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. Microsoft, ranked No. 31, beat Apple, for heaven's sake.

Admittedly stung by the perception - or so I was told by an Apple insider - CEO Steve Jobs ordered the company to "be much more transparent" about its 10.2 million metric tons of carbon emissions, and what it was doing about them. Accordingly, last week, the company revealed a Web site that tracks the "environmental footprint" of the cycle of each of its products, from manufacturing to transportation to consumer use and recycling, along with energy efficiency measures and steps to reduce emissions ( www.apple.com/environment).

The chamber, meanwhile, must be feeling the lash. It insisted in a hurried statement last week that it "support(s) strong federal legislation and a binding international agreement to reduce carbon emissions and address climate change." (Just not any legislation it's seen going through Congress.)

That may not be enough to stanch the flow. Remember the saying, "monkey see, monkey do"?

Full faith and credit required: Today, California rolls another $4.5 billion worth of tax-exempt and taxable bonds. Individual buyers get first crack, until Thursday, when the big institutions weigh in.

One might think, with all its fiscal woes, that anything the Tarnished State put on the market would be a tough sell. But no. Just two weeks ago, $8.8 billion worth of bonds flew off the shelves, despite California's near-junk credit rating. Of course, that might have something to do with the decent yields and investor fears about buying anything but government bonds these days.

Much of the money raised is serving a less-than-inspiring purpose - to help pay off and fund the state's existing debt. If you're looking for something more constructive in the latest offering, go for the federally subsidized Build America Bonds, a creation of the Obama administration's stimulus package designed to finance projects such as schools, parks, hospitals and housing.

There is a price to pay, of course. More bond sales add to the state's humongous debt, which currently stands at $67 billion. According to Treasurer Bill Lockyer's just-released "debt affordability report," paying off interest and principal on them is estimated to account for more than 10 percent of the state's General Fund by 2014, "unless the budget improves."