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| Monday, March 09 | | · | Could Green Kill the Desert? |
| Tuesday, February 17 | | · | LA Unified Launches Solar Energy Program |
| · | Californians Find New Ways to Maximize Every Precious Drop |
| · | EPA Reconsidering California's Car Emission Waiver |
| Wednesday, February 11 | | · | Many Delta Islands May Be Lost |
| · | Preliminary Draft CEQA Guidelines for California Greenhouse Gas Emissions Releas |
| Wednesday, January 21 | | · | Concord Approves Plan for Former Military Base |
| Monday, January 12 | | · | Hundreds of Pelicans Found Dead along West Coast of US |
| · | EPA Decides It Can't Make up Its Mind on Common Inland Contaminant |
| · | California Gives $20 Million to Recycling Projects |
| Tuesday, January 06 | | · | Only Snow-Deep, Sierra Survey Is a Cause for Concern |
| · | Two Trailers Delivered in Haz-Mat Spill Settlement |
| · | VA Proposes Hospital, Cemetery for Alameda |
| Monday, December 08 | | · | Edison's Rooftop Solar Project Powers Up |
| · | Four Klamath River Dams May Be Removed to Benefit Salmon |
| · | A Resounding Vote for Open Space |
| Tuesday, November 25 | | · | Obama Will Grant Waiver to California to Allow Stricter Emissions Standards |
| · | Major Change Planned for West Coast Fisheries |
| · | New Laws Bring Good News and Bad for Large Feedlots, Small Farms |
| Monday, November 10 | | · | California American Water Launches Turn Off Your Sprinklers Conservation Campaig |
| · | New California Rules Target Big-Rig Pollution |
| Tuesday, October 28 | | · | The Most Potent Unknown Greenhouse Gas Revealed |
| · | Activists Jam Oakland Meet to Push L.A.-Style Truck Plan |
| · | Young People Encouraged to 'Green' Their World |
| Monday, September 29 | | · | Scientists Promote "Global Cooling" with White Roofs and Cool Pavemen |
| · | California Climate Change Law Will Help-Not Hurt-State Economy |
| · | Two PA Creeks Make Bay Area's Top Trash List |
| Tuesday, September 16 | | · | U.S. Rethinks Stance on Disposable Plastic Bags |
| · | Watch Green Happen in Kansas |
| Monday, September 08 | | · | EPA May Fine Recycling Firm for Polluting Bay |
Older Articles
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 | Water Issues: Judge: California illegally approved water bank |
 Superior Court Judge Alice Vilardi ruled that Governor Schwarzenegger and the California Department of Water Resources illegally approved use of a water bank last year when a drought emergency was declared. The governor and the DWR were sued by environmental and sport-fishing groups because Schwarzenegger and the DWR did not comply with the provisions in the California Environmental Quality Act when approving the request to set up the water bank, which was to ship water from farms North of Sacramento to growers experiencing intense drought, mainly in the San Joaquin Valley. The DWR has not provided any comment.
Associated Press: Article
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Posted by becca on Tuesday, March 23 @ 11:55:46 EDT (53 reads)
(Read More... | Water Issues | Score: 0)
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| Animal Protection: Two New Lawsuits to Save the S. F. Bay - Delta Smelt |
The Federal government was sued on November 13 by two environmental groups, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Bay Institute, in an attempt to help save two endangered fish species, the delta smelt and the longfin smelt. One of the lawsuits has asked that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service make a decision on their 2006 request for changing the delta smelt’s status from threatened to endangered. Spokesperson for the FWS said that there is no “practical difference between the law’s protection for endangered and threatened species.” The spokesperson for the Center for Biological Diversity countered by saying that he does realize that there is no difference but that they are hoping that if the lawsuits are successful, it would “strengthen environmental safeguards that protect other species.” The second lawsuit that FWS is facing challenges the agency’s decision to deny protected status to the bay-delta population of the longfin smelt. The agency’s stance is that the group is not distinct enough to receive protection because a percentage of the fish migrate up the coast to breed with other longfins. These new lawsuits are coming right as the new $11.1 billion water bond was signed to be put on the ballot for November 2010. This bond would include funding for delta protection and restoration, new dams, and possibly a canal. Some environmentalists fear that these projects could cause greater damage to the fish populations in the delta. However, since the court began making decisions in 2007 to save the delta smelt, the state has, to many farmers’ dismay, significantly reduced pumping water from the delta.
San Francisco Gate: Article
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Posted by becca on Wednesday, December 02 @ 09:07:33 EST (100 reads)
(Read More... | Animal Protection | Score: 0)
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| Land Conservation: Boeing Irked by California Cleanup |
Recently a law was passed that would regulate the cleanup of The Boeing Company’s Santa Susana Rocket and Nuclear test site. The company claims that the law was passed exclusively for that site in particular. The Boeing Company says the law would impose “irrational and arbitrary requirements” on the site. “We are concerned that this law could cause unintended consequences that would destroy the natural, historic, and cultural resources of Santa Susana,” said Tom Gallacher, Boeing director of environment, heath and safety for Santa Susana. The company said that it agreed to restore the land to be acceptable for residential use, but the new law would require this land to be acceptable for agricultural use. Boeing says that this “will never occur.” The company also stated that the intensive cleanup could cause secondary damage to the surrounding ecosystem. The California Department of Toxic Substances Control, in the November 3 draft consent order for the Santa Susana field lab, said that the provision would protect public heath and the environment. “The draft order brings us one step closer to the long-sought-after cleanup of the Santa Susana site,” said Maziar Movassaghi, DTSC acting director.
UPI: Article
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Posted by becca on Wednesday, December 02 @ 09:04:35 EST (95 reads)
(Read More... | Land Conservation | Score: 0)
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| Water Issues: EDF Praises California Legislature's Passage of Historic Water Legislation |
The Environmental Defense Fund has praised the California Legislature for passing “historic water legislation” in both the state Senate and Assembly on November 4, 2009. It has now been sent to Governor Schwarzenegger to sign into law. This water legislation has been in the works for over a year now and has drawn much debate from many different sources. With California’s current water system failing more and more each year, it was clear to all parties involved that it was imperative that a compromise be reached quickly. The new legislation includes requirements to “make sure there is enough water flowing for fish and other wildlife, reduce reliance on fresh water exports from the delta, require much greater conservation, and develop good science on the state underground water reserves.”
“No one got everything they wanted, but for the sake of our state’s environmental and economic future, we all felt that we had an obligation to come together and keep working until we could reach an agreement. That’s what we have done,” said Cynthia Koehler, EDF’s senior consulting attorney.
Reuters: Article
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Posted by becca on Monday, November 16 @ 10:11:21 EST (100 reads)
(Read More... | Water Issues | Score: 0)
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| EPA Fines California Pesticide Distributor |
Wilber-Ellis Co., a distributor of pesticide products, was fined $100,000 by the Environmental Protection Agency because the company was distributing and selling misbranded agricultural products. The company failed to include several safety elements on the label of many pesticides and also hired applicators who failed to wear protective gear and distributed a highly toxic product without labeling it. The company has agreed to pay $99,600 to resolve the allegations.
Mercury News: Article
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Posted by becca on Monday, November 16 @ 10:08:18 EST (192 reads)
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| Water Issues: San Francisco Bay Area Cities Must Cut Trash in Storm Drains |
Over 70 San Francisco Bay Area cities are required to cut the volume of trash flowing from their streets and storm drains into the Bay by 40 percent under a new permit plan. The plan is the first of its kind in the nation and is the most comprehensive effort to control the amount of litter that goes into the region’s waterways. It also sets a long-term goal of zero trash discharge by 2022. The San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board is approving the storm water permit, and if the USEPA signs off on it, the measure will go into effect 1 December. Under the plan, municipalities in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties and the Fairfield-Suisun metropolitan area must reduce the amount of trash in storm water runoff 40 percent by 2014. San Francisco and other cities in the region are covered by separate water board permits; their water system treats both storm water runoff and wastewater. Millions of pounds of trash end up in and around the region’s waterways each year, with about 80 percent originating on land.
San Francisco Chronicle: Article
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Posted by elizabeth on Monday, October 26 @ 14:07:28 EDT (265 reads)
(Read More... | 1838 bytes more | Water Issues | Score: 0)
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| Land Conservation: Home Builders Sue over Bay Area Land Use Policy |
The Association of Bay Area Government (ABAG) had a lawsuit filed against them by the Home Builders Association of Northern California suggesting that ABAG’s new land-use policy, called Projections 2009, does not address environmental impacts. The policy restricts development in urban areas to 900 acres a year for the Bay Area. Projections 2009 was put into place without an environmental review, per CEQA. Said Damien Schiff, an attorney with Pacific Legal Foundations who is representing the HBA, “We’re asking the court to direct ABAG to perform a CEQA analysis to determine whether projections will have a positive impact on the physical environment of the Bay Area.” A spokesman for the HBA said that they have tried to get ABAG to address these concerns for over a year and that filing the action was a last resort.
Article: San Jose Business Journal
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Posted by Becca on Tuesday, October 06 @ 14:38:44 EDT (296 reads)
(Read More... | Land Conservation | Score: 0)
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| Water Issues: Guilty Plea in San Francisco Bay Oil Spill Case |
On Nov. 7, 2007, an oil tanker, Cosco Buscan, collided with the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and caused a 53,000 gallon oil spill. The incident contaminated 26 miles of shoreline and deferred the crab season. The spill was responsible for the deaths of 2,000 migratory birds, among those birds were federally and California statewide endangered species. On August 13 the Hong Kong based Fleet Management Company pled guilty to violating the Federal Oil Pollution Act of 1990 and to felony obstruction of justice and false statement charges in the spills aftermath. The company is being fined $10 million. “In pleading guilty, Fleet admitted that after the ship hit the Bay Bridge it concealed ship records created materially false, fictitious, and forged documents with an intent to influence the Coast Guard’s investigation,” said the U.S. Department of Justice in a written statement.
La Times: Article
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Posted by Becca on Tuesday, August 18 @ 12:21:28 EDT (414 reads)
(Read More... | Water Issues | Score: 0)
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| Animal Protection: Army Seeks to Move More Than 1,100 Desert Tortoises |
Preparing to expand Fort Irwin in the Mojave Desert, the United States Army has requested permission from the Bureau of Land Management to move 1,100 endangered desert tortoises. A similar operation was attempted last year but was stopped when the tortoises began to die at alarming rates, mostly due to being hunted by coyotes. Conservationists fear what a move of this size might cause. “Nothings has ever been done on this scale before,” said Ileen Anderson with the Center of Biological Diversity. “Every time the animals recognize that they don’t know where they are, they have some sort of built-in mechanism that tells them to head for home, and they make a break for home.”
La Times:Article
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Posted by Becca on Tuesday, August 18 @ 12:17:58 EDT (419 reads)
(Read More... | Animal Protection | Score: 0)
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| Green Movement: Oakland Named #4 Most Sustainable Large City by the Smarter Cities Project |
Smarter Cities, a project of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), ranked sustainable cities across the county. Under the “Large Cities” category, Oakland was ranked fourth, with Seattle, San Francisco, and Portland, OR, taking the first three slots. The ranking was based on various “green” criteria, including Green Building, Air Quality, Recycling, Green Space, Energy Production and Conservation, and Water Quality. The Smarter Cities’ report noted that Oakland is part of the Green Industry Cluster group and the East Bay Green Technology Corridor. Oakland has partnered with neighboring cities, companies, and institutions (UC Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, etc.) to bring green industry to the region. To train workers, the Green Academy Workforce Initiative was created, and the Oakland Green Jobs Corps is addressing poverty issues by identifying entry-level green jobs. The help with its high levels of unemployment and poverty, Oakland is working hard to improve its environment and opportunities by joining the “green economy.”
Smarter Cities: City Profile
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Posted by elizabeth on Tuesday, July 21 @ 10:23:57 EDT (524 reads)
(Read More... | 2078 bytes more | Green Movement | Score: 0)
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| Six California Parks Could Revert to Federal Control |
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposed budget includes the closing of 220 California state parks. The cut would save the state 143 million dollars. Of the 220 proposed parks, six are federal land transfers. Per the Federal Lands to Parks agreement, California is required to keep the parks open or return them to the federal government. The lands include Angel Island, Point Sur State Historic Park, the top of Mt. Diablo east of San Francisco, Fort Ord Dunes, Point Mugu State Park, and Border Field. David Sienerthaler of the National Park Service said, “We saw the list of potential park closures and we thought the Governor needed to know the potential consequences of closing the parks, given the agreement….Were not trying to bully or take a strong arm, but they are agreements. We’re trying to work with the state to find ways to keep the parks open”
LA Times: Article
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Posted by Becca on Monday, July 13 @ 15:20:19 EDT (475 reads)
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| Air Quality: California Pushes Cleaner Air |
California is moving ahead with full force in its battle against global warming, and everyone is feeling the pressure from the new regulations, especially the transportation and warehousing industries. New policy states that tractor trailers that come to or stay in California will need to follow the federal EPA Smartway guidelines. These rules are voluntary for the rest of the nation, but California decided to make them policy. Even trucks from Mexico and Canada must obey these guidelines, which include low-resistance tires and aerodynamic trailers. As for warehouses, California’s new regulations will require more efficient warehouse lighting, electric forklifts, and other energy-saving measures. “From here on out, it’s going to be about reducing carbon,” said Patty Senecal, director of California government affairs for the International Warehouse and Logistics Association.
Journal of Commerce: Article
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Posted by Becca on Tuesday, May 19 @ 09:51:28 EDT (435 reads)
(Read More... | Air Quality | Score: 0)
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| Climate Change: State Documents Indicators of Climate Change |
A new report from California’s Environmental Protection Agency’s office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment was released last week. The report identifies 27 indicators that measure the impact of climate change on a number of different areas. The results are not very promising for California. “By monitoring these indicators, we can measure the impacts of climate change and provide information that helps regulators develop policies to respond to them,”
said OEHHA director Joan Denton.
Central Valley Business Time: Article
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Posted by Becca on Tuesday, April 21 @ 10:55:06 EDT (383 reads)
(Read More... | Climate Change | Score: 0)
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| Green Movement: Van Jones's Appointment Is Good for the Bay Area |
President Barack Obama announced recently that the Bay Area’s Van Jones would be his new special advisor for green jobs, enterprise, and innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Van Jones, who started at the White House on March 15, is best known for being the author of recent bestseller “The Green Collar Economy,” but Jones has been an activist in the Bay Area for many years. Jones first started as co-founder of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and then founded the nonprofit called Green for All. Jones has been a key player in the movement toward a “greener” economy; he has changed the notion that it is not possible to have a thriving economy while being environmentally sensitive. “We need to have a green economy that has no throwaway species,” he said. “No throwaway resources, but also no throwaway people, no throwaway neighborhoods.” The Bay Area community members will be sad to see him leave, but there is also a sense of relief because it is known that having Jones in the White House will be of great benefit to the Bay Area residents who would like to more green jobs and technologies.
Media News: Article
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Posted by Becca on Tuesday, April 21 @ 10:51:30 EDT (370 reads)
(Read More... | Green Movement | Score: 0)
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| Air Quality: Air Near Cupertino School to Be Checked for Chromium from Cement Plant |
On March 31 the EPA announced that it would begin conducting air quality tests in schools around the county to determine if children are in danger of health risks due to air pollution. One of the schools on that list is Steven’s Creek Elementary in Cupertino County in northern California. The school lies in close proximity to a cement factory called Lehigh Plant and Limestone Quarry. Chromium, a metal known to cause lung cancer, is often found in cement factories. The EPA and Cupertino County are confident that the tests will show that the school is not polluted with the metal. Sandra James, former mayor of the county and spokeswomen for the plant, said, “We’re delighted to have the monitoring, because we are absolutely certain that they’ll find no health risks. The additional data will put any concern to rest.” A date has not yet been scheduled for the testing at the school.
Mercury News: Article
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Posted by Becca on Monday, April 06 @ 13:21:51 EDT (384 reads)
(Read More... | Air Quality | Score: 0)
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| Greenhouse Gases: California Legislator Wants to Halt Global Warming Act |
Assemblyman Dan Louge from California has recently introduced a new piece of legislation that, if passed, would nullify California’s Global Warming Act of 2006. His reason behind his proposed bill comes from the state’s devastated economy. “The state’s economy has been ravaged by excessive regulation; AB 32 is essentially the final nail in the coffin. In the last year alone California lost 95,000 private-sector jobs, and our manufacturing base has been devastated,” Louge said. He also notes that the current restrictions that have been put in place by the Global Warming Act have not only harmed the economy, but have not had any noted positive effect on global warming in the state. He continues by mentioning China’s intention of building 600 new coal-powered plants and says that any positive effect that does come from California’s Global Warming Act will be negated due to the emissions from the new plants. However not every one agrees that the Act should be suspended. “The Air Resources Board analysis shows that by reducing our dependency on foreign oil and reducing pollution, there will be enormous cost savings, at the expense of petroleum-based fuel, and there will also be enormous savings from the reduction of adverse health impacts,” said Joseph K. Lyou, executive director of the California Environmental Rights Alliance.
Heartland Institute: Article
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Posted by Becca on Wednesday, April 01 @ 10:25:58 EDT (319 reads)
(Read More... | Greenhouse Gases | Score: 0)
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| Van Jones's Appointment Is Good for the Bay Area |
President Barack Obama announced recently that the Bay Area’s Van Jones would be his new special advisor for green jobs, enterprise, and innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Van Jones, who started at the White House on March 15, is best known for being the author of recent best seller “The Green Collar Economy,” but Jones has be an activist in the Bay Area for many years. Jones first started as co-founder of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and then founded the nonprofit called Green for All. Jones has been a key player in the movement toward a “greener” economy; he has changed the notion that it is not possible to have a thriving economy while being environmentally sensitive. “We need to have a green economy that has no throwaway species,” he said. “No throwaway resources, but also no throwaway people, no throwaway neighborhoods.” The Bay area community members will be sad to see him leave, but there is also a sense of relief, because it is known that having Jones in the White House will be of great benefit to the Bay Area residents who would like more green jobs and technologies.
Media News: Article
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Posted by Becca on Wednesday, April 01 @ 10:24:34 EDT (337 reads)
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| Animal Protection: California Must Step up to Save Salmon, Experts Tell Legislators |
On March 10 the Assembly Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committee held a special hearing to address California’s salmon crisis. In this hearing, fishery experts said that California has a majority of the needed laws in place to protect the salmon; however, it does not have the “money and willpower” to get the situation under control. One factor contributing to the low salmon counts is that there are not enough game wardens patrolling the illegal stream diversions that deprive salmon of their natural habitat. Also there is not enough monitoring of land-use changes, so that erosion is also contributing to habitat loss. “The bottom line is that California wildlife laws are both robust and legally adequate,” said Frank, director of UC Berkeley's Center for Environmental Law and Policy. “The single largest problem with respect to fisheries is a lack of adequate fiscal and personnel resources at the Department of Fish and Game.” Currently, it is predicted that two-thirds of the state’s salmon face extinction, and as a result, it is likely that salmon fishing in
California will be banned for the second year in a row.
Sacramento Bee:Article
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Posted by Becca on Tuesday, March 24 @ 13:02:57 EDT (308 reads)
(Read More... | Animal Protection | Score: 0)
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| Air Quality: Neighbors to Port: Change the Trucking System, Cut Pollution |
On February 10, residents of West Oakland held a health education fair outside of the Port Commission’s office to draw attention to a new study recently completed on the cost of health, environmental, and worker impacts of diesel pollution from the trucks that operate at the Port of Oakland. The cost was estimated to be 153 million dollars per year. The study, conducted by the Pacific Institute and the East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy, touches on the costs of asthma, premature deaths, increased cancer risk, and other diseases stemming from the port-related pollution. The research team proposes that the Port of Oakland consider developing standards for working conditions and neighborhood and environmental impacts and calls for companies working at the port to modify port trucking to a concession model in which drivers would be employees, as opposed to being independent contractors. One driver at the port in favor of the swap to employment is Abdul Khan who said about being an independent contractor, “By the time we clear expenses, there’s hardly any money left for us. I clear about $5 an hour.” Not only is pay a concern, but for this specific driver, so is his health. The Natural Resource Defense Council found very high levels of pollution in his truck cab, and because he is currently an independent contractor, he does not have health insurance coverage. The deputy director of the Alameda County Health Department, Sandra Witt, said, “Residents of West Oakland live about 10 years less then their counterparts in other parts of Oakland.”
People's World Weekly:Article
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Posted by Becca on Tuesday, March 24 @ 12:58:18 EDT (300 reads)
(Read More... | Air Quality | Score: 0)
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| California's 'Green Jobs' Experiment Isn't Going Well |
In 2006 Governor Schwarzenegger of California signed into law the toughest anti-global-warming regulations in the nation. But today the experiment is proving
to be much less effective and more costly than anticipated. The regulations created a cap-and-trade system that place limits on the amount of CO2 that
businesses and utilities can create. The plan was estimated by the California Air and Resource Board to cost 23 billion dollars in new taxes and fees on
homes. A study was conducted by five economists throughout the country to double check the work done by the California Air and Resource Board on the
cap-and-trade system, and the results showed that the report was “severely flawed systematically underestimated costs.” With California leading the nation
in job losses, having the fourth-largest foreclosure rate, and looking at a 40 billion dollar deficit, many suggest that keeping the cap-and-trade system
may only intensify the problem.
Wall Street Journal: Article
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Posted by Becca on Monday, March 09 @ 09:07:10 EDT (301 reads)
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