Weekly Green: April 13, 2013

Good afternoon, everyone. In recent headlines:

• Fracking temporarily blocked by judge, bill advances;
• Governor Brown goes to China, rides the bullet train & talks climate;
• Chamber announces "job killer" bills;
• Kiss the vineyards goodbye? And much more!

» Welcome to another edition of the Weekly Green, a no-frills news roundup provided free of charge by the California League of Conservation Voters. If you're not a regular subscriber, sign up today! Get your free subscription here: http://ecovote.org/wg

Fracking

Fracking foes in California win in court
Fracking opponents in California have won what may be their first victory in court, with a federal magistrate's ruling that federal authorities broke the law when they leased land in Monterey and Fresno counties to oil drillers without studying the possible risks of hydraulic fracturing.
http://www.sfgate.com/green/article/Fracking-foes-in-California-win-in-court-4419423.php

Judge temporarily blocks fracking on Central Coast
Nearly 20,000 acres of prime Central Coast farm and ranch land may be protected at least temporarily from oil and gas "fracking" due to a federal judge's "watershed" ruling.
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_22982924/judge-temporarily-blocks-fracking-central-coast

Southern California air regulators adopt fracking rules
In the absence of statewide regulations for hydraulic fracturing, Southern California air-quality officials have enacted their own reporting rules for the controversial extraction process driving the country's oil and gas boom.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/political/la-me-pc-southern-california-air-regulators-adopt-fracking-rules-20130405,0,7462664.story

'Compromise bill' to regulate fracking advances in Legislature
Pavley's bill, SB 4 ... would require that drillers receive a specific fracking permit from state regulators in advance, disclose the amount of water and chemicals to be used, and give neighboring property owners the ability to request that the quality of groundwater be monitored before and after fracking has occurred.
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2013/apr/09/compromise-bill-to-regulate-fracking-advances-in/

California should tighten fracking regulations, report says
California needs to strengthen regulation of hydraulic fracturing, according to a UC Berkeley report that identified a number of shortcomings in state oversight of the controversial practice.
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-hydraulic-fracturing-california-20130411,0,1434562.story

California’s Fracking Bonanza May Fall Short of Promise
California and oil producers such as Occidental Petroleum Corp. may not be able to realize their dream of hydraulic fracturing generating billions in revenue from the Monterey shale deposit traversing the state.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-10/california-s-fracking-bonanza-may-fall-short-of-promise.html

High-speed Rail

First bullet train construction bid is below state estimate
The top candidate to build the first 29 miles of California's bullet train in the Central Valley bid just under $1 billion, below the state's estimates of the cost, high-speed rail officials announced Friday.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-high-speed-rail-bids-20130412,0,5258980.story

Brown wants China aboard California's high-speed rail project
His trade mission is intersecting with one of the most controversial issues of his governorship: the state's $68-billion bullet train. He'd love China to pump some money into the troubled project.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-brown-china-train-20130412,0,1126817.story

Brown rides, praises China bullet train
"We sit around and mope. And process. And navel gaze," said the governor about the political environment back home. "And the rest of the world is moving at mach speed. So when we go back, we'll emulate some of that."
http://www.news10.net/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=240458

Climate Change

Jerry Brown makes cosmic case for carbon reduction
Gov. Jerry Brown used a stage at one of China’s most prestigious universities Thursday to make his pitch for environmental policies that he said could help reverse the global impacts of climate change and boost the economies of China and California.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/political/la-me-pc-jerry-brown-makes-cosmic-case-for-carbon-reduction-20130410,0,6364989.story

Draft National Climate Assessment predicts more global warming woes for California
Climate change will bring significantly higher temperatures and sea levels to California by the end of the century, and it’s already worsening droughts and fires. Those are among the conclusions of scientists who gathered at USC yesterday to preview a federal climate report they helped write.
http://www.scpr.org/blogs/environment/2013/04/09/13230/draft-national-climate-assessment-predicts-more-gl/

U.S. Carbon Emissions Hit Lowest Point Since 1994
Carbon emissions have now declined every year since 2007 save for 2010.
http://www.nationaljournal.com/energy/u-s-carbon-emissions-hit-lowest-point-since-1994-20130405

Brown wants California's carbon market to link with Quebec's
Starting next January, California's cap-and-trade carbon market probably won't be operating on its own anymore.
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/04/10/5329469/brown-wants-californias-carbon.html

Study: California can kiss its vineyards goodbye
Awful as some of the climate-change predictions are, this one might hit a lot of Northern California residents where it hurts (assuming their homes aren't gobbled up by the sea first): Global warming will dramatically impact many of the world's most famous wine-producing regions, according to a new study.
http://www.mercurynews.com/food-wine/ci_22979640/study-california-can-kiss-its-vineyards-goodbye

Brown urges China to cut air pollution
Less than 48 hours after landing in Beijing, Gov. Jerry Brown appealed to an audience in this heavily polluted city today to step up efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, expanding for a global audience on a case he has made for decades in California.
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/04/11/5333038/brown-urges-china-to-cut-air-pollution.html

The Legislature

Reform of California's landmark environmental law is on life support
For years, California's business leaders have lamented that the state's 43-year-old environmental law is too often used to protect everything but the environment.
http://www.mercurynews.com/california-budget/ci_22974449/reform-californias-landmark-environmental-law-is-life-support

CalChamber calls out 32 "job killer" bills this year
The California Chamber of Commerce is out with its annual list of "job killer" bills today, bestowing the title on 32 pieces of legislation authored by legislative Democrats.
http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2013/04/calchamber-calls-out-32-job-killer-bills-this-year.html

Energy

Mosaic receives approval to offer $100 million worth of solar investments to California residents
Solar financing startup Mosaic, widely known as the "Kickstarter for solar," has a financing platform that allows individuals to invest in small to medium-size rooftop solar energy projects.
http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_22980791/mosaic-receives-approval-offer-100-million-worth-solar

New Law Would Make Nuclear Power Costs More Transparent
New legislation making it through the California state legislature puts the problems at San Onofre into a longer-term perspective.
http://www.kpbs.org/news/2013/apr/08/ab-418-makes-nuclear-power-costs-more-transparent/

California Sets Wind Power Records During High-Wind Event
More wind power than ever has powered the state in the last few days, according to the California Independent System Operator (CaISO), which runs the electrical power grid covering most of the state. On Sunday, wind power production reached an all-time peak of 4,196 megawatts -- nearly twice the output of the shuttered San Onofre nuclear power plant.
http://www.kcet.org/news/rewire/wind/california-sets-wind-power-records.html

Lancaster, Calif., Mayor Focuses on Solar Power
R. Rex Parris, the mayor of Lancaster, Calif., wants the city to be the first to produce more electricity from solar energy than it consumes.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/09/us/lancaster-calif-focuses-on-becoming-solar-capital-of-universe.html

Chevron refinery fire tied to lax oversight
Federal accident investigators urged a complete overhaul of California's "patchwork" of oil industry regulations [last] Friday at a state legislative hearing into the fire last year at Chevron's Richmond refinery.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Chevron-refinery-fire-tied-to-lax-oversight-4414196.php

Finding California Oil Pipelines Near Your Home Not So Easy
As it stands now, except for those of us who happen to live right up against a pipeline route and have seen the signs there, Californians will likely stay pretty much in the dark about the precise location and condition of the state's 5,500 miles of pipelines that carry oil and other hazardous materials.
http://www.kcet.org/news/rewire/petroleum/finding-california-oil-pipelines-near-your-home-not-so-easy.html

Nuclear byproduct levels on Treasure Island higher than Navy disclosed
Land slated for development on Treasure Island contains elevated concentrations of cesium-137, a byproduct of nuclear fission associated with an increased risk of cancer, according to an independent analysis commissioned by the Center for Investigative Reporting.
https://www.baycitizen.org/news/environment/treasure-island-soil-tests-find-nuclear-byproduct/

More California Environmental News

California decides chemical BPA is toxic
California on Thursday became the latest state to place restrictions on the chemical known as Bisphenol-A and declare it a reproductive toxicant.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/California-decides-chemical-BPA-is-toxic-4428719.php

Los Angeles Plan to Turn Pollution Into Drinking Water
After the rare rains, runoff drags heavy metals, pesticides, cigarette butts, animal waste and other pollutants into streams and rivers and eventually to the Pacific Ocean, turning Los Angeles County’s beaches into the filthiest in the state.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/08/us/los-angeles-plan-to-turn-pollution-into-drinking-water.html

Details about new plan for San Gabriel Mountains raise questions
The Interior Department is recommending to Congress that the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service collaborate in the region, which includes part of the Angeles National Forest.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0412-san-gabriels-20130412,0,902469.story

Assembly speaker demands action on Vernon recycling plant
Assembly Speaker John A. Perez (D-Los Angeles) on Friday asked the state Department of Toxic Substances Control to take "immediate action" on dangerous arsenic emissions from a battery recycling plant in Vernon.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-exide-action-20130405,0,6782428.story

Federal fisheries administrative merger could cost California
Federal budget cutters are merging the two West Coast administrative regions of the National Marine Fisheries Service, a move that could leave California at a disadvantage.
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-budget-cuts-noaa-fisheries-20130409,0,5423155.story

Campaign watchdog agency calls for more disclosure by nonprofits
The state’s campaign watchdog agency is supporting sweeping changes to California’s political finance laws, including proposals to lift the veil of secrecy from nonprofit groups that are spending record amounts of money on political campaigns in the state.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/political/la-me-pc-campaign-watchdog-20130410,0,3286080.story

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