Weekly Green: April 5, 2013

In recent headlines:

• Gov. Brown expected to promote carbon-reduction policies in China;
• State flood risk high, coordination low;
• Climate change will increase extreme precipitation levels;
• Pipeline spills stir new criticism of Keystone XL plan;
• ... and much more!

» Welcome to the latest 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

Top News

Gov. Brown expected to promote carbon-reduction policies in China
Gov. Jerry Brown, who is often uncomfortable with the type of protocol-heavy events that will fill his schedule next week in China, said today he is "excited" about the trip - even if a week of banquets and meetings "can be a little bit ... it's not, like, exciting."
http://bit.ly/XYWAyC

State flood risk high, coordination low
California may be known for its vulnerability to earthquakes and wildfires, but the state also faces the risk of devastating floods, according to a report being released Wednesday by the state Department of Water Resources and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
http://bit.ly/13YVIxE

Climate change will increase extreme precipitation levels
Rainfall or snowfall dumped by the most intense storms could grow significantly heavier in most of the United States by the final decades of the century, according to a new climate change study.
http://lat.ms/YB6gyC

Pipeline spills stir new criticism of Keystone XL plan
Two recent oil pipeline spills have prompted new criticism from opponents of the proposed Keystone XL project, while raising more questions about whether the federal government is adequately monitoring the nation’s vast labyrinth of pipelines.
http://nyti.ms/Yw10fF

California News

Obama talks climate, raises funds in S.F.
The visit drew protests from opponents of the Keystone XL oil pipeline and from Republicans, who slammed it as a jaunt to "billionaires' row."
http://bit.ly/10DLZGW

Federal court rules electricity rebates are due in California
A federal court this week ruled that two government power agencies are liable for overcharging California ratepayers by more than $1 billion during the state's energy crisis of 2000 and 2001.
http://lat.ms/12rUdTV

Editorial: Would rail cynics have nixed our federal highways?
The Government Accountability Office injected a sense of realism into the high-speed rail debate, detailing in its March 28 report just how large infrastructure projects of this kind work. But the naysayers led by House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, and Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Turlock, don't seem to be listening.
http://bit.ly/17hSaWc

Democrats urge Brown to consider alternative to water project
A group of nearly two dozen Democrats is challenging Gov. Jerry Brown's proposal to build a massive water project in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.
http://lat.ms/ZEtDmF

Yolo Bypass floodplain experiment produces salmon 'fatties'
The experiment to raise juvenile salmon in flooded rice fields began in February when scientists put 50,000 pinky-sized fish into flooded test fields on 18 acres in the Yolo Bypass north of Woodland.
http://bit.ly/ZdiCsy

After five years, has the Bay Area wood burning ban spared the air?
Despite some lingering anger over wood-burning rules, Bay Area air quality officials say a five-year burn ban has paid off for the region's 7 million residents.
http://bit.ly/XYVCT9

L.A. City Council members irate over arsenic emissions
Los Angeles City Council members Wednesday expressed fury at recent revelations that arsenic emissions from a battery-recycling plant in nearby Vernon pose a danger to as many as 110,000 people, and called upon the city attorney to look into possible legal action.
http://lat.ms/10DMpgv

San Diego Farmers Bracing For A Tough Year
San Diego farmers are facing a triple threat: rainfall is three inches below average, water prices have skyrocketed, and the state’s snowpack is 52 percent of normal.
http://bit.ly/13YWmeu

Groups seek probe into low-grade crude shipments to L.A. refineries
A coalition of environmental groups says it has discovered that large-scale shipments of low-quality heavy crude oil from Canada's tar sands are being delivered by rail for processing by Southern California refineries.
http://lat.ms/16CHdNx

Chevron refinery could restart within a few days
State regulators said Thursday they may be within days of allowing Chevron to resume operations at its refinery in Richmond, which has been hobbled since a fire in August.
http://bit.ly/ZjViAi

Chevron fails in effort to obtain documents from Oakland environmental group
A San Francisco judge has rejected efforts by Chevron to secure documents from a Bay Area environmental advocacy group in a fraud case related to a $19 billion award for rainforest pollution in Ecuador.
http://bit.ly/Y3ri5g

Remove 4 dams on Klamath, study urges
The four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River that block salmon migration and cause toxic algae blooms in stagnant lake water should be removed, concludes the most comprehensive environmental study ever done on the river system that flows from Oregon through California to the Pacific.
http://bit.ly/YYoZUA

Seals in crisis along California's Central Coast
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has declared "an unusual morbidity event is occurring for California sea lions in Southern California."
http://bit.ly/YYpLkk

Legislators recycle idea to ban plastic bags
Legislation to impose a statewide ban on single-use plastic bags cleared its first hurdle Monday, a recycled proposal that's ultimately failed several years running at the State Capitol.
http://on.news10.net/17hX31u

Financial oversight pushed for parks dept.
The Assembly Accountability and Administrative Review Committee voted 9-3 to require state departments to make public internal financial reports signed by the head of the agency under penalty of perjury. Department heads would be suspended without pay for failing to submit reports within a month of the deadline.
http://bit.ly/YYppu2

Ethics agency launches probe of environmental regulator
The state's ethics agency is investigating whether one of California's top environmental regulators violated conflict-of-interest laws by regulating companies in which she owns stock.
http://lat.ms/Z7gK5w

California-born voter turnout trails that of nonnative residents
Voters born in California are less likely to participate in the state’s elections than voters born elsewhere who now live in the Golden State, according to a report by Political Data Inc. that surprised its author.
http://lat.ms/14U0Anf

LA County developing a voting system for the digital age
Los Angeles County is re-inventing the nation's largest electoral system, which serves nearly 4 million registered voters. The goal is a more flexible, user-friendly system that county officials hope will increase turnout.
http://bit.ly/13YV3fz

Bill would allow 15-year-olds to pre-register to vote
Californians as young as 15 would be able to file papers enabling them to vote in elections as soon as they turn 18 under legislation endorsed this week by a state Senate Committee.
http://lat.ms/10DMjpf

National News

Survey Finds Most Republicans Seek Action on Climate Change
The national survey, conducted in January 2013, asked more than 700 people who self-identified as Republicans and Republican-leaning Independents about energy and climate change.
http://nyti.ms/XYKEwN

Opponents attack EPA proposal requiring cleaner fuel, cars in the U.S.
The Environmental Protection Agency proposes new rules requiring cleaner gasoline and lower-pollution vehicles nationwide, and opponents immediately launch attacks on the proposals.
http://bit.ly/EPArules

Emissions Rules Put Alternative-Fuel Vehicles in a Bind
The Environmental Protection Agency’s latest proposed tightening of limits on sulfur in gasoline, and its previous rules, will most likely have the perverse consequence of retarding the development of cars running on batteries, advanced biofuels or hydrogen.
http://nyti.ms/10CkX2p

Federal plan aims to help wildlife adapt to climate change
The Obama administration Tuesday announced a nationwide plan to help wildlife adapt to threats from climate change.
http://lat.ms/XkkDI9

Mystery Malady Kills More Bees, Heightening Worry on Farms
A mysterious malady that has been killing honeybees en masse for several years appears to have expanded drastically in the last year, commercial beekeepers say, wiping out 40 percent or even 50 percent of the hives needed to pollinate many of the nation’s fruits and vegetables.
http://nyti.ms/17hVmkp

Seen & Shared

Teton Gravity Research, known for its extreme sports films, captures the dizzying vistas of the San Francisco Bay Area in 4K HD.
VIDEO: http://bit.ly/11yOJrp

The majestic beauty of Death Valley National Park is captured in high-definition video.
VIDEO: http://on.fb.me/Y3mLQy

Stephen Colbert draws attention to Utah's Earth Day contest for children to design posters celebrating oil, gas, and mining: "Most importantly, do not use glitter... You spill that stuff, it is impossible to clean up - total mess!"
VIDEO: http://bit.ly/12rJA3h

This mid-90s "Computer Chronicles" television program explaining how the Internet works has drawn more than 160,000 views on YouTube. This link starts about halfway through, where the 1994 Nation Environmental Scorecard by the League of Conservation Voters makes an appearance.
VIDEO: http://bit.ly/16iqXRO

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