Weekly Green: August 3, 2012

Hello and good afternoon all. In this week's headlines:

• Californians stand by the call for action on climate change;
• Koch-funded climate change skeptic reverses course;
• Central Valley farmers want to end protection for killer whales;
• Facebook reveals its carbon footprint; scandal;
• And much more.

Top of the Ticket: California and Climate Change

Californians stand by call for climate action
In a statewide survey released Wednesday by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), 60% of Californians polled said that the effects of global warming have already begun. Asking the question in a slightly different way, both the Brookings Institution and the Pew Center for People & the Press found that in 2011, 60% and 63% of Americans, respectively, believed that there was solid evidence that global warming is happening.
http://blogs.kqed.org/climatewatch/2012/08/01/californians-stand-by-call-for-climate-action/

Californians support climate law, unsure of solution
In the years since Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger put his signature on California's landmark climate change law in the fall of 2006, there's remained vigorous debate about the fine print of the law's efforts to curb greenhouse gases.
http://www.news10.net/capitol/article/203374/525/Californians-support-climate-law-unsure-of-solution

California prepares for harsh realities of changing climate
Climate change is real and unfolding, and the outlook for California is bleak. A series of state-sponsored scientific studies released Tuesday warns that California can expect more scorching heat waves, severe and damaging wildfires, emergency room visits and strain on the electric grid as the Earth continues to warm and sea levels rise along the state's 1,100-mile long coast.
http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_21200269/california-prepares-harsh-realities-changing-climate

Koch-funded climate change skeptic reverses course
Former skeptic Richard Muller writes: "Three years ago I identified problems in previous climate studies that, in my mind, threw doubt on the very existence of global warming. Last year, following an intensive research effort involving a dozen scientists, I concluded that global warming was real and that the prior estimates of the rate of warming were correct. I'm now going a step further: Humans are almost entirely the cause."
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-kochfunded-climate-change-skeptic-reverses-course-20120729,0,7372823.story

California Environmental News

California Gov. Jerry Brown upsets environmentalist friends with his CEQA critique
If the full extent of Gov. Jerry Brown's frustration with the California Environmental Quality Act was not already clear, it became so last week, when he said, "I've never seen a CEQA exemption that I don't like."
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/07/31/4676598/california-gov-jerry-brown-upsets.html

Central Valley farmers want to end protection for killer whales
The iconic orca, or killer whale, should swim free of federal protection, a farmer from California's San Joaquin Valley urged in a petition filed Thursday.
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/08/03/4688039/central-valley-farmer-want-to.html

Delta tunnels would mean higher prices
If tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta actually get built, more than 2 million people in the Bay Area will see their water bills increase to help pay for them.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Delta-tunnels-would-mean-higher-prices-3745372.php

John Laird: Science drives delta water plan
A science-driven process guided the proposal on the state's water supply unveiled by Gov. Jerry Brown and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar last week. This process is a significant improvement over past efforts to deal with California's water, marking a turning point in managing this precious resource.
http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/openforum/article/Science-drives-delta-water-plan-3751693.php

Board OKs environmental plan on Mojave Desert groundwater sales
The Santa Margarita Water District signs off on the Cadiz groundwater pumping project's environmental impact report, despite expected legal challenges by opponents.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-cadiz-water-20120802,0,7151398.story

Future of San Onofre plant still uncertain
Southern California Edison says it still hasn't determined when the idled twin reactors at its San Onofre nuclear plant might be brought back online.
http://www.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_21204063/future-san-onofre-plant-still-uncertain

High-speed rail will shift Highway 99 through Fresno
Caltrans estimates that it will cost about $226 million and take up to three years to relocate a stretch of Highway 99 through Fresno to make way for high-speed train tracks.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/07/31/2931368/high-speed-rail-will-move-highway.html

Developer's plan to build new road into Yosemite National Park rebuffed by federal court
A Southern California developer has lost a five-year-legal battle to build a new road into Yosemite National Park after a federal court sided with environmentalists who opposed it.
http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_21203957/developers-plan-build-new-road-into-yosemite-national

Conservationists see rat in Peet's deal
Wildlife lovers are brewing up a public relations campaign targeting Peet's Coffee & Tea, on the grounds that its proposed new owner has close ties to the maker of D-Con, a potent rat poison that can get in the food chain and kill or sicken other species.
http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Conservationists-see-rat-in-Peet-s-deal-3758787.php

New study: Lead poisoning of condors at 'epidemic proportions'
California condors, one of the world's most endangered species, are facing lead poisoning from hunters' bullets "at epidemic levels," and will not recover unless further steps are taken to control it, a new study has found.
http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_21198735/new-study-lead-poisoning-condors-at-epidemic-proportions

Pinnacles monument closer to park status
The brainchild of Rep. Sam Farr, D-Carmel, an upgrade of Pinnacles to park status has enthusiastic support from local elected officials and businesses who hope that the national park cachet will draw tourists, especially the foreign kind, who now pass by unaware of the rock formations along U.S. Highway 101.
http://www.sfgate.com/science/article/Pinnacles-monument-closer-to-park-status-3751450.php#photo-3265594

National News

Facebook reveals its carbon footprint
Facebook has, for the first time, revealed the carbon footprint of its operations and its more than 900m users' likes, photo albums and status updates.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/aug/01/facebook-google-carbon-footprint

US CO2 emissions fall to lowest first-quarter level in 20 years: EIA
Energy-related carbon emissions fell 8 percent from the same period a year ago to 1.134 billion metric tons (1.25 billion tons), according to the latest monthly energy review by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) - the energy department's statistics arm.
http://planetark.org/enviro-news/item/66110

A Deeper Look at Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest in ‘Frackademia'
Opponents of expanded gas drilling have coined the term "frackademia" for university research on the potential impacts of the boom in shale gas drilling that involves industry money or experts with industry ties. The effort, of course, is aimed at conveying that industry money or relationships leads to bad science.
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/01/a-deeper-look-at-undisclosed-conflicts-of-interest-in-frackademia/

New Obama web video swipes Romney over wind energy credit
President Obama's campaign released a web video Friday profiling the owner of a small Michigan wind farming business, arguing the president's push for alternative energy programs has stimulated job growth.
http://thehill.com/video/campaign/242193-new-obama-web-video-swipes-romney-over-wind-energy-credit

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