Weekly Green: February 19, 2014

In the news this week:

• Gov. Brown proposes $687 million for California drought relief;
• In parched Central Valley, a message of aid and a warning from Obama;
• Financier plans big ad campaign on climate change;
• Ivanpah solar plant formally opens;
• ... and much more!

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Top News

Gov. Brown proposes $687 million for California drought relief
Gov. Jerry Brown and the top Democratic lawmakers are proposing to spend $687 million to help drought-stricken communities throughout California, including $15 million for those with dangerously low drinking water supplies.
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20140219/wire/140219517

In parched Central Valley, a message of aid and a warning from Obama
The president outlines more than $160 million in federal assistance to California. He ties the drought directly to global warming
http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-obama-fresno-20140215,0,2145242.story

Financier Plans Big Ad Campaign on Climate Change
California billionaire Tom Steyer, recently profiled in The Times as the emerging liberal counterweight to the Koch brothers, is doubling down.  The financier is planning to spend at least $100 million on tough attack ads targeted at congressional and gubernatorial candidates in the 2014 election cycle who oppose efforts to curb global warming.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/18/us/politics/financier-plans-big-ad-campaign-on-environment.html

Ivanpah Solar Plant Formally Opens
It's been a long road for the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System, from its formal proposal by BrightSource Energy in 2007 through the well-publicized problems with desert wildlife, some of which actually brought construction to a brief halt in 2011.
http://www.kcet.org/news/rewire/solar/concentrating-solar/milestone-ivanpah-solar-plant-formally-opens.html

Drought

Science Linking Drought to Global Warming Remains Matter of Dispute
In delivering aid to drought-stricken California last week, President Obama and his aides cited the state as an example of what could be in store for much of the rest of the country as human-caused climate change intensifies.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/17/science/some-scientists-disagree-with-presidents-linking-drought-to-warming.html

Viewpoints – Steve Fleischli: A prescription to prepare for drought
Before he declares California a drought disaster area, President Obama should make sure any federal emergency assistance complies with key environmental protections and review. Emergency aid will do little good if it enables policies that threaten water quality and supply down the road.
http://www.sacbee.com/2014/02/14/6156649/viewpoints-a-perscription-to-prepare.html

California faces critical drought, despite recent rains
A severe drought persists in California despite the recent precipitation, and parts of the state will face critical water shortages later this year without more rain and snowfall, water experts said at a Friday symposium.
http://www.sacbee.com/2014/02/14/6160070/california-faces-critical-drought.html

Lady Gaga: California's new drought spokeswoman
Lady Gaga has a new message for all of her “little monsters”: Save water. The five-time Grammy Award winner will soon be on the air with a public service announcement urging Californians to do their part to help with the state’s drought.
http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-lady-gaga-california-drought-20140213,0,304641.story

Battle Over California Drought Solution
California's drought is becoming a hot issue on Capitol Hill, where bills from Senate Democrats and House Republicans offer rival solutions on how to best aid water-starved farmers.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303874504579377241109393218

California water issues awash in politics
To call water “political’ is tantamount to calling it wet. And this year — the state’s driest year on record — is fertile ground for a water war.
http://www.dailynews.com/article/20140215/NEWS/140219578

Obscure source of water dries up
Surplus water from a little-known reservoir near Marysville has come to the rescue of fish, Central Valley farms and Southern California cities during dry spells for the past quarter century.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/Feb/15/drought-reservoir-water-supply/

California Politics & Environment

Paramount residents not alone in pollution fight
A Paramount case spotlights poor communities' struggle for action on local pollution sources.
http://www.latimes.com/science/la-me-paramount-forge-20140216,0,578319.story

State Sen. Evans proposes oil extraction tax for California
State Sen. Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa) on Wednesday revived a proposal to tax oil pumped from the ground in California, saying the $2 billion it would raise annually could help restore the affordability of higher education and improve social services and parks.
http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2014/02/19/proposal-for-oil-severance-tax-rises-anew/

Newsom opposes high-speed rail – other Dems to follow?
In California, where Democrats and Republicans don't agree on much, the emergence of Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom as the state's highest-ranking Democrat to pull his support for Gov. Jerry Brown's high-speed rail project is being closely watched as the possible harbinger of political change.
http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Newsom-opposes-high-speed-rail-other-Dems-to-5246249.php

Bay Delta tunnel plan cost hammered at hearing
Pointing to cost overruns with California's high-speed rail project, lawmakers on Wednesday pressed state officials on the funding sources and ultimate price tag for the governor's water tunnel plan.
http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2014/02/bay-delta-tunnel-plan-cost-hammered-at-hearing.html

Water-bond debate exposes sharp differences among California interest groups
Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Davis, presented a proposal to place a scaled-down, $6.9 billion water bond on the November ballot to a Senate committee on Tuesday, asserting the one now scheduled to go before voters this fall is too bloated.
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2014/feb/11/water-bond-debate-exposes-sharp-differences/

Planet-warming methane leaking at higher rate, study finds
Federal regulators are missing about 14 million metric tons of greenhouse gas in their annual inventory, most of which likely comes from the nation's growing natural gas industry, according to a new study.
http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-methane-leaks-20140213,0,359951.story

Two solar projects approved on public lands in California and Nevada
Federal officials have announced the approval of two solar projects on public land in California and Nevada. The projects are expected to generate about 550 megawatts of renewable energy, or enough to power about 170,000 homes, the Interior Department said in a statement Wednesday.
http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-solar-projects-california-20140219,0,3529786.story

Yosemite National Park drops plans to ban bike and raft rentals
In a major reversal, Yosemite National Park officials have dropped controversial plans to ban a wide variety of recreational activities in Yosemite Valley, including ending bike and raft rentals and tearing out swimming pools at the Yosemite Lodge and famed Ahwahnee Hotel.
http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_25147049/yosemite-national-park-drops-plans-ban-bike-and

Just what is floating in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?
In the middle of the North Pacific, a vortex of trash swirls in the ocean, a repository for plastic bottles, bags and wrappers human beings thousands of miles away let drift into the ocean. It's called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/plastic-602048-ocean-problem.html

Squirrels, gophers unleash toxins at former Berkeley landfill into bay
Having run out of options, the city is planning to trap and terminate hundreds, if not thousands, of ground squirrels and western pocket gofers who have turned the shoreline of the 90-acre Cesar Chavez Park on the bay into what looks like a slice of Swiss cheese.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_25152665/squirrels-gophers-unleash-toxins-at-former-berkeley-landfill

Divers plunge in to keep San Francisco reservoirs clean
On a sunny morning in the Sunset District, Drew McEwing struggled into a dry suit, clipped on ankle weights and was helped into a diving helmet.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Divers-plunge-in-to-keep-S-F-reservoirs-clean-5242975.php

National Headlines

Obama Orders New Efficiency for Big Trucks
President Obama on Tuesday ordered the development of tough new fuel standards for the nation’s fleet of heavy-duty trucks as part of what aides say will be an increasingly muscular and unilateral campaign to tackle climate change through the use of the president's executive power.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/19/us/politics/obama-to-request-new-rules-for-cutting-truck-pollution.html

Obama-appointed climate change task force meets in Los Angeles
Obama administration officials met with a nationwide task force of state and local leaders in Los Angeles Thursday to hear what the federal government can do to help communities confront climate change.
http://www.dailynews.com/article/20140213/NEWS/140219698

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