Weekly Green: February 19, 2015

In recent headlines:

• Huge Exxon Mobil explosion a reminder of refinery dangers;
• Benzene in fracking water in California is 700 times federal safety level;
• Obama creating national monuments in Chicago, Hawaii and Colorado today;
• Feinstein Introduces Updated California Desert Protection Bill;
• ... and much more!

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TOP NEWS

Huge Exxon Mobil explosion a reminder of refinery dangers
A large explosion Wednesday at the Exxon Mobil refinery in Torrance sent flames into the air, injuring four and leaving residents with a stark reminder of the dangers that come with living in the South Bay’s refinery zone.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-exxon-mobil-explosion-refinery-dangers-20150218-story.html

Benzene in fracking water in California is 700 times federal safety level
Hoping to better understand the health effects of oil fracking, the state in 2013 ordered oil companies to test the chemical-laden waste water extracted from wells.
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-fracking-20150211-story.html#page=1

Obama creating national monuments in Chicago, Hawaii and Colorado today
President Barack Obama hits adopted hometown Chicago on Thursday to designate the historic Pullman community a national monument — on a day where he also creates monuments in his native Hawaii and in Colorado.
http://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-politics/7/71/379631/obama-creating-national-monuments-chicago-hawaii-colorado-today

Feinstein Introduces Updated California Desert Protection Bill
“This piece of legislation is the final chapter in a long effort to preserve one of the most magnificent landscapes in the United States,” Feinstein said. “We must ensure that critical parts of the California desert—with its mountain vistas, bighorn sheep, mule deer, desert tortoises, Joshua trees, Native American petroglyphs and much more—will be protected for all time.”
http://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=9d92ada0-21eb-44c7-8f4e-6146bca26e37
 

CALIFORNIA NEWS

South Bay oil refineries: A history of destructive explosions
The blast at the Exxon Mobil refinery in Torrance on Wednesday is a reminder of the dangers that exist at such facilities. The South Bay is dotted with oil refineries and there is a history of destructive accidents.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-south-bay-oil-refineries-history-explosions-20150218-story.html

Pipe bursts, sending 100,000 gallons into Hollywood Hills neighborhood
A nearly century-old water main burst in the Hollywood Hills in the predawn hours Wednesday, cracking sidewalks and pavement and submerging cars as at least 100,000 gallons of water spewed into a residential neighborhood.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-water-main-break-floods-hollywood-hills-neighborhood-submerges-vehicles-20150218-story.html

LA Times: Amid a lack of fracking data, the state should halt new operations
The resources division must move swiftly to close wells that were supposed to be protected, even those it believes the EPA may exempt in the future. If the EPA eventually agrees, the wells can be reopened. For now, conserving potentially useful water should be a top priority.
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-fracking-wastewater-tainted-aquifers-california-20150213-story.html

California Pledges Changes in Protecting Underground Water
California has proposed closing by October up to 140 oilfield wells that state regulators had allowed to inject into federally protected drinking water aquifers, state officials said Monday.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/02/09/us/ap-us-imperiled-aquifers.html?_r=1

California oil regulator cites ‘serious concerns’ on data collection
Pressed by lawmakers about failing to shield protected aquifers from waste generated during oil drilling, California’s state regulator overseeing the oil industry conceded Wednesday that his agency is falling short.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article9767951.html

Does California Need More National Monuments?
This month, former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt was in Santa Cruz, stumping for a new monument there. The push for the Berryessa-Snow Mountain lands is proceeding on dual tracks, seeking both presidential and congressional approval, whichever comes first.
http://blogs.kqed.org/science/audio/does-california-need-more-national-monuments/

In California’s Oil Patch, Activists Fight New Crude-By-Rail Terminal
Farmer and activist Tom Frantz lives in Shafter, a town just up the road from Bakersfield where oil rigs are as common as almond trees. But these days, his attention is focused on oil coming from outside the state, oil that comes in by train and unloads at crude-by-rail terminals.
http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/02/18/in-californias-oil-patch-activists-fight-new-crude-by-rail-terminal

State air regulators expected to advance 'low carbon fuel standard,' cleaner-burning fuels
California air regulators vote Thursday on recommitting to the low carbon fuel standard, a key part of the state’s greenhouse gas reduction plan that promotes switching to cleaner-burning fuels.
http://www.scpr.org/news/2015/02/18/49918/state-air-regulators-expected-to-advance-low-carbo/

California sea lion crisis: Warmer seas may be to blame
Although scientists are still awaiting data from research done on the islands, NOAA Fisheries says warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures along the California coast in fall 2014 may be a factor.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-california-sea-lion-crisis-20150218-story.html

Scores of Birds Killed During Test of Solar Project in Nevada
On January 14, during tests of the 110-megawatt Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project near Tonopah, Nevada, biologists observed 130 birds entering an area of concentrated solar energy and catching fire. That's according to Rudy Evenson, Deputy Chief of Communications for Nevada Bureau of Land Management in Reno.
http://www.kcet.org/news/redefine/rewire/solar/concentrating-solar/scores-of-birds-killed-during-test-of-solar-project-in-nevada.html

Starving California brown pelicans stranded inland
Poisons nearly drove them to extinction 50 years ago. They failed to breed last year, possibly because of warmer, El Niño-like waters. Now a handful of birds are showing up in odd places far from the coast and starving, and no one knows why.
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_27543573/starving-californias-brown-pelicans-stranded-inland

State’s population growth expected to outstrip water conservation in coming years
California water agencies are on track to satisfy a state mandate to reduce water consumption 20 percent by 2020. But according to their own projections, that savings won’t be enough to keep up with population growth just a decade later.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/environment/article10311635.html

California water officials eyeing new drought restrictions
California officials who are in charge of restricting water as the drought drags on are considering new limits on restaurants, hotels and decorative fountains in addition to existing rules for homeowners.
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/home/3542308-181/california-water-officials-eyeing-new

California Turns to the Ocean for Drinking Water
California’s four-year drought is putting a new spotlight on a plentiful but costly water alternative: ocean water, minus the salt.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/california-turns-to-the-ocean-for-1424215351

San Diego home water use up despite drought
Per-capita residential water use in the region crept up during the past five years despite pleas from the governor, water managers, conservation groups and others to cut back amid California’s ongoing drought.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2015/feb/16/environment-residential-water-consumption-equinox/

Bigger longer droughts for much of West
As bad as recent droughts in California, the Southwest and the Midwest have been, scientists say far worse “megadroughts” are coming — and they’re bound to last for decades.
http://www.dailynews.com/article/20150212/NEWS/150219809

PG&E e-mails may prove pivotal in building case against regulator
A Pacific Gas and Electric Co. executive exploited former state Public Utilities Commission President Michael Peevey’s intense interest in a Kern County alternative-energy project in making a backroom deal to win favorable treatment for the company, newly released e-mails show.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/PG-E-e-mails-may-prove-pivotal-in-building-case-6082926.php

Trash-burning plant protected in California climate fights
The carve-out, tucked into existing law and included – with significant limitations – in de León’s proposal, applies to only one plant in California, a Central Valley incinerator that has stood for years as a tradeoff to moderate Democrats for their support on controversial environmental bills.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/article10378388.html

NATIONAL & GLOBAL NEWS

BP says CO2 emissions unsustainable, warns on global warming
BP has warned that carbon dioxide emission levels from burning fossil fuels are unsustainable unless the international community unilaterally introduces tougher binding regulations on atmospheric pollution.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/11417968/BP-says-CO2-emissions-unsustainable-warns-on-global-warming.html

Fire from West Virginia Oil Train Derailment Burns for 3rd Day
The fiery derailment of a train carrying crude oil in West Virginia is one of three in the past year involving tank cars that already meet a higher safety standard than what federal law requires — leading some to suggest even tougher requirements that industry representatives say would be costly.
http://news.yahoo.com/w-va-oil-train-derailment-083808493.html;_ylt=AwrTWVUoPeZUSkwAKd7QtDMD

Earthquakes are on the rise, and it’s likely because of us.
Earthquakes are shaking the country from Maine to southern California. This interactive map from the Center for Investigative Reporting shows the uptick in tremblors from the beginning of the century to now.
http://www.onearth.org/earthwire/drilling-earthquakes-map

Inspectors urge Japan to dump water from Fukushima plant into ocean
Nearly four years after Japan’s massive March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, the country has made “significant progress” toward stabilizing and decommissioning the ravaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, international nuclear inspectors said Tuesday.
http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-iaea-japan-water-fukushima-plant-20150217-story.html

MIT: Megascale Desalination in Israel is Technological Breakthrough
The new plant in Israel, called Sorek, was finished in late 2013 but is just now ramping up to its full capacity; it will produce 627,000 cubic meters of water daily, providing evidence that such large desalination facilities are practical. Indeed, desalinated seawater is now a mainstay of the Israeli water supply.
http://www.technologyreview.com/featuredstory/534996/megascale-desalination/

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