Weekly Green: February 2, 2012

Panel testimony ranged from a scientist’s report about disturbing new research linking air pollution to immune deficiency and multi-generational DNA changes, to a labor leader’s plea for ending clear cutting and advancing sustainable forestry and sustainable jobs.

Wind energy now supplies about 5% of California’s total electricity needs, or enough to power more than 400,000 households. That’s the word from the California Wind Energy Assn., which said that California put up more new turbines than any state last year, with 921.3 megawatts installed

An $11 billion water bond facing voters on the November likely will be rewritten, downsized or delayed – or even all three -- to reflect political realities and a weak economy, says the leader of the Senate.

During 2009 and 2010, Big Oil, Gas and Coal spent $347 million in campaign contributions and lobbying Congress. They got back $20 billion in subsidies.

Quick: What is the Sacramento Delta? Not where. What. According to a new statewide poll commissioned by Southern California water interests, three out of four surveyed could not answer that question correctly…or at all.

Dozens of union construction workers and college students rallied in support of the embattled California High-Speed Rail on Thursday in Sacramento, touting the jobs it’ll create and the congestion it’ll alleviate.

A California Republican lawmaker is planning to introduce an amendment to the $260 billion surface transportation bill being considered by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Thursday to block any of the money from going to a controversial high-speed railway in his state.

House Republicans rolled out a $270 billion transportation bill Tuesday that would open the California coast to oil drilling and eliminate most bicycle and pedestrian programs. And that's just for starters.

The decision, which is being closely watched by smart grid advocates and utilities across the country, came after a year of highly organized protests by consumers who oppose SmartMeters, primarily because of alleged health effects.

The Klamath region, which fought for years over the river's decline, now has a serious, scientifically tested plan for the future. All the players - farmers, environmentalists, fishing groups, tribes and others - are on board. This is one water war that should be called off.

A new paper examining data from more than 600 restored or man-made wetlands found that in key ways, they don’t measure up to the real thing.

The EPA proposal, released in December, would allow 1 in 28 beachgoers to experience some gastrointestinal illness after swimming, rather than the 8 in 1,000 that were previously acknowledged. It’s mostly a tale of numbers, but the NRDC is trying to force the EPA to better the odds. The EPA is under a federal consent decree to update the standards by October 2012. The current proposal is open for public comment until Feb. 21.