Weekly Green: February 24, 2014

Happy Monday, all. In recent headlines:

• Senate Pro Tem Steinberg's carbon tax vs. cap and trade;
• Supreme Court asked to clear the air about greenhouse gas rules;
• California's fracking opponents introduce new moratorium bill;
• Drought not unprecedented;
• ... and much more!

» Welcome to another edition of the Weekly Green, your 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

Carbon Tax vs. Cap-and-Trade

Kate Gordon: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it
What a week it's been! Today is the last day for CA legislators to submit bills for this session, and they submitted plenty. Top of mind for the energy and climate community: Darryl Steinberg's surprise call for a carbon tax to replace fuels coming under the AB32 carbon cap; Fran Pavley and Ricardo Lara's simultaneous call for ARB to extend carbon reductions--including in the transportation sector--past 2020; and Noreen Evans's reprise of last session's oil severance tax proposal.
http://thenextgeneration.org/newsletter-posts/975

Would Californians be Better Off with a Fuel Tax instead of Cap-and-Trade?
But on the substance, would Californians be better off with a fuel tax instead of cap-and-trade? My first blush answer is No, and certainly not at this stage. Here’s why.
http://legal-planet.org/2014/02/21/would-californians-be-better-off-with-a-fuel-tax-instead-of-cap-and-trade/

Gas Tax Proposed for California Would Change Existing Climate Law
State Senator Darrell Steinberg is proposing a carbon tax on gasoline that would put a price on the pollution that causes climate change. The plan would also preempt a key piece of California’s existing climate law, due to kick in next year.
http://blogs.kqed.org/science/2014/02/20/gas-tax-proposed-for-california-would-undermine-existing-climate-law/

Proposed Gas Tax Would Alter Climate Law
Some environmental groups have taken issue with the proposal because it would pre-empt part of the state's current cap-and-trade program, which limits how much companies can pump out greenhouse gases. We discuss the tax and its implications for cap-and-trade.
http://www.kqed.org/a/forum/R201402240900

Environmental & Political News

Supreme Court asked to clear the air about greenhouse gas rules
The Supreme Court’s hottest environmental case of the year pits Texas against California on Monday, and that’s just for starters.
http://www.sacbee.com/2014/02/20/6175166/supreme-court-asked-to-clear-the.html

California's fracking opponents introduce new moratorium bill
California lawmakers have unveiled a new bill that would halt fracking and other controversial oil extraction practices in the state until a comprehensive review of their impact is complete, reigniting a legislative debate that fracking opponents lost last year.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/21/us-california-fracking-moratorium-idUSBREA1K23620140221

Severe drought? California has been here before
A thousand-year tree-ring study shows that deep droughts come with the territory. Now the issue is how to deal with them.
http://www.latimes.com/science/la-me-drought-weakness-20140223,0,6503044.story

Feds to Central Valley farmers: Expect no water this summer
The federal Central Valley Project on Friday made an unprecedented irrigation forecast -- zero water this summer for 3 million acres in the Central Valley at the heart of the state's $44 billion farm industry.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/02/21/3783728/feds-to-central-valley-farmers.html

Tesoro bars federal safety agency from East Bay refinery
In an unprecedented challenge, Tesoro Corp. has barred federal authorities from going inside its refinery near Martinez to investigate an incident in which two workers were burned by acid spewing from a broken pipe, The Chronicle has learned.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Tesoro-bars-federal-safety-agency-from-East-Bay-5254436.php

Bay Area water agency may start Sacramento River diversions
For the first time ever, a Bay Area water agency plans to use its water rights on the Sacramento River this year to help its customers survive the ongoing drought.
http://www.sacbee.com/2014/02/24/6185991/bay-area-water-agency-may-start.html

Water, ethics bills play big roles in 2014 session
Drought and water issues will play a prominent role in this year's legislative session as most of California is dealing with the consequences of one of the driest periods on record. Since the Legislature reconvened in January, 1,929 bills were introduced in advance of Friday's deadline. The legislation reflects a sense of urgency among lawmakers after three dry winters have forced farmers to fallow fields and some communities to declare mandatory water reductions. At least 17 communities have dangerously low drinking water supplies.
http://www.dailydemocrat.com/breakingnews/ci_25212271/water-ethics-bills-play-big-roles-2014-session

California's beaches belong to all
The public's right to use California's beaches has been threatened over the years in disputes from Malibu to the North Coast. Any decision to keep this little path closed would drastically erode the public's right to access to the beaches it owns. That right was affirmed in 1972 by the California Coastal Zone Conservation Initiative, which made the entire coast, including beaches below the mean high tide, public property. Details need to be worked out, but the intent of the law is clear: These are your beaches. You need to be permitted to go down to the sea.
http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/editorials/article/California-s-beaches-belong-to-all-5260896.php

Drought beginning to change how people think about growth in the Sacramento region
More people are coming. More water probably isn't.
http://www.sacbee.com/2014/02/23/6181571/the-sacramento-region-plans-to.html

With ice melting, U.S. pushes for limits on fishing in Arctic Ocean
U.S. officials are heading to Greenland for a three-day meeting to persuade other Arctic nations to place a moratorium on high-seas fishing in the Arctic Ocean, where climate change is melting the permanent ice cap and allowing trawlers in for the first time in human history.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-arctic-ocean-fishing-20140222,0,7982828.story

Local Group Wants Renewable Development in L.A., Not Owens Valley
California's second-largest county wants to designate almost ten percent of its land for renewable energy development, and a cultural protection group is taking up metaphorical arms against the core of the proposed policy. In doing so, it's turning NIMBYism on its head.
http://www.kcet.org/news/rewire/commentary/internment-site-protection-group-taking-the-long-view-on-inyo-county-solar.html

How California tamed its once-dysfunctional Legislature
One might assume that a legislature that just gained a Democratic supermajority would become more liberal and more combative with business interests. But the opposite happened when Democrats secured two-thirds of all seats in the Senate and Assembly - along with control of the governor's office - in Sacramento in 2013.
http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/diaz/article/How-California-tamed-its-once-dysfunctional-5256895.php

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