Weekly Green: January 8, 2014

Good afternoon and Happy New Year! In the news this past week:

• Public, lawmakers focus on fracking rules and possible moratorium;
• 2013's victories -- and disasters;
• 2014's outlook for voters, Sacramento leadership, and Big Oil;
• Cap and trade, high-speed rail, bag bans, and much more.

» Welcome to another edition of the Weekly Green, a 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

Above the Fold

A New Year, but California's still Fracked
Right now, the California Department of Conservation's Division of Oil, Gas & Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) is accepting public comment on their proposed regulations for fracking and other risky drilling techniques including acidizing for oil. But the official public commenting period ends soon.
http://www.ecovote.org/blog/new-year-californias-still-fracked

Fracking moratorium urged by California lawmakers
Reviving an issue that dominated the environmental agenda in 2013, California lawmakers are calling on Gov. Jerry Brown to impose a moratorium on the controversial drilling process known as hydraulic fracturing.
http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2014/01/fracking-moratorium-urged-by-california-lawmakers.html

Funders Behind Climate Change Denial Hide Donations
Most donations behind the climate change denial effort in the United States are “dark money,” or concealed funding, finds the first peer-reviewed, comprehensive analysis ever conducted of the sources of funding behind the campaign. A new study by Drexel University environmental sociologist Robert J. Brulle, PhD, exposes the organizational underpinnings and funding behind the climate change denial "countermovement."
http://ens-newswire.com/2014/01/02/funders-behind-climate-change-denial-hide-donations/

2013 in Review

Steve Scauzillo: Counting our green victories of 2013
Victories in the green world of environment, i.e. the place where we live and breathe, are overshadowed by global climate change, the elephant in the room. Being a glass-half-full kind of guy, I thought I’d go ahead and list the green bouquets of 2013.
http://www.dailynews.com/environment-and-nature/20131228/steve-scauzillo-counting-our-green-victories-of-2013

Big Money Trumps the Environment
Although Democrats control the governor's office and the state legislature, corporate interests proved once again in 2013 that they control California's environmental agenda.
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/big-money-trumps-the-environment/Content?oid=3793135

What A Year: 45 Fossil Fuel Disasters The Industry Doesn’t Want You To Know About
2013 brought a stark reminder of the inherent risk that comes with a fossil-fuel dependent world, with numerous pipeline spills, explosions, derailments, landslides, and the death of 20 coal miners in the U.S. alone. Here is a look back at some of the fossil fuel disasters that made headlines in 2013, along with several others that went largely unnoticed.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/12/17/3056321/year-fossil-fuel-disasters/

Previewing 2014

Steyer: My New Year’s Resolution: Making Climate A Voter Concern in 2014
Yes, there’s gridlock in Washington. But step outside the Beltway, and you hear the real conversation on climate change. In 2014, we're resolving to take that conversation to the next level and bring climate change to the forefront of America's political dialogue.
http://www.keystonetruth.com/blog/entry/my-new-years-resolutionmaking-climate-a-voter-concern-in-2014

Californians to watch in 2014: Anthony Rendon poised to wade into California water issues
A prominent topic this year is the intrigue around who will lead the Senate and the Assembly when their current leaders term out in 2014. Assemblyman Anthony Rendon’s name surfaces often as an inner-circle contender, but the freshman Democrat from Lakewood calls such talk premature. “We have a speaker,” Rendon demurs. He says his attention is elsewhere. “The water bond will be the No. 1 priority of this office moving forward into 2014,” Rendon said. “Water is the big thing here.”
http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/12/27/3687020/californians-to-watch-in-2014.html

Oil And Gas Lobby Lays Out 2014 Agenda
The oil industry's leading lobby group, the American Petroleum Institute, debuted its 2014 agenda on Tuesday: Keystone, Keystone, and more Keystone.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/07/american-petroleum-institute_n_4557485.html

More California Environmental News

State water officials considering drought declaration
The California Department of Water Resources is planning to draft an emergency drought declaration for Gov. Jerry Brown’s consideration as dry winter conditions continue.
http://www.sacbee.com/2014/01/07/6054675/state-water-officials-considering.html

New study pinpoints L.A. coastal areas vulnerable to a sea level rise from climate change
San Pedro, Wilmington, Venice and other low-lying areas of Los Angeles are vulnerable to future flooding that could damage buildings, erode beaches and impair roadways in the event of a storm like Hurricane Sandy, which devastated parts of the East Coast in 2012, according to a new report by USC researchers.
http://www.dailynews.com/article/20140107/NEWS/140109676

Cap-and-trade funds to boost high-speed rail
Gov. Jerry Brown will propose spending nearly a third of $850 million in cap-and-trade revenue California expects to collect in the next fiscal year on the embattled high-speed-rail project, according to officials with knowledge of the governor's budget proposal, which is to be publicly released Friday.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Cap-and-trade-funds-to-boost-high-speed-rail-5119293.php

High-Speed Train in California Is Caught in a Political Storm
High speed rail is in trouble, reeling from a court ruling that undermined its financing, and from slipping public support and opponents’ rising calls to shut it down.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/07/us/high-speed-train-in-california-is-caught-in-a-political-storm.html

Appeals court upholds S.F. plastic bag ban as precedent
In the latest legal setback for plastic-bag makers, a state appeals court has issued a ruling upholding San Francisco's ban on single-use plastic bags as a precedent for future cases.
http://www.sfgate.com/science/article/Appeals-court-upholds-S-F-plastic-bag-ban-as-5116511.php

After Los Angeles’ plastic bag ban, success and confusion
One day after Los Angeles became the largest city in the nation to ban plastic bags, shoppers no longer heard the familiar refrain: Paper or plastic? Some locals adjusted, while others were left confused about the new law.
http://www.dailynews.com/article/20140102/NEWS/140109910

Efforts to curb unbridled growth that's killing the planet
Instead of applause, voices from across the political spectrum - Berkeley activists and Beltway conservatives, Pope Francis and even some corporate CEOs - offer a critique of economic growth and its harm to the well-being of humans and the planet.
http://www.sfgate.com/science/article/Efforts-to-curb-unbridled-growth-that-s-killing-5114760.php

California Installed More Rooftop Solar In 2013 Than Previous 30 Years Combined
2013 was a banner year for clean energy and the U.S. solar industry was no exception. California, the nation’s solar standout, more than doubled its rooftop solar installations last year from 1,000 megawatts (MW) to 2,000 MW.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/01/02/3110731/california-rooftop-solar-201

Calif. law change sparks debate over use of flame retardants in furniture
Flame retardants are commonplace in most upholstered furniture to help prevent house fires. But studies have linked the chemicals to cancer and fertility problems, prompting California to change the state's furniture flammability standards. The move could have a ripple effect across the country.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/nation/jan-june14/flame_01-01.html

California cap and trade cash rolls in for 2013
Cap and trade may have a track record in other counties, but California's program is the first in the nation. Time recently named the Golden State's effort the top environmental achievement of the year. ARB officials say all told, carbon credits issued and bought in the year were valued at almost $1.1 billion.
http://www.news10.net/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=267187

National and International Environmental News

Planet likely to warm by 4C by 2100, scientists warn
New climate model taking greater account of cloud changes indicates heating will be at higher end of expectations.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/dec/31/planet-will-warm-4c-2100-climate

Plastic made from pollution hits US market
Two childhood friends spent a decade, beginning in college, figuring out how to cheaply make plastic from carbon that's been captured from the atmosphere.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/12/30/plastic-from-carbon-emissions/4192945/

Forum: Endangered Species Act turns 40
Environmentalists are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Act, which they say is a powerful and successful tool for preserving the nation's biodiversity. But critics say the law is costly, poorly administered and has resulted in the recovery of only a fraction of protected species.
http://www.kqed.org/a/forum/R201312310900

Last of incandescent light bulbs are banned
Beginning Jan. 1, the production of 40- and 60-watt incandescent light bulbs is banned as part of efficiency standards signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2007, leaving consumers with pricier energy-efficient options that are expected to save people money over time.
http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-incandescent-lightbulb-ban-20140101,0,4479432.story

How Mass-Produced Meat Turned Phosphorus Into Pollution
It's a quandary of food production: The same drive for efficiency that lowers the cost of eating also can damage our soil and water. Phosphorus is one of the nutrients that plants need to grow, and for most of human history, farmers always needed more of it; wherever it accumulates, however, rain washes it into streams, lakes and estuaries, where it's an ecological disaster.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/01/02/257393870/how-mass-produced-meat-turned-phosphorus-into-pollution

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