Weekly Green: June 10, 2014

In recent headlines:

• Environmental Champions Advance to November General Election;
• California has left coal behind; now others will, too;
• Oil money flowed to California senators who blocked fracking moratorium;
• State is moving to prevent spills of oil shipped by trains;
• Billionaire Tom Steyer sets up fund for victims of climate change;
• ... and much more!

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Top News

Environmental Champions Advance to November General Election
With the support of our members, CLCV's endorsed candidates had a more than 95% success rate, despite the challenging dynamics of the “top-two” primary and a wall of money and negative campaigning by front groups for polluters and other powerful special interests.
http://www.ecovote.org/blog/environmental-champions-advance-november-general-election

California has left coal behind; now others will, too
State authorities say the rules, as proposed, should pose little difficulty for California, which is already weaning itself from out-of-state coal power. But if they survive the yearlong comment period and the wrath of critics, the rules will have this local impact: California finally will have some meaningful company in the quest to do something about climate change.
http://www.modbee.com/2014/06/03/3371638/our-view-california-has-left-coal.html

Oil money flowed to California senators who blocked fracking moratorium
A week after the California Senate rejected a moratorium on fracking in the state, a watchdog group said those who opposed the bill or abstained from voting on it received significantly more campaign money from the oil and gas industry than supporters of the measure.
http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-fracking-moratorium-oil-gas-industry-contributions-20140604-story.html

State is moving to prevent spills of oil shipped by trains
Although most people think of oil spills in California as potential beachfront disasters, there is new anxiety in Sacramento about the surge of crude oil now coming through the state each day by train.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-oil-train-safety-bills-20140605-story.html?track=rss

Billionaire sets up fund for victims of climate change
Tom Steyer, the leading financial underwriter of campaigns to combat climate change, says he is putting up $2 million to start a fund for victims of wildfires and other "extreme weather events."
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Billionaire-sets-up-fund-for-victims-of-climate-5532918.php

More on the President's Carbon Plan

Democrats See Winning Issue in Carbon Plan
In the months leading up to the announcement, Mr. Obama’s top political advisers were united in agreement that the environmental proposal would be a winner for Democrats almost everywhere but in coal country.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/10/us/democrats-see-winning-issue-in-carbon-plan.html

Kate Gordon: California Leads Carbon Charge
Week after week, I find myself writing about how California is taking bold action on climate while D.C. stalls.  Well, guess what? This week the action is all in D.C., where the EPA just proposed rules to reduce emissions from existing power plants 30 percent from 2005 levels by 2030.
http://thenextgeneration.org/newsletter-posts/1101

Dr. Howard K. Koh: Clearing the air around human health and air pollution
The EPA's Clean Power Plan, released this week, represents a step forward for public health as well as the environment. It's projected that the proposal to cut carbon emissions from the power sector by 30 percent nationwide from 2005 levels will help save as many as 6,500 lives each year, and prevent as many as 150,000 asthma attacks annually among America's children.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-howard-k-koh/clearing-the-air-around-h_b_5474676.html

Obama: The Go-It-Alone President
Obama is portraying carbon emissions as a major public health issue that must be addressed now. "As president, and as a parent, I refuse to condemn our children to a planet that’s beyond fixing," Obama said. Referring to asthma and other breathing ailments, he added: "Often these illnesses are aggravated by air pollution – pollution from the same sources that release carbon and contribute to climate change. And for the sake of all our kids, we’ve got to do more to reduce it."
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/06/08/barack-obama-the-go-it-alone-president

California News

The 'Deepest Straw Wins' in Central Valley Scramble for Groundwater
During a normal year, 30 percent of the water Californians consume comes from groundwater. This year, the California Department of Food and Agriculture says groundwater will account for 60 percent.
http://www.capradio.org/25614

California drought: Voluntary cutback falls short in Bay Area
Nearly five months after Gov. Jerry Brown declared a drought emergency and asked Californians to use 20 percent less water, almost everyone believes they're doing their part. Wishful thinking.
http://www.sfgate.com/science/article/California-drought-Voluntary-cutback-falls-short-5538084.php#page-1

El Niño likely to be too weak to have big impact on drought
Though the agency's monthly report still projects that summer or fall will give rise to an El Niño - the warming ocean surfaces that can tip worldwide weather - federal scientists say the phenomenon is most likely to be only of moderate strength.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/El-Ni-o-likely-to-be-too-weak-to-have-big-impact-5532447.php

Fight over crude-oil transports through California intensifies
Responding to a federal order, the BNSF Railway Co. acknowledged in a report to state safety officials it is transporting the flammable Bakken crude oil in California, but it continued its vehement fight against releasing information about the shipments to the general public, saying it’s a trade secret that only fire responders should be allowed to know.
http://www.sacbee.com/2014/06/09/6470835/fight-over-crude-oil-transports.html#mi_rss=Our%20Region

State is moving to prevent spills of oil shipped by trains
Although most people think of oil spills in California as potential beachfront disasters, there is new anxiety in Sacramento about the surge of crude oil now coming through the state each day by train.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-oil-train-safety-bills-20140605-story.html?track=rss

Crude oil rail transports to run through Sacramento region
Sacramento’s history as a rail town is long and rich. A potential new chapter, however, is creating concern: The city may soon become a crude-oil crossroads.
http://www.sacbee.com/2014/06/07/6465172/crude-oil-rail-transports-to-run.html

Rare pilot whales return to Orange County coastal waters
Boat operators and whale watchers got a rare and unexpected treat on Saturday when a pod of pilot whales showed up off Dana Point, the first local sighting in 18 years for this dolphin species that was once a common sight off the Southern California coastline.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/whales-617578-pilot-whale.html

Cutthroat Trout Return To Truckee River
The Truckee River was once home to enormous 40-pound Pilot Peak Cutthroat Trout. Over-fishing devastated the population.
http://www.capradio.org/25579

Open Space Measure AA backers declare victory in $300 million bond measure
Environmentalists and park lovers declared victory Monday in a closely watched battle over a ballot measure aimed at providing a cash infusion for Silicon Valley open-space projects in the region's race against sprawl.
http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_25929249/open-space-measure-aa-backers-declare-victory-close

Bump at pump in January to help speed bullet train project
California drivers are going to see a bump at the pump starting Jan. 1 - with a good chunk of the money going to kick-start Gov. Jerry Brown's struggling high-speed rail project.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/matier-ross/article/Bump-at-pump-in-January-to-help-speed-bullet-5538049.php

Eric Garcetti endorses funding mass transit with cap-and-trade revenue
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti joined two leading state Senate Democrats on Friday to support a plan to invest the state's cap-and-trade revenue in mass transit and affordable housing.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-garcetti-cap-and-trade-20140606-story.html

Gold Rush family's last bit of land goes to East Bay parks
Tuesday marked the end of the line for the Patterson family's 150-year reign as Bay Area land barons, but it was a $10 million day for the East Bay Regional Park District.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Gold-Rush-family-s-last-bit-of-land-goes-to-East-5526122.php

Pelican whose mutilation sparked outrage is released into the wild
The blue animal carrier door opened and Pink, the mutilated brown pelican whose pouch was slashed open, came dashing out, wings up and taking flight for the first time since beginning recovery from the brutal attack about six weeks ago.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-mutilated-pelican-released-into-wild-20140603-story.html

California brown pelican breeding population plunges
California brown pelicans, which were driven to the brink of extinction in the last century, are in trouble again.
http://www.mercurynews.com/pets-animals/ci_25888685/california-brown-pelican-breeding-population-plunges

PG&E says bolstered indictment coming in San Bruno blast
Federal prosecutors have notified Pacific Gas and Electric Co. that they will bolster charges against the company next month beyond the dozen counts the utility now faces in connection with the gas pipeline explosion that killed eight people in San Bruno, company officials say.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/PG-amp-E-says-bolstered-indictment-coming-in-San-5528720.php

State fires lawyer who pursued PG&E's pipeline records
The California Public Utilities Commission has abruptly fired a state lawyer who was pressing Pacific Gas and Electric Co. to account for which gas pipelines it failed to test before the San Bruno disaster.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/State-fires-lawyer-who-pursued-PG-amp-E-s-5534622.php

L.A. River could go lower in water purification plan
Glowing from the approval of a $1 billion revitalization plan, Los Angeles City Council members proclaimed Wednesday L.A. River Day, hailing its pending rebirth and the possible return of endangered steelhead trout. But behind the scenes, other officials were working on a separate ambitious plan that could suck up much of the river’s water.
http://www.dailynews.com/article/20140604/NEWS/140609759

Water bill with California impacts expected to be signed into law
San Clemente’s beach restoration has a long way to go, but a big step could come this week when President Barack Obama is expected to sign a water resources bill into law, according to Politico.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/house-617476-committee-california.html

San Francisco waterfront development must prepare for rising seas
Now that San Francisco voters have said they want final say on waterfront development, we'll see if they have the courage and smarts to tackle the real job at hand - facing up to the need to deal with rising sea levels.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/place/article/S-F-waterfront-development-must-prepare-for-5536682.php

Gray wolf gains endangered species protections in California
California has largely escaped two decades of controversy surrounding the resurgence of wolves in the West, but the state stepped firmly into the fray Wednesday as wildlife officials voted to extend endangered species protections to gray wolves.
http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-0605-wolves-endangered-20140605-story.html

NRDC: Good News for Wolves
On Wednesday, the California Fish and Game Commission voted to protect gray wolves under the California Endangered Species Act. This is terrific news for wolves, as many experts expect populations of this native California species to reenter the state in the coming years.
http://bit.ly/graywolf_nrdc

Rehabilitated herons, hurt during pruning, freed in Oakland
Bird lovers released four of the five baby night herons Saturday that were injured in a tree trimming incident outside an Oakland post office last month, bringing an end to a saga that almost led to criminal charges against the owner of the tree trimming business.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Rehabilitated-herons-hurt-during-pruning-freed-5536398.php

San Onofre nuclear power plant's fuel rods to remain on site for years
Even after the twin domes along I-5 are gone and the San Onofre nuclear plant is mostly a memory, fuel rods hot with radioactivity will remain behind in rows of tomb-like casks – perhaps for decades.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/plant-617431-madigan-fuel.html

National and Global News

Tom Steyer’s slow, and ongoing, conversion from fossil-fuels investor to climate activist
But by the time he and environmentalist Bill McKibben finished a hike up two tall Adirondacks peaks on that summer day in 2012, Steyer had revealed that he was ready to change his life — he would unload his investments in fossil fuels and become an activist in the fight against global warming.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/tom-steyers-slow-and-ongoing-conversion-from-fossil-fuels-investor-to-climate-activist/2014/06/08/6478da2e-ea68-11e3-b98c-72cef4a00499_story.html

President Tong and his Disappearing Islands
When the tide is high, the water closes in ominously on the shores of Kiribati. President Anote Tong can look out at the ocean, turn around, and see ocean on the other side. Several years ago, as a result of rising sea levels caused by climate change, the water rushed in, ripped apart a village, and drove its residents to higher ground.
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/elements/2014/06/the-disappearing-islands-of-kiribati.html

So much Arctic ice has melted that we need a new atlas
It used to be wars, Communism and colonialism that kept atlas illustrators on their toes. These days, though, their biggest headache is global warming.
http://qz.com/218710/so-much-arctic-ice-has-melted-that-we-need-a-new-atlas/

Jindal Signs Bill Blocking Lawsuits Against Oil and Gas Companies
The Louisiana governor might have also effectively undercut ongoing claims against BP for the 2010 Gulf oil spill.
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/06/06/bobby-jindal-signs-bill-to-block-lawsuits-against-oil-and-gas-companies

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