Weekly Green: May 18, 2012

Hello and good morning all. In recent news:

• Saving state parks;
• Oil industry to report California 'fracking' information;
• New scrutiny for nuclear plant;
• Delta restoration plan released for review;
• Chicago Tribune series on flame retardants and industry lies;
• And much more.

Leading Off

State Parks Still on the Chopping Block
While some of the parks on the closure list have found ways to stay open thanks to financial support from their communities or intervention from nonprofits (including Castle Rock and Henry Coe SPs), others have not been so lucky. Fortunately, Assemblymember Jared Huffman is championing a bill that would provide diverse funding for the State Parks System. http://www.ecovote.org/blog/state-parks-still-chopping-block

Take action to protect state parks: http://www.ecovote.org/save-state-parks

Oil industry says it will report California 'fracking' information
On the eve of a series of public hearings on hydraulic fracturing, a controversial but little-regulated method of oil extraction in California, an industry group said Tuesday that its members will voluntarily post information about their "fracking" operations on a disclosure website, Frac Focus, likely by the end of June.
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/05/16/4492835/oil-industry-says-it-will-report.html

New scrutiny for CA nuke plant, as restart looms
The idled San Onofre nuclear power plant is facing new scrutiny from Congress as the utility that operates it moves closer to proposing a fix to get the twin reactors back in service.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jC8iqGw4JemROq6I-b-wuS1hWxmQ?docId=0c4cf57c319545d49d07455ea99ff83d

CA Environmental News

May Budget Revise a Disaster for the Environment and Public Health
On Monday Governor Jerry Brown released the May Revision to his 2012-2013 state budget proposal… The shortfall isn’t good for any public effort in California, including environmental quality and public health.
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/site/may-budget-revise-disaster-environment-and-public-health

Cap-and-Trade and Your Electric Bill
Forcing utilities to pay for their carbon emissions, as California plans to do, will mean more costly megawatts. Six months before formal compliance with the state’s new cap & trade system begins, regulators are still sorting out what to do about that.
http://blogs.kqed.org/climatewatch/2012/05/16/cap-and-trade-and-your-electric-bill/

California Senate takes side in L.A. County water feud
A Southern California water war spilled onto the floor of the state Senate on Thursday over a bill that transfers between two feuding agencies the authority to store groundwater in southeast Los Angeles County.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2012/05/california-senate-takes-sides-in-la-county-water-fued.html [sic]

Santa Clara Valley Water District under investigation for violating water pollution laws
Silicon Valley's leading drinking-water provider, which collects millions of dollars from the public to provide clean water, is under investigation for violating state water-pollution laws after repeatedly spilling hydraulic oil into its reservoirs.
http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_20630683/santa-clara-valley-water-district-under-investigation-violating

Delta restoration plan released for review
The final draft of a plan to restore the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta was released for public review Monday.
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/05/15/4490071/delta-restoration-plan-released.html

Rural towns devise unique plan to solve water problems
According to surveys conducted by advocacy organizations like California Rural Legal Assistance, residents of low-income, unincorporated communities spend up to 10 percent of their income on water.
http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/rural-towns-devise-unique-plan-solve-water-problems-16180

From Deserts to Rooftops: Solar's California Battleground
As California pushes the leading edge of renewable energy adoption in the United States, it's also approaching new legal hurdles that are slowly beginning to define the roles that solar developers and utilities will play in the year ahead.
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/from-deserts-to-rooftops-solars-california-battleground

Dry winter portends busy California wildfire season
There have already been more than 800 wildfires in California this year - nearly triple the number for this time last year - prompting state fire officials this week to warn residents to prepare for what could be an infernal summer.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/05/12/MNI51OEHI5.DTL

National News

Chemical companies, Big Tobacco and the toxic products in your home
The average American baby is born with 10 fingers, 10 toes and the highest recorded levels of flame retardants among infants in the world. The toxic chemicals are present in nearly every home, packed into couches, chairs and many other products. Two powerful industries — Big Tobacco and chemical manufacturers — waged deceptive campaigns that led to the proliferation of these chemicals, which don’t even work as promised.
http://media.apps.chicagotribune.com/flames/index.html

Why are U.S. taxpayers subsidizing coal mining?
The most important thing you can read this week is Joe Smyth’s post on federal coal leasing. I realize “federal coal leasing” is not a phrase to quicken the pulse, so let me explain why it’s a Very Big Deal.
http://grist.org/coal/why-are-u-s-taxpayers-subsidizing-coal-mining/

Rahall: Keystone pipeline will be dropped from highway bill
A senior House Democrat who supports the Keystone XL oil pipeline predicted Thursday that the project will be left on the cutting room floor in House-Senate negotiations over transportation legislation.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/228167-rahall-keystone-pipeline-will-be-dropped-from-highway-bill

Hatched and Wild Salmon: A Bad Mix?
Scientists have found evidence in the past of genetic problems with hatched salmon, including lowered genetic diversity and a diminished ability to thrive in the wild. But a collection of 23 studies published this week in a special issue of the journal Environmental Biology of Fishes presents significant evidence of ecological problems posed by the hatched variety.
http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/16/hatched-and-wild-salmon-a-bad-mix/

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