Weekly Green: May 24, 2012

Hello and good afternoon all. In this week’s headlines:

Leading Off

LA becomes largest US city to ban single-use plastic bags
With a population of 4 million -- and using an estimated 2.7 billion plastic bags each year -- Los Angeles becomes the largest city in the U.S. to enact a ban and joins 47 other cities in California alone.
http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/23/11812452-la-becomes-largest-us-city-to-ban-single-use-plastic-bags

Protesters ask Edison to decommission San Onofre nuclear plant
Environmental and anti-nuclear activists gathered at Southern California Edison headquarters in Irvine on Wednesday calling for the San Onofre nuclear plant to be decommissioned and for the utility to implement more extensive conservation programs.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/05/san-onofre-edison-protest-irvine.html

California Fish and Game sues U.S. Army Corps over levee trees
The Department of Fish and Game filed the suit in federal court in Sacramento, alleging the Corps' levee maintenance policy violates the Endangered Species Act and other laws.
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/05/24/4512874/state-fish-and-game-sues-us-army.html

Fracking Disclosure Gathers Steam Among Exxon, Chevron Shareholders
When proposed before, increased disclosure of the risks of hydraulic fracturing failed to receive enough support in the face of steadfast opposition from the companies' boards. But the issue has gathered steam in recent elections and experts expect even more support for increased disclosures at Exxon and Chevron's shareholder meetings, to be held May 30.
http://www.foxbusiness.com/news/2012/05/22/fracking-disclosure-gathers-steam-among-exxon-chevron-shareholders/

CLCV Walk and Stroll for Candidate Phil Ting
CLCV is proud to endorse Phil Ting for Assembly District 19, a new district that is dominated by Western San Francisco but also includes all of Daly City, Colma, and some of South San Francisco. The environment is at the top of Phil's priority list, and he has an excellent track record of leadership.
http://www.ecovote.org/blog/clcv-walk-and-stroll-candidate-phil-ting

Has blazing a trail in solar energy cost California too much?
That ray of light you see peeking through all the clouds darkening California's future? That's the sun. More specifically, solar power, in which California is the hands-down national leader.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-hiltzik-20120523,0,1359952.column

After 2 years, SF's solar projects still on hold
Despite promising to install solar panels on as many municipal buildings as possible, including City Hall and Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco has not awarded contracts for solar projects in nearly three years.
http://www.baycitizen.org/energy/story/sfs-solar-projects-still-hold/

Trendspotting: Shrinking the Carbon Footprint of the Cloud
Since April, the environmental organization Greenpeace has had a bull’s-eye on Apple in its campaign to clean up the Internet “Cloud” that stores our music, apps, and photos.
http://blogs.kqed.org/climatewatch/2012/05/22/trendspotting-a-greener-apple-vows-to-clean-up-the-icloud/

Opinion: Cap-and-trade will encourage move to clean energy
The investment and innovation unleashed by AB32 is creating jobs and is spurring transformation of our buildings, vehicles, lighting and energy generation systems to run cleaner, smarter and more efficiently.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/05/23/ED2N1OKERH.DTL

Bay Area open space: 75 percent is being protected, but 300,000 acres are still at risk
Roughly 75 percent of all the land in the Bay Area is either permanently protected in parks or open space, or at low risk of development because it is zoned for farming or other rural uses.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/politics-government/ci_20685005/bay-area-open-space-more-it-is-being

Three Delta Disasters that Could Disrupt California’s Water Supply
In the conclusion of her three part series, “California’s Deadlocked Delta,” KQED science reporter Lauren Sommer explores how climate change will affect the San Francisco Bay-Delta’s already foundering ecosystems and further complicate management of this critical hub of California’s water supply.
http://blogs.kqed.org/climatewatch/2012/05/21/the-delta-racing-for-a-fix-before-the-big-one-hits/

Editorial: 'Chunnel' plan to bypass delta is falling down
After six years in the making, the blueprint for authorizing a giant canal or tunnel to move water 45 miles around the delta to avoid saltwater intrusions and the fish-unfriendly south delta pumps appears unlikely to win approval.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/05/20/EDAT1MO0SH.DTL&type=green

Tax checkoff, car plates for parks proposed
Two North San Diego County Republican lawmakers have joined forces with Democrats to push legislation that would allow Californians to voluntarily contribute part of their income tax refund to parks in return for an annual admission pass.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/may/21/income-tax-checkoff-car-plates-for-parks-proposed/

'Stroller Brigade' rolls out for Safe Chemicals Act
Families and activists turn out to support Senate Democrats' Safe Chemicals Act, which would strengthen monitoring of toxic chemicals in consumer products. Chemical manufacturers say the act is seriously flawed.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-toxic-chemicals-20120523,0,7124007.story

Obama to push for green-energy tax breaks in Iowa speech
President Obama will use the camera-friendly backdrop of an Iowa wind-energy facility Thursday to ramp up pressure on Congress to extend renewable-energy tax breaks, an issue that’s become a top policy priority for the White House.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/229329-obama-to-pressure-congress-on-energy-tax-breaks-in-iowa

Tremors of Anxiety Over Arctic Drilling
Villagers in windswept Barrow fear that Shell’s seismic work and drilling will disturb the bowhead whale migration, forcing whales away from their food and whalers dangerously far offshore to catch them. Worse yet, they say, a spill could poison the whales. But it is more than the whales they fear for; it’s their very way of life.
http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/24/tremors-of-anxiety-over-arctic-drilling/

Gulf Oil Spill: Fishermen Reel From Seafood Troubles
Gloom infects the hard-working shrimp and crab docks of this gritty fishing town as the second full year of fishing since BP's catastrophic oil spill kicks into high gear.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/24/gulf-oil-spill-fishermen-_n_1542032.html?ref=green