Weekly Green: November 11, 2013

Hello and good afternoon, all. Environmental headlines of the past week include:

• Typhoon Haiyan: Philippines urges climate action at UN;
• Veterans: Fossil fuel has drawbacks in combat;
• Obama appoints Brown, Garcetti to climate-change task force;
• CLCV Listening Tour: Grapes and groundwater;
• ... 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

Top of the Ticket

Typhoon Haiyan: Philippines urges action to resolve climate talks deadlock
UN negotiations in Warsaw must deliver emergency climate pathway as new storm brews in the Pacific, says government.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/nov/11/typhoon-haiyan-philippines-climate-talks

Veterans Who Saw Fossil Fuel Drawbacks in Combat Lead Charge for Clean Energy
From funding the enemy to driving instability via climate change, fossil fuels are a problem for the military.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=veterans-who-saw-fossil-fuels-drawbacks-in-combat-lead-charge-for-clean-energy

FBI Capitol sting shines light on Latino caucus
After the Latino caucus spoke, it was clear that Padilla's bill was going down. In his closing remarks, Padilla called out his Latino colleagues, saying three times that his district "ain't that different" from theirs. In a house where bills carried by Democrats almost always pass handily, Padilla's measure fell three votes short.
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/11/10/5896826/fbi-capitol-sting-shines-light.html

Obama appoints Brown, Garcetti to climate-change task force
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Gov. Jerry Brown are among the state and local leaders named to a national task force that will recommend steps the federal government can take to help communities cope with climate change.
http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-obama-jerry-brown-eric-garcetti-climate-change-20131105,0,5975457.story

CLCV Listening Tour: Grapes and groundwater
"I met Kelly, a bar owner in Hanford who poured me a glass of water from the tap. It looked fine, but smelled strongly of sulfur. The water in Armona does come out brown and on occasion residents will find warnings of strychnine contamination on their front doors."
http://www.ecovote.org/blog/clcv-listening-tour-grapes-and-groundwater

She won't sit idly under the plum tree
"I feel the season's heat pressing harder now, and feel the same dull fear I felt when my son had a fever as a baby. The same dull fear as all mothers. I hear the oceans lapping at our edges, smell all of us bristling more and more with the tension of droughts, wildfires, crop failures, storms." (Testimony at the EPA's "listening tour" on cutting carbon pollution from existing power plants.)
http://www.ecovote.org/blog/she-wont-sit-idly-under-plum-tree

CA Environment & Politics

Cloud seeding, no longer magical thinking, is poised for use this winter
As California concludes a second drought year and water managers hope eagerly to avoid a third, utilities across the state are poised for that first mass of pillowy gray clouds to drift ashore from the Pacific Ocean.
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/11/11/5898983/cloud-seeding-no-longer-magical.html

Giant sequoia planted by John Muir is cloned
Horticulturists announced Tuesday they had successfully cloned a genetic replica of an ailing 130-year-old giant sequoia planted by conservationist John Muir in the 1880s on his ranch in Martinez, Calif. And many more are apparently on the way, they say.
http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-muir-redwood-clone-20131105,0,6044358.story

Energy-efficiency group gives California high marks
California energy officials Wednesday touted the state's strong showing in a new nationwide survey of energy efficiency.
http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2013/11/energy-watchdog-puts-california-in-top-five-for-efficiency.html

Proposed desalination plant could harm ocean environment, report says
Seawater desalination plant in Huntington Beach could significantly harm coastal waters unless major changes are made, panel says.
http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-desal-huntington-20131111,0,1885569.story

Greenpeace's 'hippie ship' open to public in S.F.
Greenpeace's Rainbow Warrior, the floating, green-hued hub for environmental activism, pulled into Pier 15 Friday and will remain through Nov. 19, open for free public tours, art shows, films, panel discussions and live music.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Greenpeace-s-hippie-ship-open-to-public-in-S-F-4972875.php

EPA officers sickened by fumes at South L.A. oil field
The inspectors suffered sore throats and headaches during a visit to Allenco Energy Co. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) urges a temporary shutdown pending an investigation.
http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-1109-fumes-20131109,0,3711063.story

UC Davis lab a busy hive of bee research
The goal of his studies is to better understand the bee, as well as to breed queens with specific traits for other research centers in Arizona, Illinois and Germany, but don't think for a second the commercial honey industry isn't interested in the possibility of genetically engineering bees that can gather more nectar.
http://www.sfgate.com/homeandgarden/honeybeechronicles/article/UC-Davis-lab-a-busy-hive-of-bee-research-4965849.php

California Sea Otters Targeted in Defense Authorization Bill
The Senate will shortly be voting on a bill that would allow the U.S. Navy to injure and kill California sea otters, without complying with the core wildlife statutes protecting this threatened species.
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/site/california-sea-otters-targeted-defense-authorization-bill

National News

The 10 Most Polluted Cities in America
Bakersfield, Merced and Fresno top the American Lung Association's list of cities with the most persistent air pollution in the country in 2013.
http://science.time.com/2013/11/05/the-10-most-polluted-cities-in-america/

As high-speed rail project falters, Obama's vision of government remains unfulfilled
President Obama once hoped that these high-speed trains would be transporting passengers from Milwaukee to Madison, Wis., part of a broader system crisscrossing the Midwest and the nation.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/as-high-speed-rail-project-falters-obamas-vision-of-government-remains-unfulfilled/2013/11/08/669f2dda-1a61-11e3-8685-5021e0c41964_story.html

» Thanks for reading the Weekly Green from the California League of Conservation Voters. If you're not a regular subscriber, don't forget to sign up today! Get your free subscription here: http://ecovote.org/wg
 

• Next Weekly Green
•  
• Previous Weekly Green