Weekly Green: November 4, 2013

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

• TOMORROW: EPA listening tour in San Francisco 9 am - 4 pm;
• California won't meet 2050 emissions goals, report says;
• Fracking probe expands in Central Valley;
• California signs West Coast climate pact, 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

Make your voice heard during the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Listening Tour” on carbon pollution standards in San Francisco, tomorrow, November 5th! Sign up here: http://www2.epa.gov/carbon-pollution-standards/public-listening-sessions. If you’re unable to attend in person, submit your comments via email to: carbonpollutioninput@epa.gov

California won't meet 2050 emissions goals, report says
Barring a sweeping policy change or the introduction of new technology, California will fall short of its goals to drastically curtail greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, according to a new report from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2013/11/california-wont-meet-2050-emissions-goals-report.html

Fracking probe expands in Central Valley
The Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board now is investigating all operations in this part of the state where the advanced technology has been used hundreds of times over the last three years.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/11/02/3587611/fracking-probe-expands-in-valley.html

3 states, province sign West Coast climate pact
With climate-change legislation stymied at the federal level, a coalition of West Coast states and one Canadian province on Monday signed a regional pact to rein in greenhouse gas emissions and fight global warming.
http://www.sfgate.com/science/article/3-states-province-sign-West-Coast-climate-pact-4934319.php

California Signs West Coast Climate Pact
On Monday, Governor Jerry Brown signed a regional pact with Oregon, Washington state, and British Columbia to fight global warming. The pact, which is non-binding, aims to put a price on carbon dioxide emissions, encourages use of alternative fuels, and calls for building a bullet train from Canada to California. We discuss the agreement.
http://www.kqed.org/a/forum/R201310300900

Fracking and reducing climate change: Can Jerry Brown have it both ways?
Gov. Jerry Brown and the governors of Oregon, Washington and British Columbia gained international attention Monday for signing a pact in San Francisco aimed at reducing the pollution that causes global warming. But a day later environmentalists lashed out at Brown for his full-throated support during the event of fracking.
http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_24414282/fracking-and-reducing-climate-change-can-jerry-brown

Are lawmakers standing up for the environment?

Enviros: Jerry Brown not as green as he should be
If Gov. Jerry Brown is still basking in the green glow of his just-announced climate pact with other West Coasters or his climate accord with China, then he hasn’t hasn’t read his 2013 environmental scorecard from the California League of Conservation Voters out Wednesday.
http://blog.sfgate.com/nov05election/2013/10/30/enviros-jerry-brown-not-as-green-as-he-should-be/

Could California Get a New Crop of Green Republicans?
With a record number of freshmen Assembly members this year – half of the Assembly are new – CLCV’s Allgood says, the longer legislative terms gives them more time to learn about environmental issues. There’s always a steep learning curve for new lawmakers, says Allgood, and by the time they are acclimated, they have to leave office. He says the longer terms should give them more time to understand† the importance of the environment to their constituents.
http://newamericamedia.org/2013/11/could-california-get-a-new-crop-of-green-republicans.php

Patricia Pérez and Marce Gutiérrez: Latino Caucus: Conflicts of interest slow environmental progress
True friends of the environment do not grow on trees. We need to nurture them, develop relationships and, when they're qualified, elect them into office. No one will look after our health and our interests unless we organize locally, educate our leaders and then hold them accountable. In the end, we must expect more from our Latino elected officials to make our communities safer, cleaner and greener.
http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_24427293/latino-caucus-conflicts-interest-slow-environmental-progress

CA Environment & Politics News & Opinion

David Vela: Prop 39 Funds Key to Improving Area Schools
Our community is represented in Sacramento by Assemblymember Cristina Garcia, a former educator herself. She understands firsthand the challenges that our students face in going to schools in dire need of updates. With her expertise in this area, I urge her and all our local representatives to work to ensure that Prop 39 funds come home to our community.
http://egpnews.com/2013/10/prop-39-funds-key-to-improving-area-schools/

California's plastic-bag recycling law has no oversight, investigation finds
Seeking to reduce the number of plastic shopping bags cluttering California's beaches and landfills, the state Legislature in 2006 passed a law requiring grocery stores and other large retailers to give consumers an easy way of returning used bags. ..Seven years later, recycling bins continue to sit outside California stores, but it's virtually impossible to know whether the law is working: The agency in charge of the recycling program can't say how many bags are being recycled or whether the program has affected demand, factors that could help state lawmakers in weighing proposals to ban the product.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_24419051/californias-plastic-bag-recycling-law-has-no-oversight

Drowning the oceans in plastic
Statewide, legislation to ban plastic bags has failed numerous times due to successful lobbying efforts from plastic bag manufacturers and others, but nevertheless, more than 10 million Californians live in cities that have banned the bag. The State Water Resources Control Board will soon release a statewide trash policy that builds on the Los Angeles area's successful trash control measures. But we need far more comprehensive policies, and the story nationally and internationally is still gloomy.
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/commentary/la-oe-gold-plastic-waste-oceans-20131104,0,1147461.story

21 California condors treated at L.A. Zoo for lead poisoning
The number treated in one month is more than half of the total seen in a typical year. Use of lead ammunition in hunting is blamed.
http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-condor-20131101,0,933260.story

Water Action Plan created to help avoid statewide crisis
California officials on Thursday released a five-year “Water Action Plan” intended to avoid a statewide water supply crisis stemming from drought, population growth and climate change.
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2013/10/31/2760525/water-action-plan-created-to-help.html

Los Angeles’ water future remains challenged by drought, short supplies
While Los Angeles commemorates its L.A. Aqueduct centennial Tuesday with a noon re-enactment of how chief water engineer William Mulholland ushered a northern mountain river down a San Fernando Valley cascade on Nov. 5, 1913, water visionaries across the region look toward the future to develop enough water to supply the vast dry region for the decades to come.
http://www.dailynews.com/article/20131103/NEWS/131109851

City of Sacramento strives to lead in water conservation
The city of Sacramento is positioning itself to become the capital region’s water conservation leader, a dramatic shift after decades of opposition to even basic conservation ideas like water meters.
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/11/02/5875984/city-of-sacramento-strives-to.html

State wants Army Corps to restore damaged L.A. River habitat
Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board gives the corps 60 days to submit a plan to restore damage it caused at the Verdugo Wash and Sepulveda Basin.
http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-sepulveda-basin-habitat-20131101,0,6495055.story

In Rim fire's aftermath, a new worry emerges: water
Steep Sierra slopes burned in California's third-largest wildfire are primed for flooding and debris flows in a big winter storm.
http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-rim-fire-water-20131104,0,1790017.story

Kings’ local CEQA bill felt statewide
At the 11th hour in the 2013 legislative session, a bill was hastily written to expedite the construction of a sports arena in Sacramento by easing requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act. The measure, SB 743, was offered as a district bill sought by Senate Leader Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, for a local project to make the city attractive to the NBA’s Sacramento Kings. Gov. Brown later signed the measure.
http://capitolweekly.net/kings-ceqa-transit-infill/

Case of campaign mystery money sheds light on high-profile donors, limits of disclosure
When FPPC officials announced a settlement 10 days ago with political groups tied to billionaire businessmen Charles and David Koch, they touted their ability to hold the Arizona groups accountable by announcing a record $1 million fine. Yet even as state regulators celebrated the outcome of the case – including a $1 million fine against two Arizona-based groups, the largest ever levied by the FPPC for a campaign violation – the limitations of their efforts were laid bare.
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/11/02/5876187/case-of-campaign-mystery-money.html

California probe of campaign donations sheds light on 'dark money'
Probe of millions raised by a Republican consultant in 2012 and routed through nonprofits tracks a twisting trail.
http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-secret-money-20131104,0,2449947.story

ZomBees: Flight of the Living Dead
Professor John Hafernik of San Francisco State University doesn’t leave home without an empty vial in his pocket. Entomology isn’t just a job; it’s a way of life, and Hafernik never knows when he’ll come across an interesting specimen during his daily travels. It was this personal habit that led to his accidental discovery that Bay Area bees were falling victim to an insidious insect, a parasitic fly that would come to be known as the “Zombie fly”.
http://blogs.kqed.org/science/video/zombees-flight-of-the-living-dead/

Dan Walters: Liberals want it both ways in oil tax debate
One of California’s longer-running political arguments is over whether increasing taxes on oil production would result in higher gasoline prices for consumers.
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/11/02/5876189/dan-walters-liberals-want-it-both.html

National News

Top climate scientists ask environmentalists to support nuclear power in climate battle
Four scientists who have played a key role in alerting the public to the dangers of climate change sent letters Sunday to leading environmental groups and politicians around the world. The letter, an advance copy of which was given to The Associated Press, urges a crucial discussion on the role of nuclear power in fighting climate change.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/energy-environment/top-climate-scientists-ask-environmentalists-to-support-nuclear-power-in-climate-battle/2013/11/03/79a345b0-4473-11e3-95a9-3f15b5618ba8_story.html

Climate Change Seen Posing Risk to Food Supplies
Climate change will pose sharp risks to the world’s food supply in coming decades, potentially undermining crop production and driving up prices at a time when the demand for food is expected to soar, scientists have found.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/02/science/earth/science-panel-warns-of-risks-to-food-supply-from-climate-change.html

Tea party Republicans are biggest climate change deniers, new Pew poll finds
Tea party Republicans are now the only group of Americans who think the Earth is not warming, according to a new poll by the Pew Research Center, with just 25 percent of tea party Republicans saying global warming is happening.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2013/11/01/only-tea-party-members-believe-climate-change-is-not-happening-new-pew-poll-finds/

After the Frack
Hydraulic fracturing — better known as fracking — is a process of extracting natural gas that creates large amounts of contaminated wastewater. In this television segment, QUEST explores the science behind the disposal of this waste, and the issues that surround it.† We caught up with QUEST Ohio producer Mary Fecteau to find out more about some of the issues surrounding fracking and her experience creating this video.
http://science.kqed.org/quest/video/fracking-wastewater/

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