Weekly Green: October 1, 2013

This week's environmental headlines include:

• Experts set threshold for climate-change calamity;
• Californians wary of fracking, poll says;
• Get the lead out;
• Anticipating water conflict coming in 2014;
• Looking out for Lake Tahoe;
• ... 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 News: Climate Change Report a Wake-Up Call

Michael Mann: The new IPCC climate change report makes deniers overheat
As their erroneous efforts to discredit the 'Hockey Stick' curve reveal, sceptics are tying themselves in knots to maintain denial.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/28/ipcc-climate-change-deniers

Scientists: IPCC Report Should Serve as 'Wake-Up Call'
The new U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report should serve as a "wake-up call" to governments and society about the role of humans in global warming, scientists say.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/scientists-ipcc-climate-change-report-serve-wake-call/story?id=20408574

Experts set threshold for climate-change calamity
The world's leading climate scientists have for the first time established a limit on the amount of greenhouse gases that can be released before the Earth reaches a tipping point and predicted that it will be surpassed within decades unless swift action is taken to curb the current pace of emissions.
http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-0928-climate-change-20130928,0,2765027.story

California: Fracked

Californians wary of fracking, poll says
Californians want stricter regulation of hydraulic fracturing, the controversial method of oil and natural gas extraction, according to a new poll from the Public Policy Institute of California.
http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-california-fracking-regulations-20130925,0,7679192.story

Loopholes in California's New Fracking Legislation Could Allow Drilling to Continue Unabated
On Sept. 11, California lawmakers passed a controversial bill aimed at providing oversight of hydraulic fracturing for natural gas and oil (a drilling process known as fracking). While the new law includes some of the key elements of an effective chemical disclosure policy, last-minute, industry-friendly amendments forced into the bill undermine its ability to protect the health and safety of California residents.
http://www.foreffectivegov.org/loopholes-in-new-california-fracking-legislation-could-allow-drilling-to-continue-unabated

Oil-fracking regs tap well of resentment
With SB 4, the governor angered the oil industry, defied public opinion (a new poll points to strong opposition to "fracking") and left the environmental movement in disarray. He did so by following a path he had publicly mapped out - allowing drilling of vast oil reserves, while assuring that new environmental rules were in place.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/sep/27/oil-fracking-rules-resentment/

5 Things California's Fracking Bill Will Do
Senate Bill 4, which imposes new regulation of fracking in the state of California, has come under fire from environmental groups and other opponents of the increasingly common practice of hydraulic fracturing of underground natural gas and oil deposits.
http://www.kcet.org/news/rewire/government/five-things-the-pavley-fracking-bill-does.html

More CA Environmental News

Get the lead out
Lead is toxic. It poisons humans and wildlife alike. So why is lead ammunition still allowed in California? Right now, Governor Jerry Brown is considering whether or not to sign a bill passed by the California Legislature to ban lead ammunition in hunting in the state. He should do the right thing by signing AB 711 into law.
http://www.ecovote.org/blog/get-lead-out

Law advising public of chemical dangers kicking in
After five years in the works, a California law intended to educate consumers about harmful chemicals in the products they buy and require businesses to adopt safer alternatives is only days away from taking effect.
http://www.sfgate.com/health/article/Law-advising-public-of-chemical-dangers-kicking-in-4850911.php

New study: Toxic flame retardants fall dramatically in pregnant women in California
In a sign that California's efforts to reduce health risks from toxic chemicals are having an impact, a type of flame retardant linked to reduced fertility, low IQs in children and thyroid problems has fallen sharply in the blood of pregnant women since the state banned the chemicals 10 years ago.
http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_24168546/new-study-toxic-flame-retardants-fall-dramatically-pregnant

Gov. Brown extends use of carpool lanes for electric cars, others
Gov. Jerry Brown on Saturday approved a four-year extension of carpool lane access for electric cars and low-emission vehicles, but vetoed a bill that would have allowed solo motorists in regular cars access to those lanes on two Los Angeles County freeways during off-peak hours.
http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-gov-brown-extends-use-of-carpool-lanes-for-electric-cars-20130928,0,355157.story

Dan Walters: Big California water conflict coming in 2014
There is simply nothing more important to California's future than an adequate and dependable supply of clean water.
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/09/29/5775111/dan-walters-big-california-water.html

Eagle conservation effort at Solano wind energy project is first of its kind
Wind energy is known to be environmentally friendly, except for one persistent concern: The spinning turbine blades often kill birds, especially raptors such as eagles.
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/09/27/5772735/eagle-conservation-effort-at-solano.html

Brown Signs Mattress Recycling Bill
California is establishing a statewide mattress recycling program, but Governor Jerry Brown signed the bill into law today, but he wants it to be refined a bit.
http://www.capradio.org/10838

Boxer asks EPA to ensure safety of L.A. neighborhood near oil field
California senator wants the agency to address chemical odors wafting through University Park neighborhood from Allenco oil field.
http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-0927-fumes-20130927,0,5475948.story

Mark Schwartz: Sierra Nevada's burned forests' future in our hands
The Rim Fire is nearly contained and will quickly fade from public consciousness. However, the fire has left a scar on a part of the Sierra Nevada that many of us hold particularly dear. How do we move forward to restore this vital watershed, and what lessons do we learn for the future?
http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/article/Sierra-Nevada-s-burned-forests-future-in-our-4850222.php

Looking out for Lake Tahoe: new accord stirs debate
In 2011, fueled by pro-development and business interests, the state of Nevada passed legislation intended aimed at ending what many saw as a blissful, decades-old union with California - the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency. Nevada wanted to get out of the historic compact governing the protection of the majestic lake along the borders of both states. But environmentalists were not quite ready to let go of such a crucial regulatory tool.
http://www.capitolweekly.net/article.php?xid=11qx99e2dyypsz9

Oil-extraction tax measure dies, but will return
A student-led campaign to put an oil-extraction tax ballot measure before California voters has failed - and is starting all over again with renewed vigor.
http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2013/09/24/oil-extraction-tax-measure-dies-but-will-return/

National News

EPA would furlough 94 percent under its shutdown plan
The Environmental Protection Agency would furlough about 94 percent of its roughly 16,000-member workforce during a shutdown this year, according to the agency's contingency plan.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/wp/2013/09/27/epa-would-furlough-94-percent-under-its-shutdown-plan/
 

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