Weekly Green: October 12, 2012

In recent news:

• A Paradigm Shift In Our Approach To Energy Development On Public Lands;
• Nutrition group says Prop. 37 foes are mischaracterizing its position;
• Independent spending on CA legislative races nears $5 million;
• Explosive growth in sudden oak death;
• And much more.

Top of the Ticket

New Solar Energy Program Signals A Paradigm Shift In Our Approach To Energy Development On Public Lands
The way that solar energy is sited and built on federal public lands just got more simpler. Earlier today, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar signed into law a new plan outlining the best places for solar to be developed on public lands and incentives for avoiding places that are ecologically sensitive.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/10/12/993881/new-solar-energy-program-signals-a-paradigm-shift-in-our-approach-to-energy-development-on-public-lands/

California's renewable-energy plans may hinge on presidential race
Players big and small in the state's rapidly growing industry worry a Romney win will strip them of federal subsidies they say are key to clean energy's future.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-election-energy-20121011,0,4154109.story

Nutrition group says Prop. 37 foes are mischaracterizing its position
A national group of nutritionists says its position on the safety of genetically-engineered foods has been misrepresented by opponents of Proposition 37 in the California voter guide.
http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2012/10/nutrition-group-says-prop-37-foes-are-mistaking-its-position.html

State Senate panel to probe refineries, gas prices
With gas prices soaring and news that the Chevron Richmond refinery's crude oil unit won't reopen until 2013, a state Senate committee will hold a hearing next month on the safety and reliability of California's gasoline production system and its impacts on gas prices and the economy.
http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2012/10/10/state-senate-panel-to-probe-refineries-gas-prices

In VP debate, Ryan complains of ‘green pork' and fact-checkers swat him down
Thursday's feisty vice presidential debate included one exchange on energy, specifically clean-energy stimulus funding — and that one exchange included a number of distortions and lies, courtesy of one Congressman Paul Ryan.
http://grist.org/politics/in-vp-debate-ryan-complains-of-green-pork-and-fact-checkers-swat-him-down/

CA Environmental & Political News

Prop 31 would damage our environment [by CLCV Board Member Wendy Mitchell]
Prop 31 is an entirely unworkable series of changes to California's budget and governance structure. It contains elements that threaten our environment, public safety and public health, all while jeopardizing $200 million in education funding.
http://www.sgvtribune.com/opinions/ci_21744256/mitchell-prop-31-would-damage-our-environment

Independent spending on CA legislative races nears $5 million
Independent groups are dropping big bucks to influence dozens of state legislative races, spending more than $4.8 million on television ads, mail pieces and other campaign activities since the beginning of August.
http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2012/10/independent-spending-on-ca-legislative-races-nears-4-million.html

Health, well-being of California's children varies widely based on where they live
Children Now released its annual score card today showing problem areas and bright spots for young people in each of the state's 58 counties. Major differences exist, the study reveals.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_21727931/health-well-being-californias-children-varies-widely-based

California legislators rarely vote against party line
It's usually easy to predict how particular California state legislators will vote on a bill: 99 percent of the time, Democrats vote the same way as the majority of their party; 94 percent of the time, Republicans vote the same way as the majority of their party, according to a Bee review of voting records from the 2011-2012 legislative session.
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/10/11/4902708/california-legislators-rarely.html

PG&E should pay most pipeline repair costs, state regulators propose
A tentative ruling Friday would force PG&E to absorb nearly two thirds of the cost of its $2.2 billion plan to beef up its natural gas system following the 2010 San Bruno disaster instead of letting the company bill its customers 85 percent of the costs.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_21759695/pg-e-should-pay-most-pipeline-repair-costs

Effort to defeat Jerry Brown's Prop. 30 gains millions of dollars
When Charles Munger Jr., the Stanford physicist and GOP activist, poured $22 million into a political campaign account in recent weeks, it was unclear whether the money would be used to boost Proposition 32 or go after Gov. Jerry Brown's tax plan, Proposition 30. The answer, it appears, is both.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2012/10/anti-proposition-30-funds.html

Top donors go all in on state ballot measures
The top 10 donors to November's state ballot measures – a smattering of extremely wealthy people, powerful unions and large corporations – have dumped more than $150 million into the fight so far, according to campaign finance tracker MapLight.org.
http://www.baycitizen.org/politics/story/top-donors-go-all-state-ballot-measures/

Diablo Canyon reactor shuts down unexpectedly
Unit 2 at Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant unexpectedly shut down a little after noon Thursday. The reactor automatically shut down at 12:08 p.m. due to an electrical disturbance in equipment used to export power into the grid, said Blair Jones, PG&E spokesman. The utility is investigating the cause of the shutdown.
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2012/10/11/2259500/diablo-canyon-unit-2-reactor.html

Support drops for measure on labeling of genetically modified food
Poll results released Thursday by the Pepperdine University School of Public Policy and the California Business Roundtable show that 48.3% of respondents would vote yes for the measure on Nov. 6, while 40.2% would vote no. That's way down from a 66.9% to 22.3% margin from a similar poll two weeks ago.
http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-poll-shows-support-plummeting-for-labeling-20121011,0,4000679.story

New online voter registrants reflect Democratic, youthful edge
An early batch of California's new online voter registrations show Democrats over Republicans about 2.5-to-1, with nearly a third of the new registrants reporting an affiliation with neither major party.
http://www.capitolweekly.net/article.php?_c=10x6biljftaddk0&xid=10x6autsxotd5gh&done=.10x6biljftaldk0

In Fighting Coal Pollution, Nevada Tribe Will Sell Solar Power to L.A.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) has agreed to buy all the power produced by a 250-megawatt solar facility on the Moapa River Paiute Reservation northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada.
http://www.kcet.org/news/rewire/solar/dwp-will-buy-solar-power-from-nevada-indian-reservation.html

Explosive growth in sudden oak death
The number of oak trees in California that died from the virulent forest disease known as sudden oak death has increased tenfold in just a year's time as the pathogen spread into several new parts of the Bay Area, including San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, biologists revealed this week.
http://www.sfgate.com/science/article/Explosive-growth-in-sudden-oak-death-3934216.php

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