Weekly Green: October 22, 2012

Hello all. It's the last day to register to vote, so please make sure you spread the word!

In recent news:

• Poll: California Latino voters are strong conservationists;
• Chevron fire spurs air board to increase toxic pollution monitoring;
• Obama energy team circulates memo to greens on climate;
• Prop 32: Another Koch-funded fraud;
• Fighting for Prop 37: the truth that $36 million can't hide;
• And much more.

Top of the Ticket

Latinos a 'Core Conservation Community,' Poll Finds
Latino voters in California are strong supporters of conservation and clean energy, a new poll released Thursday finds. The poll adds to a growing consensus that minorities across the state are strong conservationists, though some say more research is needed to uncover regional differences.
http://newamericamedia.org/2012/10/latinos-a-core-conservation-community-poll-finds.php

Latino leaders discuss role in conservation campaigns
Leaders in politics, business and advocacy said Wednesday that the Latino community is one of the most involved in the fight for conservation during an event at the Davidson Conference Center. Experts at the California League of Conservation Voters Education Fund's "Salud, Familia, Comunidad: California Latino Voters and Our Air, Land, and Water" also said that global preservation should be a more pressing issue for state policymakers.
http://dailytrojan.com/2012/10/17/latino-leaders-discuss-role-in-conservation-campaigns/

Editor's Note: Find out more and RSVP for the final in our series of forums here:
http://www.clcvedfund.org/what-we-do/research-and-polls/latinos/outreach-forums/

Prop 32 is Yet Another Koch-Funded Fraud
In reality, Prop 32 is just another attempt by big polluters and other corporate interests to trick California voters into voting against their own interests.
http://www.ecovote.org/blog/prop-32-yet-another-koch-funded-fraud

A Grand Experiment to Rein In Climate Change
The outsize goals of California's new law, known as A.B. 32, are to lower California's emissions to what they were in 1990 by 2020 - a reduction of roughly 30 percent - and, more broadly, to show that the system works and can be replicated.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/14/science/earth/in-california-a-grand-experiment-to-rein-in-climate-change.html

Environmentalists sue California oil regulators over fracking
A coalition of environmental advocates has filed suit against California oil regulators over the controversial method of oil extraction called hydraulic fracturing, accusing state officials of illegally "rubber-stamping" drilling permits without performing key environmental reviews.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2012/10/fracking-lawsuit-california.html

CA Environmental News

Water, lifeblood of the state, gets ever costlier
Water, always at the core of California's political and social fabric, is becoming even more precious as the population expands and the infrastructure withers.
http://www.capitolweekly.net/article.php?xid=10y37u48g355nq4

Chevron fire spurs air board to increase toxic pollution monitoring after releases from refineries
A strategy for increasing toxic air pollution monitoring after refinery releases like the Aug. 6 Chevron fire in Richmond was approved Wednesday by the Bay Area's air pollution board.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/environment/ci_21796183/chevron-fire-spurs-air-board-increase-toxic-pollution

State signs alternative energy deals
Landfill gas and geothermal energy will soon power a share of the state's massive water pumping infrastructure.
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/10/13/4908119/state-signs-alternative-energy.html

Companies bail out from Prop. 39 fight over corporate 'loophole'
Proposition 39 would bring in $1 billion annually at a time the state is in dire need of new revenues. And the "yes" side recently got a major boost when five major corporations that had geared up to challenge Proposition 39 blinked, announcing that they wouldn't finance a campaign against it.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/politics-government/ci_21776927/companies-bail-out-from-prop-39-fight-over

Warring parties agree on some levee, habitat fixes in Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
They have fought over the sensitive Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta for years. Now Delta residents and those who demand its water have managed to agree on $1 billion in short-term projects to help the estuary.
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/10/16/4914561/warring-parties-agree-on-some.html

Delta farmers to fight tunnel project
The proposal, which is not final, calls for the construction of two 35-mile-long tunnels that would carry water underground from intakes on the Sacramento River a few miles north of here to the giant pumps that fill southbound aqueducts.
http://www.sfgate.com/science/article/Delta-farmers-to-fight-tunnel-project-3961654.php

Fighting for Prop 37: the Truth That $36 Million Can't Hide
The people's movement for our right to know what's in our food has hit a critical fork in the road: the moment when it's time to ask ourselves and each other - how hard are we willing to fight for our basic right to know what's in the food we're eating and feeding our families?
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/site/fighting-prop-37-truth-36-million-cant-hide

Adwatch: Anti-Prop. 37 ad misleads on labeling costs
The campaign against Proposition 37, which would require new labels on food containing genetically engineered ingredients, is airing television ads around the state that include the argument that Proposition 37 would increase costs for consumers and farmers.
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/10/20/4925399/adwatch-anti-prop-37-ad-misleads.html

Environment: California greenhouse gas rules on shaky ground in appeals court
California's unprecedented regulations to reduce the carbon footprint of transportation fuels appear to face a smoggy future in the courts.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/environment/ci_21784538/environment-california-greenhouse-gas-rules-shaky-ground-appeals

Hinkley residents choose PG&E buyout over water-purification system
When given a choice between an in-home water-purification system and leaving a town made famous because of its toxic water, homeowners chose leaving by better than a two-to-one majority.
http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_21796618

As waters warm, predators may go hungry
Predators of the North Pacific Ocean - among them many sharks, whales, seals and sea turtles - will be forced to swim farther from their food supplies or go hungry as the world's warming climate shifts their normal habitats, a marine scientist has concluded.
http://www.sfgate.com/science/article/As-waters-warm-predators-may-go-hungry-3961643.php

Pollution drop from building rail yard near L.A. harbor disputed
Public health and environmental experts dispute predictions that air pollution will be significantly cut if a giant rail yard is built in the L.A. harbor area.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-rail-yard-20121020,0,7931999.story

Hearst Castle waived event fees as neighboring parks struggled
While nearly 70 of California's state parks fought to escape closure from budget cuts, the crown jewel of the park system - Hearst Castle - waived $611,000 in private event fees over the last decade for select individuals and organizations, including the politically connected.
http://www.baycitizen.org/parks/story/hearst-castle-waived-event-fees-parks/

National News

Obama energy team circulates memo to greens on climate
Activists with President Obama's campaign are trying to dampen criticism from environmentalists who say global warming has been given short shrift in the 2012 presidential race.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/263339-memo-to-activists-were-talking-about-climate-

Americans increasingly believe in global warming, Yale report says
For the first time since the United States entered a deep recession five years ago, 70% of Americans now say they believe global warming is a reality, according to researchers.
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-climate-change-poll-20121018,0,5956821.story

Ocean scientists condemn iron-dumping experiment
A California businessman chartered a fishing boat in July, loaded it with iron dust and cruised through Pacific waters off western Canada, spewing 100 tons of his cargo into the sea in an ecological experiment that has outraged scientists and government officials.
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/10/19/4923239/ocean-scientists-condemn-iron.html

Public land set aside for solar plants
Federal officials approved a plan Friday that sets aside 285,000 acres of public land for the development of large-scale solar power plants, cementing a new government approach to renewable energy development in the West after years of delays and false starts.
http://www.sfgate.com/nation/article/Public-land-set-aside-for-solar-plants-3944807.php

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