Weekly Green: October 28, 2013

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

• West Coast climate agreement coming Monday;
• 8 states sign deal to boost electric-car sales;
• Hearing in Sacramento Nov. 22 on proposal to remove gray wolf from endangered species list;
• Alternative energy deal to fund Salton Sea revival, and 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

California reservoirs in dire need of a wet winter
Gone is the healthy water storage that floated California through two dry years. Major reservoirs around the state need gully-washing storms this winter.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/10/27/3574965/reservoirs-need-a-wet-winter.html

West Coast climate agreement coming Monday
California has always been proud of its willingness to go first when it comes to policies that combat the perils of climate change. On Monday, Gov. Jerry Brown, Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington and Gov. John Kitzhaber of Oregon will meet in San Francisco to announce a “historic partnership on climate policy.” Details of the event have been sketchy, except that it will provide “details of an agreement aligning the governments’ strategies that combat climate change and promote clean energy.” The states are part of the Pacific Coast Collaborative.
http://www.siliconbeat.com/2013/10/27/west-coast-climate-agreement-coming-monday/

8 states sign deal to boost electric-car sales
Eight states representing nearly one-quarter of America's auto market have signed a pact to boost the use of electric cars, hoping to add 3.3 million zero-emission vehicles to their roads by 2025. And of course, California is helping lead the charge.
http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/8-states-sign-deal-to-boost-electric-car-sales-4923827.php

National Park Service wants to honor labor leader Cesar Chavez
The life and times of United Farm Workers’ co-founder Cesar Chavez should be honored with a new multi-state national historical park that stretches from Arizona to California’s San Joaquin Valley, the National Park Service recommended Thursday.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/10/24/206404/national-park-service-wants-to.html

Richmond: Chevron to try again for refinery modernization project
Chevron officials, and numerous documents, describe the modernization as an important upgrade in an increasingly competitive global petrofuels market. The conditional use permit application submitted to the city in 2011 says the plan is a scaled-back version of a much more ambitious project squelched in state court in 2009.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/west-county-times/ci_24389605/richmond-chevron-try-again-refinery-modernization-project

California Environment

Hearing in Sacramento Nov. 22 on proposal to remove gray wolf from endangered species list
Sacramento will host one of four hearings in the West on the federal government’s proposal to withdraw Endangered Species Act protection for the gray wolf.
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/10/25/5852607/hearing-in-sacramento-nov-22-on.html

Opinion: Time to discard state's recycling law?
Residents who put their bins out for curbside recycling almost anywhere in the Bay Area know that by morning the blue ones will have been mined by scavengers who pull out the bottles and cans for redemption. In other words, we're all effectively paying twice.
http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/diaz/article/Time-to-discard-state-s-recycling-law-4926892.php

House approves long-awaited bill that would restart Natomas levee repairs
The House voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to approve a bill authorizing water-related projects across the country, including levee improvements needed to protect Sacramento’s Natomas basin from a catastrophic flood.
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/10/23/5847279/house-approves-long-awaited-bill.html

Oakland truckers strike to protest pollution rules
The truckers' strike at the Port of Oakland stems from complaints over work conditions, but it also underscores a long-simmering tension between the trucking industry and environmental regulators.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Oakland-truckers-strike-to-protest-pollution-rules-4917925.php

Alternative energy deal to fund Salton Sea revival
Leaders in Imperial County have hammered out a deal to restore the Salton Sea and raise $3 billion to revive the shoreline economy driven by new alternative-energy development.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Alternative-energy-deal-to-fund-Salton-Sea-revival-4921062.php

Experts: State's economy depends on solving water woes
The state's $25 billion plan to fix the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta is a start, experts told a group of civic, government and business leaders Monday. But much more work is needed to prevent water woes from devastating California's economy in the long term.
http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2013/10/21/calif-economy-depends-water-issues.html

Salmon Thrive In Yolo Bypass Experiment
Scientists say their experiment of putting young salmon into flooded rice fields is a success. "We found that the fish grew at remarkable rates out there, the fastest that we've ever seen fish grow in the Central Valley."
http://www.capradio.org/12192

First California condor webcam in the wild goes live in Big Sur
For years, it's been a rare experience to see an endangered California condor in the wild. There are only 429 of North America's largest bird alive today, and half of them live in zoos. But on Monday, with some high-tech help, the bird watching got a lot easier. The first camera to capture live streaming video of condors in the wild was turned on in the remote hills of Big Sur.
http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_24357756/first-california-condor-webcam-wild-goes-live-big

Oarfish washed ashore in California was about to spawn
One of two giant fish found along US coast was female and carrying hundreds of thousands of eggs, say scientists.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/oct/23/oarfish-washed-ashore-california-spawn

Governor Brown & More State Politics

Gov. Jerry Brown's advice for Washington
As Washington tries to find a way past the political dysfunction that triggered the shutdown of the federal government, Gov. Jerry Brown came to town Thursday to suggest it look for inspiration in California.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/politicsnow/la-pn-jerry-brown-washington-20131024,0,6860597.story

California, Jerry Brown enjoying rave reviews, but comparisons are tricky
Praise for California and its governor, Jerry Brown, has drifted in for months now from the East Coast, ever since Brown and state lawmakers enacted a balanced budget this summer.
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/10/25/5850305/california-jerry-brown-enjoying.html

Jerry Brown in historic role
But in length of service, Brown now holds the record. He pushed ahead of Warren’s 3,925 days and nine hours. What’s more, the 75-year-old Brown appears poised to run in 2014. He has already raised more than $10 million for the campaign, according to financial disclosure reports compiled by the secretary of state.
http://capitolweekly.net/503/

Fracking activists to protest Jerry Brown in SF
Anti-fracking activists intend to protest as Gov. Jerry Brown visits the Bay Area this afternoon to sign a regional agreement to align government policy, combat climate change and promote clean energy.
http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2013/10/28/fracking-activists-to-protest-jerry-brown-in-sf/

Prop. 32 money trail leads to Koch brothers
Tony Russo and Jeff Miller cooked up a grand idea. To carry it off, they needed money, lots of it. For the same reason Willie Sutton visited banks, Russo and Miller went to the network controlled by David and Charles Koch. That’s where the money is. The billionaire industrialist brothers fund many of the most conservative organizations and campaigns, especially if they are aimed at unions.
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/10/25/5850222/dan-morain.html

'Dark money': California political watchdog slaps conservative groups with historic penalties
Two Arizona nonprofit groups that failed to disclose the source of more than $15 million in political donations last year will pay a record $1 million fine under a settlement announced Thursday by the state's political watchdog agency and the Attorney General's Office.
http://www.mercurynews.com/politics-government/ci_24380009/californias-political-watchdog-slaps-conservative-groups-historic-penalties

Keystone XL: News & Opinion

Bill McKibben: On Keystone XL, will Obama stand up to big oil?
As the battle over the Keystone XL pipeline has worn on – and it's now well over two years old – it's illuminated the Obama presidency like no other issue. It offers the president not just a choice of policies, but a choice of friends, worldviews, and styles. It's become an x-ray for a flagging presidency. The stakes are sky-high, and not just for Obama. I'm writing these words from Pittsburgh, amid 7,000 enthusiastic and committed young people gathering to fight global warming, and my guess is that his choice will do much to determine how they see politics in this country.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/28/obama-keystone-xl-pipeline-climate-change

Carol Browner: Keystone XL Will Be Rejected By Obama Administration
President Barack Obama will reject the contentious Keystone XL pipeline, a former White House climate and energy czar says.
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/10/25/carol-browner-keystone-obama_n_4164156.html

Gore urges US to stop Keystone 'atrocity'
Former US vice president Al Gore on Thursday urged President Barack Obama to block the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada, likening the carbon-intense project to drug addiction.
http://news.yahoo.com/gore-urges-us-stop-keystone-atrocity-214949994.html

Keystone Foes Pledge Sit-Ins If Pipeline Advances
Critics of the Keystone XL pipeline say they’re still optimistic President Barack Obama will block TransCanada Corp. (TRP)’s planned $5.3 billion link between the oil sands in Alberta and refineries along the U.S. Gulf Coast.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-23/keystone-foes-pledge-sit-ins-if-pipeline-advances.html

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