Weekly Green: September 17, 2012

In recent news:

• California Senate leader sets in motion reform of state environmental laws;
• Prop 32 gets millions from Koch Brothers;
• The fight over GMO labeling initiative heats up;
• Endangered mountain yellow-legged frogs might get a hoppy ending;
• And much more.

Top of the Ticket

California Senate leader sets in motion reform of state environmental laws
A month after quashing a rushed attempt to overhaul the state's environmental laws, Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) said Thursday  he is convening meetings with all the parties involved in the issue in the months before the Legislature reconvenes in December.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2012/09/california-senate-leader-pledges-reform-state-environmental-laws.html

Time for the GOP to Get Serious About Climate Change, the New National Security Issue
Climate change denialism remains a powerful current within the Republican party, and is a stance honored by most of the candidates who sought this year's GOP presidential nomination. Though Romney argued for reductions in carbon emissions when he governed Massachusetts, he changed his tune on the campaign trail.
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/09/time-for-the-gop-to-get-serious-about-climate-change-the-new-national-security-issue/262428/

Prop 32 supporters: the Koch Brothers dilemma
When news broke Friday of a $4 million infusion of cash into efforts to pass Proposition 32 -- the ban on paycheck deductions for political efforts -- it marked a major turn in the narrative of the campaign, all thanks to two words: Koch Brothers.
http://www.news10.net/capitol/article/209551/525/Prop-32-supporters-the-Koch-Brothers-dilemma

Studies: Offshore Wind Potential is Huge
The U.S. has lagged behind European countries in capturing offshore wind for electricity, but a spate of recent studies suggest that a bigger push might be in order.
http://blogs.kqed.org/climatewatch/2012/09/14/studies-offshore-wind-potential-is-huge/

L.A.'s Transit Revolution
How a ballot initiative, a visionary mayor, and a quest for growth are turning Los Angeles into America's next great mass-transit city.
http://www.slate.com/articles/business/the_pivot/2012/09/l_a_metro_how_los_angeles_is_becoming_america_s_next_great_mass_transit_city_.html

CA Environmental News

Assembly speaker backs Proposition 39's corporate-tax revamp
Proposition 39 would change how taxes are calculated for multistate companies, with the goal of increasing revenue by $1 billion annually and directing half of that money to energy-efficiency projects for the next five years.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2012/09/california-assembly-speaker-proposition-39-corporate-taxes.html

G.M.O.'s: Let's Label 'Em
It's not an exaggeration to say that almost everyone wants to see the labeling of genetically engineered materials contained in their food products. And on Nov. 6, in what's unquestionably among the most important non-national votes this year, Californians will have the opportunity to make that happen - at least in theory - by weighing in on Proposition 37.
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/15/g-m-o-s-lets-label-em/

Uneasy Allies in the Grocery Aisle
Giant bioengineering companies like Monsanto and DuPont are spending millions of dollars to fight a California ballot initiative aimed at requiring the labeling of genetically modified foods. That surprises no one, least of all the proponents of the law, which if approved by voters would become the first of its kind in the nation.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/14/business/california-referendum-pits-organic-brands-against-corporate-parents.html

Study: Sea otters' role in kelp forest health could aid in global warming prevention
Monterey Bay's main mascot may turn out to be a secret agent in the fight against climate change.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/environment/ci_21528929/study-sea-otters-role-kelp-forest-health-could

As drought hits corn, biotech firms see lush field in GMO crops
Monsanto has received regulatory approval for DroughtGard, a corn variety that contains the first genetically modified trait for drought resistance.
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-fi-drought-corn-research-20120917,0,2177728.story

Endangered mountain yellow-legged frogs might get a hoppy ending
Efforts to save mountain yellow-legged frogs, which had been dwindling, seem to be paying off, with the fist-sized amphibians breeding in numbers not seen in decades.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-frog-refuge-20120916,0,4132145.story

S.F. weighing green alternative to PG&E
The program, CleanPowerSF, is designed to build a customer base and revenue stream to lay the groundwork for city-owned renewable power generation while advancing San Francisco's aggressive greenhouse-gas reduction goals. It also would effectively break Pacific Gas and Electric Co.'s decades-old monopoly on the consumer power market in its headquarter city.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/S-F-weighing-green-alternative-to-PG-E-3870294.php

SF clean-energy program may profit Shell
In an ironic twist, San Francisco's effort to go green with its own clean-energy program could wind up adding tens of millions of dollars to the coffers of one of the biggest oil companies in the world - Shell.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/matier-ross/article/SF-clean-energy-program-may-profit-Shell-3857981.php

Review of plan to restart San Onofre reactor could take months
After Edison submits a plan to restart one reactor at San Onofre, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is expected to take months to review it.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-san-onofre-20120913,0,3375576.story

Opinion: Threat to California's natural treasures
So we must ask: What kind of park system are we going to pass on to the millions of future Californians, our own children and their grandchildren? If our national parks are America's best idea, our state parks are California's greatest treasures. It is time to think beyond the budget crisis, beyond this economy, and envision what we want our parklands' future to be.
http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/openforum/article/Threat-to-California-s-natural-treasures-3864284.php

Solar companies look to East Bay
Even at the eastern edge of the Bay Area, where power lines crisscross a sprawl of nearby waterways and browning rural land, location is a hot commodity.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/environment/ci_21547469

California salmon fishermen see improved, though not stellar, 2012 season
It didn't live up to eye-popping preseason forecasts, but the 2012 salmon season represented a marked improvement for embattled California fishermen.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_21553630/california-salmon-fishermen-see-improved-though-not-stellar

U.S. Solar Installs More Than Doubled in Second Quarter
U.S. solar-panel installations more than doubled in the second quarter from a year earlier led by demand in California, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-09-10/u-dot-s-dot-solar-installs-more-than-doubled-in-second-quarter
 

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