[Source: East Bay Times] California’s brutal five-year drought did more than lead to water shortages and dead lawns. It increased electricity bills statewide by $2.45 billion and boosted levels of smog and greenhouse gases, according to a new study released Wednesday. Why? A big drop-off in hydroelectric power. With little rain or snow between 2012 Read More…
Newsroom
How California became the first environmental battleground
[Source: Orange County Register] Earth Day is April 22, so we look at California’s role as an environmental leader and how the state ranks. The first fight The beginning of the national grass-roots environmental movement goes back to a fight by John Muir and the Sierra Club that failed to prevent the construction of the Read More…
Metal finishers among toxin target opponents
[Source: Los Angeles Business Journal] MANUFACTURING: Call for increased facility supervision may yield speedier closures. Manufacturers and metal finishers are concerned about a planned crackdown on toxic emissions by the South Coast Air Quality Management District. The crackdown, announced at the April 7 meeting of the district’s governing board, was prompted by recent discoveries of Read More…
Aerojet Rocketdyne to cut 1,100 jobs in Sacramento, move some to L.A.
[Source: Los Angeles Times] Sacramento will lose 1,100 jobs over the next 18 months as rocket engine maker Aerojet Rocketdyne plans to relocate or cut positions in that facility and move jobs to Alabama, Canoga Park and other locations. The job changes are the next phase of a multiyear plan initiated in 2015 to reduce Read More…
CA Legislature passes Gov. Brown’s $52B plan to fix roads, hike gas taxes
[Source: KABC News/Associated Press] The California Legislature has approved Gov. Jerry Brown’s $52 billion plan to fix the state’s roads through an increase in gas taxes and other vehicle fees. The measure squeezed by in a late-night vote Thursday by the Assembly, hitting the two-thirds threshold without a single vote to spare. The governor’s 10-year Read More…
CalChamber-supported Prop. 65 litigation reform passes policy committee
[Source: California Chamber of Commerce] A California Chamber of Commerce-supported bill — AB 1583 (Chau; D-Monterey Park) — improves transparency and reduces litigation costs in Proposition 65 cases against California businesses passed an Assembly policy committee yesterday. Proposition 65 was designed to protect California’s drinking water from chemicals known to cause cancer or birth defects, Read More…
U.S. bill restricts use of science in environmental policymaking
[Source: New Scientist] The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is facing a future in which its hands will be tied on making many policies if a new bill becomes law. Last week the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill, the HONEST Act, that would prevent the EPA from basing any of its regulations on Read More…
California air regulators vote to keep tough fuel standards
[Source: Associated Press] California air regulators voted Friday to keep the state’s tough vehicle emissions standards through 2025. The state Air Resources Board voted unanimously at a meeting in Riverside to continue with the standards for 2022 to 2025 after reaching a conclusion similar to one by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the Obama Read More…
California adopts strictest methane rule in the nation
[Source: The San Diego Union Tribune] As expected, California officials on Thursday night passed what is considered the nation’s strictest rule aimed at curbing emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved the measure on a unanimous vote at a meeting in Riverside. “The Trump administration has backed away Read More…