[Source: Southern California Public Radio/89.3KPCC] The board of the South Coast Air Quality Management District, now dominated by pro-business members, voted 7-6 Friday to remove Barry Wallerstein, its longtime top executive. The action suggests the AQMD may be taking a more conservative approach to battling the L.A. Basin’s air pollution, which is among the worst in Read More…
Newsroom
AQMD board ousts executive officer
[Source: Los Angeles Business Journal] The governing board of the Southern California Air Quality Municipal District voted 7-6 to fire Barry Wallerstein, its executive officer since 1997, amid concerns from its new Republican majority that the agency needs to be more business friendly. The board appointed Chief Financial Officer Michael B. O’Kelly as the agency’s Read More…
Oil gears up for another climate fight
[Source: CALmatters] A Harvard economist known globally for his work on climate change policy sat in the Sacramento office of the oil industry’s lobbying firm recently, making the case that California is fighting global warming the wrong way. The state has a good cap and trade system, Robert Stavins said, but some of its other Read More…
Affordable housing may be limited by new state environmental rules
[Source: CalWatchdog.com] A new rule designed to promote urban development and curb both car usage and greenhouse gas emissions may end up making cities less affordable and more congested, critics say. The rule would modify how traffic is evaluated during a critical phase for planning for building developments, shifting the focus from traffic congestion to Read More…
U.S. states where recession is a reality
[Source: Bloomberg Business] Dale Oxley doesn’t need to hear about rising odds of a U.S. recession to dread the future. For the West Virginia homebuilder, the downturn has already arrived. “Everyone is going to have to tighten their belts,” said Oxley, the 48-year-old owner of a Charleston-area construction company. “The next couple of years are Read More…
California’s drought adds $2 billion in electricity costs
[Source: The Sacramento Bee] A hydro shortage has raised California’s electricity costs by a combined $2 billion the past four years, according to a report released Tuesday by the Pacific Institute, a water policy think tank based in Oakland. In addition, the institute said the drought has contributed to climate change: California’s fossil-fuel power plants Read More…
Supreme Court blocks Obama carbon emissions plan
[Source: Reuters] The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday delivered a major blow to President Barack Obama by putting on hold federal regulations to curb carbon dioxide emissions mainly from coal-fired power plants, the centerpiece of his administration’s strategy to combat climate change. The court voted 5-4 along ideological lines to grant a request by 27 Read More…
California’s $400 billion debt worries analysts
[Source: San Francisco Chronicle] California has come a long way to dig itself out of budget deficits, but the state remains on shaky ground due to nearly $400 billion in unfunded liabilities and debt from public pensions, retiree health care and bonds, financial analysts say. “Yes, the state’s budget is balanced if you are looking Read More…
Is California a climate model?
[Source: The Sacramento Bee] Tom Steyer was on stage at the United Nations climate summit one recent afternoon, grinning at a small crowd. Many people in the audience had already heard the billionaire environmentalist “promoting California as an example” of leadership on climate change, the event’s moderator said. Still, Steyer came to dish some more. Read More…