Weekly Green: January 22, 2015

In recent headlines:

• U.S. solar jobs grew nearly 22% in 2014;
• Boxer vows no more ‘secret’ talks on drought bill;
• The Senators Who Do and Don’t Believe in Human-Caused Climate Change;
• Brown's Budget Gives State Parks System One Year To Turn Around;
• ... and much more!

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TOP NEWS

U.S. solar jobs grew nearly 22% in 2014
Jobs in the the solar sector have jumped 86% since 2010 and employment is expected to continue to rise in 2015 and 2016, although an expiring tax credit may stunt growth, according to the report.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-solar-jobs-2014-20150115-story.html

Boxer vows no more ‘secret’ talks on drought bill
Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer on Wednesday set down some markers on California water legislation, denouncing “secret negotiations” and stressing the importance of seeking statewide support.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2015/01/21/4341310_boxer-vows-no-more-secret-talks.html?rh=1

Here Are All the Senators Who Do and Don’t Believe in Human-Caused Climate Change
During a debate over construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, intended to carry oil from Canada to the United States, the Senate voted on an amendment—just for show, really—on whether climate change “is real and not a hoax.”
http://www.wired.com/2015/01/senators-dont-believe-human-caused-climate-change/

Brown's Budget Gives State Parks System One Year To Turn Around
California’s state parks system has faced a rough few years: Deep cuts during the recession, and a financial scandal that rocked the department. Now, a state commission is just days away from releasing a report that demands the department modernize itself and Governor Jerry Brown’s new budget proposes only enough money to buy the parks system a year to turn itself around.
http://www.capradio.org/articles/2015/01/20/browns-budget-gives-state-parks-system-one-year-to-turn-around/

CALIFORNIA NEWS

Delta fish species plunge amid drought
California’s ongoing drought marked a setback for five important fish species in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta in 2014, including the Delta smelt, a signature native fish that has often altered the course of state water policy.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/article6603369.html

Denser California forests raise firefighting questions, study says
Drought, fire suppression techniques and changes in land use have made California forests denser and more susceptible to fast-moving wildfires, a study to be released Tuesday has found.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-forest-study-20150119-story.html

An end to 'curtains of death'?
State lawmakers are pushing to end a fishing practice that hauls in millions of dollars a year, puts swordfish on restaurant plates across southern California, and is reported to kill more whales and dolphins than all other fishing practices combined.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/swordfish-648860-nets-drift.html

Building Sponge City: Redesigning LA For Long-Term Drought
In Los Angeles, some see drought as a design opportunity. The Arid Lands Institute in Burbank is developing ways to turn the city into a "sponge" in order to take in water and store it for later.
http://www.npr.org/2015/01/22/378844314/building-sponge-city-redesigning-la-for-long-term-drought

Mystery deepens: Prime bird death suspect ruled out
The mysterious case of the bird-killing goo got a little more perplexing Wednesday when laboratory tests ruled out the prime suspect, a viscous compound blamed for sending thousands of birds in Europe to their graves.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Mystery-deepens-Experts-probing-bay-goo-rule-out-6031053.php

California landfill taps methane for power
The little-known source of electricity has flowed into California's power grid for decades, but a groundbreaking Thursday for yet another trash-driven power project at a massive Orange County landfill could be one of the last on the books.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/article7917276.html

Keeping an eye on the rising tides
People from around the state volunteered to participate in the California King Tides Project, documenting the extreme tides through photographs and posting them to social media. The idea is to show people, in stark terms, how the sea levels impact various parts of the coast.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/tides-648713-water-king.html

City (L.A.) looks at new 'infrastructure district' to fund L.A. River plans
As of Jan. 1, local officials have the authority to direct a greater share of future property taxes to revitalization efforts, public works projects and environmental cleanup.
http://www.latimes.com/local/cityhall/la-me-la-river-financing-20150118-story.html

California drought could end with storms known as atmospheric rivers
California's drought crept in slowly, but it could end with a torrent of winter storms that stream across the Pacific, dumping much of the year's rain and snow in a few fast-moving and potentially catastrophic downpours.
http://www.latimes.com/science/la-me-atmospheric-rivers-20150119-story.html

Cutting-edge wildlife facility in the works, courtesy of Oracle's Larry Ellison
Billionaire Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison is teaming with animal welfare advocates to create a one-of-a-kind wildlife refuge, rehabilitation and education center on a long abandoned quarry in the Santa Cruz Mountains above Saratoga.
http://www.mercurynews.com/saratoga/ci_27336567/saratoga-cutting-edge-wildlife-facility-works-courtesy-oracles

Oil companies to cautiously debate governor on gas reduction goals
Calling the Brown administration's new climate change goals "aggressive," the Western States Petroleum Association plans to cautiously enter a debate this year about how California could cut gas consumption in automobiles by up to 50 percent over 15 years.
http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2015/01/16/oil-companies-to-cautiously-debate-governor-on-gas.html

San Onofre waste
Largely overlooked in the high-profile fight over who should pay for the premature shutdown of the San Onofre nuclear power plant was another, perhaps even more vexing issue: what to do with tons upon tons of radioactive waste.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2015/jan/16/san-onofre-nuclear-waste-storage/

California's only known wolverine nearing end of his natural life
California’s only known wild wolverine is still alive and roaming somewhere in the Tahoe National Forest, but he is nearing the end of his natural life.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-only-wolverine-in-california-20150116-story.html

Plunging energy prices cause biggest cost-of-living drop in six years
Plunging energy prices last month led to the biggest decline in the cost of living in six years, keeping inflation well below the Federal Reserve's target and possibly complicating plans for the central bank to start raising interest rates.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-consumer-price-index-inflation-oil-economy-20150116-story.html

State puts limits on a pesticide used for strawberries, other crops
California farmers must restrict their use of a tear gas-like pesticide applied to strawberries and other crops under new rules designed to protect farmworkers and people who live, work and go to school near agricultural fields.
http://www.latimes.com/science/la-me-pesticide-rules-20150115-story.html

California using hydraulic fracturing in up to half of new wells: state study
Hydraulic fracturing unlocked oil at around one-half of the new wells launched in California over the last decade, and the practice will likely expand in a chunk of the San Joaquin Valley, according to a new study required by the 2013 law to regulate the practice.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article6497937.html

Independent Scientific Study on California Fracking Released
California has shallow, vertical fracking wells that require about 140,000 gallons of water per well to extract oil. That’s millions of gallons less than other states. But the fluids contain more concentrated chemicals.
http://www.capradio.org/40316

Santa Monica water use to be cut 20 percent in two years
Last week, the Santa Monica City Council voted to approve a water shortage response plan with the goal of achieving a 20 percent citywide reduction in water use by December 31, 2016.
http://www.laobserved.com/intell/2015/01/local_water_use_to_be_cut_20_p.php

NATIONAL & GLOBAL NEWS

NASA, NOAA Find 2014 Warmest Year in Modern Record
The year 2014 ranks as Earth’s warmest since 1880, according to two separate analyses by NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientists.
http://www.nasa.gov/press/2015/january/nasa-determines-2014-warmest-year-in-modern-record/#.VLmQayvF_9t

POLL: Americans Favor Renewable Energy, Environmental Protections
A poll released last week found that the majority of Americans favor the President’s environmental policies, and that many were opposed to the GOP leadership’s agenda, such as defunding the EPA or cutting back clean water protections.
https://www.americanprogress.org/press/release/2015/01/15/104581/release-cap-poll-finds-fossil-fuel-interests-dominate-agenda-of-new-congress-but-americans-favor-renewable-energy-environmental-protections/

How State Future Funds Can Help States Build Resilient Infrastructure and Cut Carbon Pollution
Many states and cities are already rising to the challenge of climate change on their own. First, they are working to reduce their emissions of carbon pollution. Second, some states and cities are beginning to factor climate change into their infrastructure and community development plans, particularly in the wake of costly extreme weather events.
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/green/news/2015/01/16/104716/how-state-future-funds-can-help-states-build-resilient-infrastructure-and-cut-carbon-pollution/

Republicans Post Doctored Version Of State Of The Union, Censor Facts On Climate Change
The official website for House Republicans has posted on YouTube a version of President Obama’s State of the Union address which cuts out comments where the President was critical of Republican rhetoric on climate change.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/01/21/3613732/you-cant-handle-the-truth/

Republicans outfox Democrats on climate votes
Senate Republicans head-faked Democrats on climate change Wednesday, agreeing in a floor vote that the planet’s climate was changing, but blocking language that would have blamed human activity.
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/01/senate-climate-change-vote-114463.html

Latest climate change battle may center on food pyramid
The political clash over climate change has entered new territory that does not involve a massive oil pipeline or a subsidy for renewable energy, but a quaint federal chart that tries to nudge Americans toward a healthy diet.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-climate-food-20150118-story.html

Pope Francis on climate change: Man has ‘slapped nature in the face’
Pope Francis said Thursday he is convinced that global warming is “mostly” man-made and that he hopes his upcoming encyclical on the environment will encourage negotiators at a climate change meeting in Paris to make “courageous” decisions to protect God’s creation.
http://www.sbsun.com/article/20150115/NEWS/150119697

New Climate Research Suggests Acceleration of Sea Level Rise
A reassessment of historical data suggests that compared to previous estimates, the world’s sea level rose more slowly during the 20th century—and is rising faster now.
http://blogs.kqed.org/science/2015/01/15/new-climate-research-suggests-acceleration-of-sea-level-rise/

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