Weekly Green: May 27, 2014

In recent headlines:

• Fracking Moratorium has Momentum;
• Voter malaise might bring record-low primary turnout;
• Wildland fires pose new budget challenge;
• Three competing plans emerge for spending cap-and-trade fees;
• ... and much more!

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Top News: Fracking Moratorium has Momentum

Critical Fracking Vote This Week, On Heels of Stunning News
The movement to impose a moratorium on fracking in California is gaining steam, as the bill goes to the state Senate floor for a vote next week. That wasn't the only big news this week. In a stunning reversal, federal energy authorities with the U.S. Energy Information Administration are now estimating that there is 96% less recoverable oil than was previously estimated buried in California's Monterey Shale.
http://www.ecovote.org/blog/critical-fracking-vote-week-heels-stunning-news

Fracking: New Monterey Shale oil estimate rocks California's expectations
The fierce debate over "fracking" in California grew louder Wednesday with a new report that drastically reduced the estimate of oil that existing technology could extract from the state's massive underground reserve. The news, which cut the forecast by 96 percent, weakened hopes for an oil boom that would bring millions of jobs and billions of dollars in new tax revenue to the Golden State, home to about two-thirds of the country's shale oil reserves.
http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_25810989/fracking-new-monterey-shale-oil-estimate-rocks-californias

Poll: Two-thirds of CA voters want fracking moratorium
A sizable majority of Californians support slapping a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing, according to a new poll released Thursday.
http://blog.sfgate.com/energy/2014/05/22/poll-two-thirds-of-ca-voters-want-fracking-moratorium/

Groups pressure Legislature to back California fracking moratorium
More than 100 environmental and community groups Thursday sent a letter to the California Legislature urging lawmakers to support a moratorium on the oil-production method of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in California.
http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-groups-increase-pressure-for-moratorium-on-fracking-in-calif-20140522-story.html

Santa Cruz becomes first California county to ban fracking
Santa Cruz on Tuesday became the first California county to ban fracking, the latest in a string of moves by local governments in the state to take a stand against the controversial oil and gas producing method.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/21/california-fracking-idUSL1N0O700J20140521

California News

Note: For all of CLCV’s endorsements for the June 3 Primary Election, please visit: http://www.ecovote.org/page/endorsements »

California election: Voter malaise might bring record-low primary turnout
With just over a week to go before Election Day, the Golden State is gearing up for -- or perhaps, altogether ignoring -- what could be its lowest-ever turnout in a primary for governor.
http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_25834615/california-election-voter-malaise-might-bring-record-low?source=rss

Top 2 GOP gubernatorial candidates leave many in party wary
GOP mainstream leaders leave no doubt they think a June 3 primary victory by the ex-salesman - Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, 48, who founded a self-styled border patrol group called the California Minutemen and makes gun rights one of his signature issues - would be a disaster for the California party
http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Top-2-GOP-gubernatorial-candidates-leave-many-in-5505732.php

Wildland fires pose new budget challenge
What would Smokey Bear make of Washington’s budget rules about fire?
Tornadoes and floods qualify as natural disasters. Wildfires less so — especially on the vast federal lands in the West.
http://www.politico.com/story/2014/05/wildfires-budget-challenge-106904.html

Three competing plans emerge for spending cap-and-trade fees
And now there are three competing plans for spending about $1 billion in cap-and-trade fees on businesses that emit greenhouse gases, with three weeks to resolve the differences before the June 15 deadline for enacting a state budget.
http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2014/05/three-competing-plans-emerge-for-spending-cap-and-trade-fees.html

Steven Greenhut: Bad oil news is much ado about very little
Environmentalists are gleeful at the news reported last week by the U.S. Energy Information Administration that the amount of recoverable oil from California’s Monterey Shale formation — predicted to be the nation’s largest reserve of oil — is a whopping 96-percent below original production estimates.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/may/24/bad-oil-news-is-much-ado-about-very-little/

Upgrading Sacramento’s wastewater treatment could cost $2 billion
Some jokingly call it the Big Flush. Officials at Sacramento’s immense wastewater treatment plant intend to begin construction this year on what could be the largest public works project in Sacramento County’s history – an expansion they say will cost between $1.5 billion and $2 billion.
http://www.sacbee.com/2014/05/25/6430489/upgrading-sacramentos-wastewater.html#mi_rss=Our%20Region

State parks director quits as overhaul effort continues
Anthony Jackson, the former Marine major general who took over California's parks department with a mandate to reform the troubled agency, is leaving after 18 months on the job. Jackson became the department's director in the wake of an accounting scandal, and he is departing in the middle of an ongoing review of park operations.
http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-california-parks-director-resign-20140521-story.html?track=rss

California's flawed water system can't track usage
Call them the fortunate ones: Nearly 4,000 California companies, farms and others are allowed to use free water with little oversight when the state is so bone dry that deliveries to nearly everyone else have been severely slashed.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/may/26/california-fails-to-adequately-track-water-use/

Vernon battery recycler cited by EPA for excessive lead emissions
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency this week accused a beleaguered Vernon battery recycler of repeatedly releasing too much lead into the air in violation of federal law. The Exide Technologies facility violated the federal Clean Air Act's lead emissions standards on more than 30 occasions in recent months, according to a notice of violation released Thursday by the EPA.
http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-0524-epa-exide-20140524-story.html

Senate passes California drought-relief bill
With nary a word, the Senate on Thursday night passed a California drought-relief bill that sets up serious negotiations with the House over water storage, river protection, irrigation deliveries and more.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/05/22/228255/senate-passes-california-drought.html

California Approves Expansion of Toxic Dump
California officials said Wednesday the Kettleman Hills hazardous waste dump will be allowed to grow by 50%, much to the irritation of a nearby community where residents say the dump has caused birth defects.
http://time.com/108159/hazardous-waste-site-kettleman-hills-expansion/

California's Car Culture is Crashing its Carbon-Free Future
One of the best indicators of success in decarbonizing an economy is the volume of greenhouse gas emissions per dollar of gross domestic product. In California, the carbon intensity of the state economy fell 30 percent between 1997 and 2011, according to the report from Next 10, a non-partisan research institute based in San Francisco.
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/05/californias-car-culture-is-undermining-its-carbon-free-future/371431/

Seven of 10 of California’s Most Polluted Beaches Are in Northern California
Seven out of 10 of the state’s most polluted beaches are in Northern California, according to environmental group Heal the Bay’s annual Beach Report Card, released Thursday. Each year, Heal the Bay ranks California beaches on water quality. They test for bacteria that signal the presence of microscopic critters that can make people sick. This year, 95 percent of beaches got clean A or B grades, a record. That’s thanks to the drought, explained Amanda Griesbach with Heal the Bay.
http://blogs.kqed.org/science/2014/05/22/seven-of-10-of-californias-most-polluted-beaches-are-in-northern-california/

National News

Environmentalists Have Succeeded in Making Noise — Is Anybody Listening?
Efforts to make climate deniers pay a political price for their views may finally be getting somewhere.
http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/environmentalists-have-succeeded-in-making-noise-is-anybody-listening-20140519

Billionaire Tom Steyer will use clout and cash to boost Democrats, environment, in key races
The independent efforts run by his super PAC, NextGen Climate, will include television ads, on-the-ground field organizing and get-out-the-vote operations that seek to mobilize voters on the local impacts of climate change. The group plans to highlight issues such as drought in Iowa and the rising cost of flood insurance in Florida. It will also spotlight the climate-change skepticism of GOP Senate and gubernatorial candidates, and the campaign donations they have received from the fossil-fuel industry.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/billionaire-tom-steyer-will-use-clout-and-cash-to-boost-democrats-environment-in-key-races/2014/05/21/aeb5a2ca-e12b-11e3-8dcc-d6b7fede081a_story.html

Obama to declare Organ Mountains a national monument
President Barack Obama on Wednesday will designate 496,000 acres of federal land in five south-central New Mexico mountain ranges as a national monument, bypassing Congress to ensure the rugged but scenic country is protected for future generations.
http://www.abqjournal.com/402895/politics/obama-to-designate-organ-mountains-as-a-national-monument.html

Secrecy of Oil-by-Train Shipments Causes Concern Across the U.S.
Crude-by-Rail Has Jumped in Shale Boom, but Towns en Route Don't Get Data They Need for Safety
Emergency responders in Cincinnati know that trains full of crude oil have been rumbling through their city; they can see mile-long chains of black tank cars clacking across bridges over the Ohio River. But they don't know enough to feel prepared for the kinds of fiery accidents that have occurred over the last 10 months after oil-train derailments.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303749904579577861760037536

East Coast Communities Worry The Next Crude Oil Derailment Could Be Close To Home
According to The Record, over the past 18 months, New Jersey is one state that has quietly become a major transportation corridor for crude-by-rail shipments. Millions of gallons of highly combustible crude oil are believed to now be passing through neighborhoods in densely populated Bergen County every day, sometimes within just a dozen feet of homes and schools.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/05/27/3441893/oil-derailment-east-coast/

The House Science Committee Has Held More Hearings on Aliens Than on Climate Change
Congress is fascinated by the search for intelligent life on other planets. Apparently, they've given up the search at home. In this session of Congress, House committees tasked with covering U.S. energy and science have held a total of seven hearings to discuss climate change. By contrast, the two chambers have held a combined 19 hearings about space exploration in that same time period.
http://www.nationaljournal.com/energy/the-house-science-committee-has-held-more-hearings-on-aliens-than-on-climate-change-20140521

Many want modified foods to be labeled
If you want to know whether the bread you’re about to buy was sweetened with corn syrup, you can check the label. The same is true if you’re concerned about preservatives, caramel coloring, or artificial flavoring. By law, all of these ingredients must be listed on food labels. But not genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. The Food and Drug Administration does not require clear identification and labeling of food products made with genetically engineered plants.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2014/05/26/many-want-genetically-modified-foods-labeled/e64as3Xr2G6aUAE64XOI9J/story.html
 

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