EarthBlips - Latest California News Articles

California Takes Step to Limit Emissions

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 04:29:18 +0000

With proposals to reduce emissions tied to climate change stalled in Congress, a state works on its own cap-and-trade plan.

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One for the Ages: Bristlecone Pines Break 4,650-Year Growth Record

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Bristlecone pine trees dot the White Mountains in eastern California, giving the stark and rocky landscape one of its few highly visible signs of life. These gnarly-barked trees can survive at altitudes of up to 3,470 meters, although their growth rate at these heights is limited because of cold temperatures. But those limits have been loosening lately. In the past 50 years, as regional temperatures have warmed, the growth of bristlecone pine trees at high altitudes has been accelerating, whereas that of trees lower down the slopes has not, according to the results of a study published November 16 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . [More]

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Jonathan A. Schein: California's Energy Regulators Look Backwards

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:27:03 +0000

Golden State regulators have found a new toy. The California Energy Commission has just approved a measure to force television manufacturers to produce new models by 2013 that cut energy consumption by 50%. According to the commission, total household energy consumption from television sets has climbed to 10% up from 3-4% in the 1990s. There are a couple of reasons for this growth, including the new generation of flat screen sets as well as similar regulations for other household appliances, which has reduced their comparative energy use. However, this particular regulation seems after the fact. First, in 2013, who can be sure where we will be watching our visual entertainment? Technological convergence is already with us—we're now watching live streaming via smartphones, laptops, home computers—and there will be more advancements coming down the pike. Conventional television still dominates, but this is going to change dramatically within the next decade. How does this regulation ...

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Is there a tradeoff between economics and the environment?

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:37:53 +0000

by Tom Konrad This article was first published on Clean Energy Wonk . California’s RETI process lends insight into the near-term prospects of solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass. In September, California’s Renewable Energy Transmission Initiative (RETI) released their Phase 2A report, which outlined potential transmission corridors to collect renewable energy from Competitive Renewable Energy Zones (CREZ) that had been identified in previous phases. As part of Phase 2A, they also screened each CREZ for environmental impact, and the potential difficulty of obtaining land for renewable energy development. I previously looked at the results from Phase 1A and gained some insight into the cost of renewable energy technologies . However, what renewable energy projects actually get built has to do with a lot more than just economics. If it raises too many environmental concerns, such as infringing on endangered Mojave Ground Squirrel habitat, it ...

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A new little engine that could

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:29:11 +0000

California traditionally relishes its leadership in the green movement, and now commuter rail efficiency is no exception. The state's latest aggressive policy to cut carbon loads to 1990 levels by 2020 spurred a major Amtrak overhaul. This week, Amtrak unleashed a new friend to Mother Nature in Locomotive No. 2015--a retrofitted engine that chugs along its Capital Corridor line between Sacramento and San Jose.

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California recycling program facing financial woes

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:14:49 +0000

California is one of a handful of states facing a significant budget crisis. State agencies have been dealing with cuts and it looks like a decades-old recycling program may end up being the latest victim of the state’s budget woes.

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Thomas J. Graff, an Expert on West Coast Water Use, Is Dead at 65

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 07:58:35 +0000

Mr. Graff, a leading environmentalist, championed the idea of offering financial incentives for environmentally friendly behavior.

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Sacramento Fisherman Arrested In Sea Lion Shooting

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 07:39:13 +0000

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Authorities arrested a Sacramento fisherman Saturday in connection to shooting a sea lion in the head. California game wardens said they arrested Larry Allen Legans, 43, on misdemeanor charges of animal cruelty, negligent discharge of a firearm, and take of a marine mammal. Legans told authorities he grew tired of competing with the protected animals so he fired his 12-gauge shotgun at the sea lion, injuring the creature. "He said he was tired of watching sea lions take his fish," said Warden Patrick Foy. About a half-dozen sea lions have started to spend time farther up the Sacramento River, competing with anglers for fish as far inland as Rio Vista, just southwest of Sacramento. An injured sea lion was first spotted on a dock in Sacramento on Nov. 12 with a wound near its right eye. A witness told authorities Legans fired on the sea lion a day earlier when it surfaced in the river near Verona. Authorities arrested Legans at his home Saturday morning ...

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Fight to protect California condors from lead ammunition moves to Arizona

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:57:00 +0000

It has been 22 years since the last 22 California condors ( Gymnogyps californianus ) were collected from the wild and placed in captive breeding programs. The species, which nearly went extinct due to habitat loss, poaching, DDT and lead poisoning, has since rebounded to 332 birds, according to counts maintained by the Zoological Society of San Diego . But despite that conservation success, condors still face a major threat from lead poisoning, which often occurs when the birds eat carcasses killed by hunters' lead ammunition. [More]

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Small airports, big health risks

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:15:13 +0000

Live near a small airport? Those little planes could be harming your health more than you thought. A new study by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, found worryingly high levels of air pollution at Santa Monica Airport — which has them calling for larger buffers at urban airports. According to the L.A.

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California in TV set clampdown

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:30:00 +0000

Danny Bradbury, BusinessGreen , Friday 20 November 2009 at 15:30:00 New sets must conform to energy usage regulations California has become the first US state to adopt regulations limiting the energy consumption of TV sets. New sets sold in the state must use one third less energy than...

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No more inefficient TVs for California

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:04:20 +0000

It’s official! Californians will enjoy more energy-efficient TVs, thanks to the California Energy Commission, which voted to require higher energy efficiency standards for high-definition TVs. According to the L.A. Times:

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US energy giant faces law suit over smart meter costs

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:55:00 +0000

Danny Bradbury, BusinessGreen , Thursday 19 November 2009 at 09:55:00 Fears mount that smart meter firms could become embroiled in lawsuit against PG&E; alleging its smart meter rollout has driven up energy bills A disgruntled California resident has put up a potential speed bump in the race to install smart meters throughout America's electrical grid, after launching legal action against his supplier over...

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California Requires TVs To Be More Energy Efficient

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:39:21 +0000

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Power-hungry TVs will be banned from store shelves in California after state regulators Wednesday adopted a first-in-the-nation mandate to reduce electricity demand. On a unanimous vote, the California Energy Commission required all new televisions up to 58 inches to be more energy efficient, beginning in 2011. The requirement will be tougher in 2013, with only a quarter of all TVs currently on the market meeting that standard. The commission estimates that TVs account for about 10 percent of a home's electricity use. The concern is that the energy draw will rise by as much as 8 percent a year as consumers buy larger televisions, add more to their homes and watch them longer. Commissioners say energy efficiency standards are the cheapest and easiest way to save electricity. "We have every confidence this industry will be able to meet the rule and then some," Energy Commissioner Julia Levin said. "It will save consumers money, it will help protect public ...

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Solar’s rapid evolution makes energy planners rethink the grid

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:25:25 +0000

by Todd Woody Photo courtesy OZinOH via Flickr California’s ambitious goal of obtaining a third of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020 has spawned a green energy boom with thousands of megawatts of solar, wind, and biomass power plants planned for ... the middle of nowhere. And therein lies the elephant in the green room: transmission. Connecting solar farms and geothermal plants in the Mojave Desert and wind farms in the Tehachapis to coastal metropolises means building a massive new transmission system. The cost for 13 major new power lines would top $15.7 billion, according to a report released in August by the state’s Renewable Energy Transmission Initiative. The initiative, called RETI, is an attempt to build a statewide green grid in an environmentally sensitive way that will avoid the years-long legal battles that have short-circuited past transmission projects. But the rapidly evolving solar photovoltaic market may moot the need for some of those expensive ...

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Grizzly Details: Salmon Collapse Could Be Bad News for Bears [Slide Show]

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:01:00 +0000

For most of May Chris Darimont, an environmental scientist at the University of California, Santa Cruz , poured liters of fermented cattle blood mixed with pureed rotten fish guts on 3,000 square kilometers of British Columbia's coastal wilderness. [More]

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Declaw laws on the table

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:28:32 +0000

Animal lovers throughout California bristled this summer when Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger banned anti-declawing laws. In other words, he made it illegal to outlaw declawing.

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California's 'Happy Cow' Ads Will Be Filmed In New Zealand

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:18:42 +0000

The New Zealand cows, soon, will have a say in the matter because the CMAB is bringing its production crews to Auckland, New Zealand, to shoot a new series of 10 commercials claiming that California cows are happier.

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Helix to trial wind powered mobile phone network

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:15:00 +0000

Cath Everett, BusinessGreen , Monday 16 November 2009 at 09:15:00 US firm to roll out vertical axis wind turbines at mobile phone towers in southern California Helix Wind, the US-based provide of small scale vertical axis wind turbines, has revealed plans to test the viability of using two small wind turbines to power mobile phone towers...

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