Lawmakers from both parties are calling for more stringent oversight of a clean jobs initiative after an Associated Press report found that a fraction of the promised jobs have been created. The report also found that the state has no comprehensive list to show much work has been done or energy saved, three years after
Beneath the western United States lie thousands of old mining tunnels filled with the same toxic stew that spilled into a Colorado river last week, turning it into a nauseating yellow concoction and stoking alarm about contamination of drinking water. Though the spill into the Animas River in southern Colorado is unusual for its size, it's
The California Independent System Operator (CAISO), the Folsom-based entity that manages this state’s electricity transmission, a contemplating entering into a joint venture with PacifiCorp, the Portland, Ore.-based utility that supplies electricity to 1.8 million customers in Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, Washington and Oregon. The proposal offers promises, but raises questions, too. California could lose a measure
California lawmakers and other state officials arranged for donors, many with business at the Capitol, to contribute $28 million to nonprofit organizations, local museums and other favored causes during the first half of the year, according to the most recent filings with the Fair Political Practices Commission. So-called behested payments must be reported when a
Even the greenest, most eco-friendly politicians rarely utter the words Gov. Jerry Brown spoke at the Vatican’s climate change symposium last week. To prevent the worst effects of global warming, one-third of the world’s known oil reserves must remain in the ground, Brown told the gathering of government officials from around the world. The same goes
A first-stage decarbonization program is underway. But Gov. Brown and other political figures, such as Kevin de León, the president pro tem of the state Senate, want California to set a global example over the next 15 years by reducing petroleum consumption in cars and trucks by 50 percent, making buildings more energy-efficient and increasing
One-third of the world’s oil must stay in the ground if humanity hopes to avoid the worst effects of global warming, Gov. Jerry Brown told a climate conference at the Vatican Tuesday. “We are going to have to set a clear goal,” Brown told a crowd of mayors and public officials from around the world.
Excerpt from the Wall Street Journal, July 14 Global production of biofuels has surged over the past decade or so, with annual production climbing from approximately 10 billion liters in 2000 to nearly 80 billion liters in 2012. Much of this growth is being driven by governments’ increasing focus on alternate fuel sources in an
Excerpt from the Wall Street Journal, July 15 The European Union announced plans to overhaul its weakened carbon-trading program and redesign its electricity market, in efforts to help the bloc meet its targets to curb greenhouse gas emissions. One of the key measures was a legislative proposal to remodel the region’s carbon-emissions trading system for
Enforcement agents from the California Fair Political Practices Commission are scrutinizing the president of the California Public Utilities Commission over tens of thousands of dollars he raised from labor groups and energy lawyers to pay for a gala dinner honoring his predecessor. Spokesman Jay Wierenga said “FPPC enforcement is looking into” donations solicited by utilities