California’s vehicular travel has doubled during the last 30 years, but fuel consumption has risen by only one-third – good news overall but bad news for our battered highways. A long-standing tax system based on fuel volume has become obsolete as autos have become more fuel-efficient. Meanwhile, electric vehicles bypass tax-collecting fuel pumps altogether, even though
The California Energy Commission has turned down a request from the Sierra Club to become a formal legal party to proceedings regarding the proposed Palen Solar Electric Generating System west of Blythe in Riverside County. The 500 megawatt Palen project would build two 750-foot solar power towers on 3,800 acres of land southeast of Joshua
As Alameda County charges forward with a plan to form its own public energy agency to buy and sell greener power to residents and compete with PG&E, environmental advocates are fighting to make sure the state doesn't block the way. About 50 activists rallied Thursday outside a Pacific Gas and Electric customer service center in
He hangs out with billionaire Elon Musk, rides bikes with actor Kevin Spacey and counts Arnold Schwarzenegger and Condoleezza Rice as buddies. He visits Silicon Valley almost every month and flies from Washington to his district in Bakersfield virtually every weekend to see his family, even if he stays for just 12 hours. When schmoozing
After months of private maneuvering, polling and even some expensive signature-gathering efforts that appear to have been in vain, November’s statewide ballot in California is looking like the smallest ever when it comes to propositions. http://blogs.kqed.org/newsfix/06/13/2014/november-2014-ballot-looks-short/
The political infighting over the next State budget began just minutes after the Legislature passed one that would spend $156.4 billion – $200 billion-plus when federal funds are included – in the fiscal year that begins July 1. http://www.sacbee.com/2014/06/16/6488260/dan-walters-new-budgets-new-spending.html#mi_rss=Dan%20Walters
Brown and fellow Democrats reached agreement on a $156-billion spending compromise. The governor — a virtual cinch to be wielding power for another four years — got pretty much what he wanted, starting with some funding for his unpopular bullet train. But he had to give a bit in order to jump-start the train and
Months ago, without saying it publicly, Democrats gave up hopes of regaining control of the House of Representatives and began concentrating resources on saving their command of the U.S. Senate. That shift of emphasis, coupled with the natural dynamics of nonpresidential elections and the prospect of a very low-turnout November election, has raised Republicans’ hopes of
USDA ERS estimates of food loss are based mainly on inference. ERS develops supply and use balance sheets for over 200 individual commodities. In the Loss-Adjusted Food Availability (LAFA) data series, ERS takes the balance sheets for individual commodities, removes the inedible share (such as peach pits and asparagus stalks), and applies food loss assumptions
California is the U.S. capital of ozone. South Coast and the Valley are the two worst spots in the country. And June this year is a bad month so far. http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/06/09/3968831/this-june-air-quality-has-turned.html?sp=/99/217/&ihp=1