Weekly Green: June 29, 2015

Hello and good evening, all. News & opinion from the last week:

• Supreme Court rules against EPA power plant mercury limits;
• California’s Congressional maps get legal protection via Arizona;
• Study claims electric vehicles cause more harm in some places than gas cars;
• New round of big state water cuts; much more.

» Welcome to another edition of the Weekly Green, your no-frills news roundup provided free of charge by the California League of Conservation Voters. If you're not a regular subscriber, sign up for your free subscription today: http://ecovote.org/wg »

Above the Fold

Supreme Court rules against EPA power plant mercury limits
A divided Supreme Court on Monday ruled against federal regulators’ attempt to limit power plant emissions of mercury and other hazardous air pollutants. The rules began to take effect in April, but the court split 5-4 along ideological lines to rule that the Environmental Protection Agency failed to take their cost into account when the agency first decided to regulate the toxic emissions from coal- and oil-fired plants.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/justices-rule-epa-power-plant-mercury-limits/

California’s Congressional Maps Get Legal Protection Via Arizona
On Monday, a majority of the high court’s justices ruled in favor of Arizona’s voter-approved system of having the lines drawn by an independent commission — a case that had profound implications for a similar commission in California. Bottom line: The status quo remains.
http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/06/29/california-congressional-maps/get-legal-protection-via-arizona/

Federal takeover of Valley air cleanup on the table?
It’s known as the nuclear option — the feds taking over the San Joaquin Valley’s air cleanup of dangerous soot, chemicals and other lung-searing debris.
http://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/earth-log/article25632595.html

Education and Health Care Boosted in $167 Billion State Budget
The biggest cut made by the governor was a $1 million reduction to the Department of Fish and Wildlife, money that would have been used to help restore Clear Lake in Lake County. Brown wrote in a veto message that there are “existing grant programs that are available and appropriate to support the restoration of Clear Lake” and directed his administration to provide technical assistance to identify that money.
http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/06/24/Jerry-Brown-signs-2015-budget

California's Historic Drought

Drought conditions make bad air worse, aggravate health problems
A longtime asthma sufferer, Shirley Bittante tries to stay inside when the air district rates conditions outside her Fair Oaks house as “unhealthy.”
http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/health-and-medicine/article25719685.html

Felicia Marcus navigates drought’s rough water
No matter what you might have heard, Felicia Marcus [former CLCV Board Member - Ed.] wants you to know she doesn’t hate your lawn. At least not on general principle.
http://capitolweekly.net/water-rough-droughts-marcus-felicia-chair-california/

Walters: Drought shows need to untangle California water rights
There is absolutely nothing in California government – or its politics – more complicated and contentious than water rights.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/dan-walters/article25682590.html

Navy bases do their part to conserve water in California drought
With its red and green synthetic turf, Destroyer Field at Surface Warrior Park is meant to reduce water use at Naval Base San Diego. The softball field needs occasionally to be combed, but not watered or mowed.
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-navy-water-20150628-story.html

California regulators curtail water diversions for more senior rights holders
State regulators Friday added to the growing list of water rights holders who have been told to stop drawing from rivers and streams as the drought shrivels summer flows.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-regulators-curtail-diversions-20150626-story.html

New round of big state water cuts to hit San Francisco
State water officials not only told more Central Valley farmers Friday that they need to stop drawing water from low-flowing rivers and creeks — but they tossed the city of San Francisco onto the list as well. Runoff in the Sierra, which provides a third of California’s water, has gotten so paltry amid a fourth year of drought that state officials have begun advising some of the state’s strongest water rights holders, once thought to be immune to cuts, that they no longer have dibs.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/New-round-of-big-state-water-cuts-to-hit-San-6351800.php

San Francisco told to stop taking some water during drought
Regulators on Friday told San Francisco to stop taking some of the river water it routinely stores in the Hetch Hetchy reservoir. However, the city is far from having its taps run dry during the drought.
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/9cc57027f7594751843ad9ca8455bb50/san-francisco-told-stop-taking-some-water-during-drought

California farmers may defy notice to stop irrigating
Farmers in at least two California irrigation districts are considering whether to ignore a letter from the state calling for historic cuts in water use during the drought, a lawyer said Thursday.
http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CA_CALIFORNIA_DROUGHT_WATER_CUTS_CAOL-?SITE=CASON&SECTION=STATE&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-06-25-17-46-34

DWP to unveil plan to capture storm runoff
It may not rain much in Los Angeles County, but when it does, a single storm can send up to 10 billion gallons of water surging into a vast network of storm channels with a single destination: the Pacific Ocean.
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-stormwater-plan-20150625-story.html

Support grows in Bay Area for toilet to tap water
Bay Area residents consider California's historic drought so dire that a majority say they would be willing to drink purified toilet water. That's not the only finding in a Bay Area Council poll released Wednesday that used to be considered hard to swallow.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/breaking-news/ci_28372208/california-drought-support-grows-bay-area-toilet-tap

State water system stretched to limit, officials say
State and federal water regulators said Wednesday they're struggling to hold California's fragile water system together amid dwindling supplies and increasing anger from farmers, lawmakers, environmentalists and others.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/article25425739.html

Some addresses may be hidden as California well reports become public
After more than six decades of secrecy, the reports that water well drillers file with the state are set to become public under a bill signed into law this week. Gov. Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 83, a trailer bill attached to the state budget. It reverses a ban on releasing what are known as well logs to anyone but the well’s owners, government officials and those cleaning up toxic spills.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/article25621564.html

Parched California Farmers Hope to Tap Wastewater From Cities
Facing record-low water supplies and a dry summer ahead, some California farmers are getting creative in looking for new sources of water. In one community, they’re planning to buy water from cities — after it’s already been used.
http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/06/29/parched-california-farmers-hope-to-tap-wastewater-from-cities/

Lawsuits over California water rights are a fight a century in the making
The lawsuits hit the courts within days of the state mailing notices to some Central Valley irrigation districts: They were to stop diverting from rivers and streams because there wasn't enough water to go around.
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-water-rights-legal-20150629-story.html

Troubled Delta System Is California’s Water Battleground
Fighting over water is a tradition in California, but nowhere are the lines of dispute more sharply drawn than here in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, a 720,000-acre network of islands and canals that is the hub of the state’s water system.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/25/science/troubled-delta-system-is-californias-water-battleground.html

Airport's new water source is the air
Literally wringing a new water supply out of thin air, San Diego International Airport is demonstrating that drought-induced ingenuity can tap an unlikely place.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2015/jun/23/airport-condensate-air-conditioning-drought/

San Francisco Requires Water Recycling
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously approved an ordinance today requiring developers to install water recycling systems on large, new buildings in the city.
http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/06/23/san-francisco-requires-water-recycling/

California Drought Changes What Farmers Grow
Water scarcity is driving farmers to plant different crops. Growers are switching to more profitable — less thirsty fruits, vegetables and nuts. Nowhere is this more true than San Diego County where the water prices are some of the highest in the state.
http://www.kpbs.org/news/2015/jun/22/california-drought-changes-what-farmers-grow/

More California Environmental News

California coal divestment bill clears committee vote
A bill to require California's state pension funds Calpers and CalSTRS to sell their investments in companies that generate at least half their revenue from coal mining passed an Assembly committee by a vote of 5-1 on Wednesday.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/24/us-california-divestiture-coal-idUSKBN0P42A020150624

Marine life protection bill goes to governor
The Assembly on Monday sent the governor a bill aimed at strengthening enforcement of restrictions in California’s Marine Protected Areas. Assembly Bill 298, carried by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez [former CLCV Board Member - Ed.], allows law enforcement agencies to combat poaching and illegal fishing by issuing violators a ticket — similar to a traffic violation.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2015/jun/22/head-line-goes-in-this-space-right-here-for-a/

Outside panel will oversee California's troubled toxic waste regulator
The budget signed this week by Gov. Jerry Brown establishes an independent panel to oversee the California Department of Toxic Substances Control after a series of shortcomings in its regulation of hazardous waste operations and cleanups across the state.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-toxic-control-oversight-20150626-story.html

Official says pipeline firm violated state guidelines for reporting Santa Barbara spill
The Texas owner of the crude oil pipeline that ruptured along the Santa Barbara County coast last month did not meet state guidelines for reporting an oil spill, a top state official said at an oversight hearing Friday.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-spill-state-hearing-20150626-story.html

California crude oil spill cleanup costs hit $92 million
The cost of cleaning up the largest coastal oil spill in California in 25 years has climbed to $92 million. The figure was disclosed Wednesday by Patrick Hodgins of pipeline operator Plains All American Pipeline.
http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CALIFORNIA_OIL_SPILL_CAOL-?SITE=CASON&SECTION=STATE&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-06-24-15-12-53

High-speed rail board seeks private-sector ideas, interest on financing, development
One of the chief criticisms leveled at the California High-Speed Rail Authority over the past couple of years has been the lack of private-sector investment in its ambitious statewide bullet-train program.
http://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/high-speed-rail/article25720360.html

Mercury News editorial: Fracking laws need to be stronger
Pavley, who wrote the state's landmark fracking-regulation bill SB 4 in 2013, wants to tighten regulatory reporting requirements on oil extraction with SB 248. It passed the Senate narrowly but could have some trouble in the Assembly. It shouldn't.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/news/ci_28334029/mercury-news-editorial:-fracking-laws-need-to-be-stronger

Bay Area commuters say they’d pay to improve public transit
Local residents seem a bit conflicted and perhaps even illogical when it comes to transportation issues, according to a new poll done for the business-oriented Bay Area Council, but sitting in creeping traffic or standing on crowded trains can do that to people.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Bay-Area-commuters-say-they-d-pay-to-improve-6350165.php

Mono Lake's ecological crisis is a blow to wildlife, L.A. water supply
As this drought-stricken body of salt water recedes, the repercussions mount: Its exposed alkaline flats are giving rise to dust storms. A haven for endangered migrating birds has become more vulnerable to predators. And Los Angeles' ability to divert snowmelt from the region — which it has done for seven decades — could be cut off.
http://www.latimes.com/science/la-me-mono-drought-20150625-story.html

Native American Tribes Sue To Block Solar Plant In Mojave Desert
The Colorado River Indian Tribes sued earlier this month after Riverside County supervisors approved the Blythe Mesa Solar Project, which would cover nearly six square miles.
http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2015/06/25/native-american-tribes-sue-to-block-solar-plant-in-mojave-desert/

California climate plan has inland condemning coastal elitism
In a state of 39 million dominated by Democrats, politics falls along regional lines rather than partisan ones. Just as California's north and south fight over water amid a record drought, the climate legislation has widened long-standing rifts between more affluent, Democratic-leaning cities along the coast and poorer, more conservative towns in the interior.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/politics-government/ci_28368790/california-climate-plan-has-inland-condemning-coastal-elitism

National & International Environmental News

Where Electric Vehicles Actually Cause More Pollution Than Gas Cars
“What we find is that the benefits are substantially different depending on where you are in the country,” study co-author Stephen Holland of the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, tells CityLab. “The real big take-home message is: location, location, location.”
http://www.citylab.com/weather/2015/06/where-electric-vehicles-actually-cause-more-pollution-than-gas-cars/397136/

Why the Saudis Are Going Solar
The fate of one of the biggest fossil-fuel producers may now depend on its investment in renewable energy.
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/07/saudis-solar-energy/395315/

American recycling is stalling, and the big blue bin is one reason why
The problems of recycling in America are both global and local. A storm of falling oil prices, a strong dollar and a weakened economy in China have sent prices for American recyclables plummeting worldwide. Environmentalists and other die-hard conservation advocates question if the industry is overstating a cyclical slump.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/american-recycling-is-stalling-and-the-big-blue-bin-is-one-reason-why/2015/06/20/914735e4-1610-11e5-9ddc-e3353542100c_story.html

Alaska is entering new era of wildfires
Alaska, the great northern frontier of America, is being reshaped by climate change. While rising temperatures are altering its character and landscape, they are also bringing the ravages of wildfires. In the past 60 years, Alaska has warmed more than twice as fast as the rest of the country, with average temperatures up by nearly 3 degrees Fahrenheit.
http://qz.com/436510/alaska-is-entering-new-era-of-wildfires/

Giant earthquakes are shaking Greenland — and scientists just figured out the disturbing reason why
In brief: When vast icebergs break off at the end of tidal glaciers, they tumble in the water and jam the glaciers themselves backwards. The result is a seismic event detectable across the Earth.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/06/25/giant-earthquakes-are-shaking-greenland-and-scientists-just-figured-out-the-disturbing-reason-why/

How Israel defies drought
Israel ended its driest year on record with a water surplus. Lessons from a desert nation on how to get more out of the spigot.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2015/0621/How-Israel-defies-drought

California Politics

The Cost of a Seat: California Legislators Raise More than $1,000 a Day
Everyone knows it takes big bucks to run for office in California, but you might be surprised to learn that current members of the state Legislature competing for a seat in the 2014 election cycle had to raise on average more than $1,000 each day.
http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/06/24/lawmakers-raise-big-money-for-california-legislature-seats/

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