Weekly Green: October 19, 2015

In recent headlines:

• Sen. Feinstein defends desert national monument plan;
• Obama administration blocks new oil drilling in the Arctic;
• Exxon's damaging denial on climate change;
• Drought news, and much, much more.

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Top News & Features

CLCV Blog: Protecting the California Desert
Representing CLCV at a public meeting hosted by Senator Dianne Feinstein about three proposed new national monuments in the California desert (Mojave Trails, Sand to Snow, and Castle Mountains), I could not fathom anyone would oppose the preservation of these desert lands after seeing them in person.
http://www.ecovote.org/blog/protecting-california-desert

In raucous tent hearing, Sen. Feinstein defends desert national monument plan
At issue is a vast swath of federal land nestled among national parks, national forests and military reserves -- a landscape highly regarded by renewable energy companies, mining firms, hikers and off-road enthusiasts.
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-feinstein-desert-monuments-20151014-story.html

Obama gets climate change deal assist from Google, Coca-Cola and Walmart
The president met with executives at the White House on Monday in an effort to get corporate America’s support ahead of climate agreement negotiations in Paris.
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/oct/19/obama-climate-change-google-coca-cola-walmart

Obama administration blocks new oil drilling in the Arctic
Barack Obama blocked off the prospects for future oil drilling in the Arctic on Friday, imposing new lease conditions that make it practically impossible for companies to hunt for oil in the world’s last great wilderness. The Department of Interior said it was canceling two future auctions of Arctic offshore oil leases in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas, and turned down requests from Shell and other oil companies for more time on their existing leases.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/16/obama-blocks-new-arctic-oil-drilling-cancels-leases

Rise of the Business Democrat
Since last month, when the group unexpectedly killed a centerpiece of Gov. Jerry Brown’s climate change plan, the moderate Democrats have been getting much more scrutiny, particularly about those who pay for their elections and attend their fundraisers.
http://calmatters.org/articles/rise-of-the-business-democrat/

Wind and solar keep getting cheaper and cheaper
A new analysis suggests that we continue to move into a world in which it makes more economic sense to draw electricity from the sun or the winds, rather than from fossil fuels. The report was based on analysis of some 55,000 projects around the world.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/10/06/wind-and-solar-keep-getting-cheaper-and-cheaper/

Climate

California Leads the Way on Climate Change
On the whole, state governments, especially those with Republican-dominated legislatures, have been remarkably passive and uninventive in recent years on the matter of climate change. And then there is California, which stands apart in its commitment to a healthier, cleaner and less carbon-intensive energy future.
http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/14/california-leads-the-way-on-climate-change/

CalPERS set to divest from thermal-coal companies
The CalPERS Investment Committee will have a new task at its regular meeting Monday along with its main job of trying to boost flagging investment returns: dumping its coal holdings.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-calpers-divest-20151019-story.html

Congressmen want probe of ExxonMobil 'failing to disclose' climate change data
Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Los Angeles) and Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-Walnut Creek) wrote a letter Wednesday to Atty. Gen. Loretta Lynch asking the Department of Justice whether the company violated the law by “failing to disclose truthful information” regarding climate change.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-investigation-exxonmobil-20151015-story.html

LA Times Editorial: Exxon's damaging denial on climate change
According to reports in the Los Angeles Times and elsewhere, the oil company's scientists concluded in the 1970s, '80s and '90s that climate change was real, would transform the Earth's landscape and was driven by human activity — especially the burning of fossil fuels.
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-exxon-climate-change-20151015-story.html

San Francisco Bay: Race to build wetlands is needed to stave off sea-level rise, scientists say
San Francisco Bay is in a race against time, with billions of dollars of highways, airports, homes and office buildings at risk from rising seas, surging tides and extreme storms driven by climate change.
http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_28988730/san-francisco-bay-race-build-wetlands-is-needed

Glacier was once Yosemite’s largest; now it’s almost gone
The Lyell Glacier, once estimated as a mile wide and Yosemite’s largest glacier when visited by John Muir in 1872, could melt and disappear in as soon as five years, according to park geologist Greg Stock, if warm temperatures at high elevations continue.
http://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/Glacier-was-once-Yosemite-s-largest-now-it-s-6572765.php?t=18f1279bfb1210a92f&cmpid=twitter-premium

LA Times Misleads On Link Between Climate Change And California Wildfires
The Los Angeles Times reported that "scientists who study climate change and fire behavior" dispute California Gov. Jerry Brown's comments describing a link between the state's recent wildfires and climate change. However, numerous scientists and major scientific reports have detailed the connection that global warming has to both recent and future wildfires in the Southwest, including the 2014 National Climate Assessment, which stated that climate change has already "increased wildfires" in the Southwest region and could lead to "up to 74% more fires in California." Moreover, the experts cited by the Times do not contradict Brown's statements, and the only one who directly criticized Brown was Roger Pielke; it is unclear from the article whether it quoted Roger Pielke Sr. or Roger Pielke Jr., but both father and son have made dubious climate-related claims in the past that were debunked by climate scientists.
http://mediamatters.org/research/2015/10/20/la-times-misleads-on-link-between-climate-chang/206296

LA Times Says Climate Not to Blame for More Wildfires. They're Wrong.
It's true--banal but true--that wildfire activity in any particular year can't be conclusively blamed on climate change. It's also true that there are other factors that have contributed to bigger fires in recent years. But a warmer climate is almost certainly to blame as well.
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2015/10/la-times-says-climate-not-blame-more-wildfires-theyre-wrong

Lindsey Graham Challenges Republicans: ‘Tell Me Why’ You Deny Climate Science
Today, during a convention in New Hampshire hosted by the bipartisan group No Labels, Republican presidential candidate Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) took a moment to differentiate himself from the rest of the GOP field by talking about climate change.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/10/12/3711587/lindsey-graham-no-labels-climate-change/

Drought

Don't Count On El Niño For Sierra Snowpack
Despite predictions for a strong El Niño to bring above-average rain to most of California, forecasters say it won't likely help where it's most needed.
http://www.capradio.org/articles/2015/10/19/dont-count-on-el-nino-for-sierra-snowpack/

El Niño looking like a rainy winner for state’s watersheds
The U.S. Climate Prediction Center, in its monthly long-term weather outlook, boosted the odds of precipitation for California this winter and spring — including, crucially, the areas in the North State and Sierra that supply the bulk of the state’s water supply.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/El-Ni-o-looking-like-a-rainy-winner-for-6572344.php

Drought Creates Fresh Produce Shortage At Central Valley Food Banks
The four-year drought in California is beginning to squeeze food banks. With less water for irrigation, farmers have planted fewer row crops this year, and that's creating a shortage of fresh produce at San Joaquin Valley food banks.
http://www.capradio.org/articles/2015/10/19/drought-creates-fresh-produce-shortage-at-central-valley-food-banks/

Poll: California’s drought heavy on the mind
California’s punishing drought has taken a firm grip on the electorate’s conscience, with more than 3 in 4 voters describing the state’s water shortage as extremely serious, according to a new poll.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/field-polls/article38900478.html

L.A. County ramps up El Niño preparations
Officials from the emergency management department, as well as the Sheriff's Department and fire and public works agencies, told the elected county supervisors Tuesday that they have been clearing flood control catch basins, stocking up on sandbags at fire and sheriff's stations, and will be mapping homeless encampments in riverbeds and other areas in danger of flooding.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-el-nino-preparations-20151013-story.html

More Environmental News

Port of L.A. terminal met pollution goal despite unfulfilled remedy steps
The Port of Los Angeles met air-pollution reduction targets at one of its busiest terminals despite failing to take a number of steps it had agreed to impose to control emissions, the port's top official said Thursday.
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-1016-port-pollution-20151016-story.html

Private firms question California high-speed rail funding
Businesses that might bid to build a high-speed rail network across California are questioning whether there will be enough government funding to complete the complex and ambitious project.
http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CALIFORNIA_HIGH_SPEED_RAIL?SITE=CASON&SECTION=STATE&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-10-16-17-29-18

L.A. officials set oil drilling terms but fail to enforce them
When oil companies wanted to drill wells at a South Los Angeles site decades ago, city planners set out a long list of requirements intended to ensure that oil production was "strictly controlled to eliminate any possible odor, noise" and other hazards.
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-allenco-conditions-20151014-story.html

Beyond VW Scandal: Home Appliance Industry No Stranger to Tricks
Consumer groups and advocates said regulators must remain vigilant because the pace of technological change and innovation often exceeds the speed at which federal standards can be established.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/10/business/makers-of-consumer-products-have-long-history-of-cheating.html

California Politics and Government

Poll: Villaraigosa, Newsom on top early in race for governor
Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom hold an early lead in voter support in the 2018 race for governor, according to a new poll. The Field Poll, released Thursday, comes three years before the wide-open election to succeed Gov. Jerry Brown.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article39225042.html

Myers: In Sacramento, Limits Are Few on Revolving Door Between Government and Private Jobs
To the old saying that “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” there’s an addendum in the world of Sacramento insiders: It’s also for whom you worked.
http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/10/15/in-sacramento-limits-are-few-on-revolving-door-between-government-and-private-jobs

High court refuses to hear challenge to California’s top-two primary
California’s “top-two” primary system will remain after the Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge to the law brought by the Green and Libertarian parties, among others, who say it effectively excludes their candidates from the state’s elections.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/High-court-refuses-to-hear-challenge-to-6568266.php

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