Posts Tagged: china

Tik Tok ban wouldn’t draw likes from many California pols

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by BY BRIAN JOSEPH posted 02.13.2023

California lawmakers could be among the next to ban the social media app Tik Tok.

Amid climate change, a question: What’s the future of California rice?

A harvester in a drought-stricken field of northern California. (Photo: TFoxFoto, via Shutterstock)

by AARON GILBREATH posted 12.20.2022

Planted in spring, farmers drain their fields in August, and they drive big, loud harvesters into them in September, gently separating the rice stalks from the grain, and blowing the harvest into bankout wagons that they tow beside them. On average, each acre produces 8,000 pounds of rice, which is a greater yield than most of the world’s rice growing regions. But this September, 300,000 of California’s 550,000 acres of rice lay barren—over half the state’s rice crop.

Lawmakers okay $2.7 billion for zero-emission vehicles

An electric vehicle getting power at a street charging station. (Photo: guteksk7, via Shuttertstock)

by ERIC FURTH posted 07.12.2021

California lawmakers have approved a dramatic expansion of the state’s commitments to all-electric vehicles, with the goal of ultimately increasing the number of electric and zero-emission cars on the road. The $2.7 billion piece of the 2021-22 state budget was sent to the Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk on June 28. Newsom has not yet acted on it.

CA skateboarders and COVID-19: Demand up, equipment down

A skateboarder in action. (Photo: Shawn Henry)

by AARON GILBREATH posted 07.29.2020

Shelter-in-place has pushed consumers of varying ages to skateboarding in unprecedented numbers, creating a dramatic increase in participation and sales. Unfortunately, California’s COVID-19 regulations limiting public gatherings have also slowed the manufacturing and distribution of skateboard equipment, causing historic supply disruptions. 

New law targets cosmetics testing on animals

Testing cosmetics on a laboratory rabbit. (Photo: Artfully Photographer, via Shutterstock)

by BRYNDON MADISON posted 12.09.2019

Animal-rights activists are heralding 2020 as a groundbreaking year because of a new, unprecedented state law that cracks down on cosmetics testing on animals. It takes effect Jan. 1, and will outlaw the importation for profit or sale most of the cosmetics tested on animals in California. 

Innovation, recycling must go hand in hand

Soft drinks in plastic containers for sale at a Montebello, Calif., store. (Photo: Philip Pilosian, via Shutterstock)

by RAY SCOTT posted 04.25.2019

OPINION: Like a lighthouse, California has been a beacon of 21st-century environmental policy, pushing the limits of the impossible by setting ambitious, yet attainable goals for the state and its residents and businesses to work toward a healthier future. So ambitious, in fact, that one major goal, California’s 75% recycling goal, is set to be achieved by 2020.

Cap-and-trade key to green energy future

Windmills generate electricity in Palm Springs. (Photo: Chris Rubino)

by CHRIS BUSCH posted 06.30.2017

OPINION: Clean energy is taking over the world, driven by a combination of climate change policies and market economics. California has paced America in seizing this opportunity, building a thriving green economy through smart policy. But the fate of California’s cap-and-trade program, a cornerstone of the state’s green growth strategy, depends on the state Legislature extending the program beyond 2020

PolitiFact: Does CA really have world’s 6th largest economy?

A street scene in crowded, affluent San Francisco. (Photo: ChameleonsEye, via Shutterstock)

by CHRIS NICHOLS posted 07.27.2016

“These are the progressive policies that have made California the sixth largest economy on planet Earth,” De León said. We won’t wade into the debate over whether progressive or other policies have positioned the state’s economy on such a high perch. But we will examine the provocative “sixth largest economy on planet Earth” claim by itself.

John Mockler, one of the most influential voices on California education policy for more than 40 years, died Tuesday of pancreatic cancer. He was 73. The architect of Proposition 98, the 1988 initiative that sets state support for public schools, Mockler also served as executive director of the State Board of Education and Gov. Gray Davis’ cabinet secretary for education.

Between courting investors and strategic partners and uncovering the enormous challenges and opportunities represented in China’s 1.3 billion population, Governor Jerry Brown continues to advance his sustainable vision and global legacy.

A key focus of the governor’s 10-day trade mission to China was to share California’s invaluable experience of growing its economy while reducing