Out for a spin on a California coastal road. (Photo: oneinchpunch, via Shutterstock)OPINION Rather than imposing climate austerity measures that perpetuate poverty, there are wiser investments we can make today that will have a greater impact on reducing wildfires and creating healthier forests without adversely impacting disadvantaged communities, people of color, and the struggling middle class in our state.
Longtime Clean Air activist Bill Magavern joins us to chat, and brings some welcome good news: with the COVID-19 pandemic keeping people out of their cars, many areas of California have seen a decrease in air pollution.
A storage batter array at a power plant. (Photo: Chompunoi, via Shutterstock)OPINION: There is a growing concern that increasing the state’s reliance on fossil-fuel backup power options already in use by many Californians will keep power on at the expense of increased emissions of toxic air contaminants and greenhouse gases. These same systems may also create additional fire risks.
The Harbor Freeway in Los Angeles at rush hour. (Photo: Joseph SohmToyota, Chrysler, GM, Nissan, Subaru and Hyundai sided with the Trump administration in its efforts to ease mileage efficiency on rules imposed by the Obama administration. But earlier, California signed an agreement with Ford, Honda, BMW and Volkswagen that assures more stringent rules – a move that the Trump administration denounced as illegal.
A view of Los Angeles blurred by a hazy atmosphere. (Photo: evijaf, via Shutterstock) OPINION: For 11 years, Next 10 has been measuring economic and environmental indicators in the California Green Innovation Index. This year, the data is sobering. If the current pace of emissions decline continues, we will miss our 2030 climate targets by more than thirty years.
A portion of a plant that produces gas through the breakdown of organic waste. (Photo: Bertold Werkman, via Shutterstock)OPINION: Let’s play a game: what would you do with 25 million tons of organic waste annually? Here are a few tidbits to spark your imagination: Organic waste includes food and green waste, landscaping and pruning waste, lumber, fiber, sewage and sludges.
A view of the Pacific Ocean along the Big Sur coast in northern California. (Photo: Mariusz S. Jurgielewicz, via Shutterstock)OPINION: California has distinguished itself as a climate leader, from reducing carbon emissions to managing wildfire risk and preparing coastal cities for rising seas. But our action to date has largely stopped at the shoreline, despite the fact that some of the first and worst climate impacts are being felt in the ocean.
An aerial view of the Port of Long Beach, a critical part of California's industrial infrastructure.(Photo: trekandshoot, via Shutterstock)OPINION: In recent weeks, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has kicked off the process to finalize details of the state’s cap-and-trade program with public workshops held around the state. The usual suspects, from environmental advocates to industry representatives have packed hearing rooms waiting for their chance to chime in on proposed regulations.
A top view of a VW diesel engine. (Photo: Shanti Hesse)The California Air Resources Board’s aggressive questioning of Volkswagen about emission test results led to the company admitting in 2015 that it used a “defeat device” designed to cover up diesel emissions that greatly exceeded legal limits. The massive fraud case — it included a $14.7 billion settlement in 2016 and $4.7 billion in civil and criminal fines this year — dramatically underscored California’s role as a national and international air-quality watch dog.
State Attorney General Xavier Becerra speaks to the Sacramento Press Club. (Photo: Michael Warren Mott)State Attorney General Xavier Becerra is leading California’s increasingly tense challenge to the policies of Donald Trump’s administration. It’s a role that gives him high visibility — and headaches. Becerra, in office just five months, is backed by the person who appointed him attorney general: Gov. Jerry Brown. That support is likely to translate into financial resources, too.