Posts Tagged: infrastructure

Opinion

CA tech crucial in reaching national greenhouse gas goals

A California power plant at sunset. (Photo: David Crockett, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: President Biden campaigned on a goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. But this goal will not be achievable without deploying technologies and practices that can pull greenhouse gases from the atmosphere – or from smokestacks of industrial facilities that have few viable alternatives – and securely store it underground or use it in long-lived products like concrete.

News

Construction, politics, secrecy clash in Capitol project

The state Capitol's East Annex. (Photo: State Department of General Services)

A fight is brewing in the Capitol – about the Capitol. It’s all about plans to build a new Visitors Center beneath the domed West Wing and demolish the 68-year-old East Annex, replacing it with one of three proposed buildings.

Opinion

For job growth, boost hydrogen infrastructure

A bus at UC Irvine powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. (Photo: Rhonda Roth

OPINION: As it helps draft a strategy for recovery, the Legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Task Force on Business and Jobs Recovery should look to the role that hydrogen and fuel cell vehicles can play in achieving all that, just as other governments around the world are doing.

Opinion

 Time is now to invest in public health infrastructure

A patient in a wheelchair has a visit from hear doctor. (Photo: Spo;tmatik Ltd, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: As a state, we are fighting this pandemic with a hand and a foot tied behind our backs. Decades of disinvestment in public health infrastructure has weakened our public health system, making this crisis even worse.

News

State just starting to grapple with climate change

An aerial view of the freeway system feeding downtown Los Angeles. (Photo: trekandshoot, via Shutterstock)

California’s vulnerability to climate change — from deadly fires to sea level rise — has been well documented. But the Legislature’s nonpartisan fiscal adviser says the state, with rare exceptions, has only just begun to assess the risk climate change poses to roads, dams, parks and schools.

News

PG&E in the crosshairs of bankruptcy, fires, regulation

A PG&E worker checks power lines during a San Jose grass fire in July. (Photo: Geartooth Productions, via Shutterstock)

Things are not going well for PG&E. Amid massive blackouts that PG&E has put in place to avoid liability in the event of a wildfire, millions of Californians were left without power — for days at a time in some cases. San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo has called for a public takeover of PG&E — a move backed by at least two dozen cities — that would reclassify the company as a nonprofit electric and gas cooperative instead of an investor-owned company.

Opinion

Why California needs another water bond in 2020

A photo illustration showing the depletion of water in aging infrastructure. (Image: miophotolap, via Shutterstock) infrastructure.

OPINION: The California Legislature is currently considering several proposals to put a $4 billion bond measure on a 2020 ballot for safe drinking water, drought preparation, wildfire prevention, and climate resilience. An $8.9 billion bond initiative has also been filed by environmental advocates. Many Californians might ask, “Didn’t we already pay for that?”

News

Sea level rise: California’s new reality

Pacific Ocean waves lap against beach front properties in Malibu. (Photo: Elliott Cowand Jr., via Shutterstock)

While wildfires have gotten much of the attention in California as consequences of climate change, it’s really rising sea levels that will likely wreak the most damage. With more than 25 million people living near the coast, some $150 billion worth of property is at risk.

Opinion

A key move to address California’s wildfire crisis

A resident watches smoke billowing from the Woolsey Fire, November, 2018, in Southern California. (Photo: BrittanyNY, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: California is facing a wildfire crisis of epic proportions, and with the 2019 fire season already upon us, the immediate threat of yet another highly destructive and costly wildfire looms over communities all across the state. Everyone agrees that something must be done to address this crisis, and yet legislators still have not taken definitive action.

Opinion

California needs a new vision for higher education

Graduates await their diplomas in graduation ceremonies at UCLA. (Photo: Joseph Sohm)

OPINION: California has always captured the imagination of visionaries and innovators. Historically, our state leaders have backed up big ideas with concrete plans and sound investments, which has paid dividends for California. For example, California’s Master Plan for Higher Education encompassed a bold vision and plan for ensuring that every Californian had equal access to a high-quality college-level education.

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