From Green Right Now Reports

California has ambitious rail plans.

California is No. 1 with a bullet … train that is.

When the federal government recently awarded $xxx for the development of high speed railway projects, the Golden State took the big prize — $2.3 billion. California High-Speed Rail Authority chairman Curt Pringle called the award “fantastic news for California and for our state’s high-speed rail project.”

“It is an award that will lead to the creation of tens of thousands of quality jobs in the near-term and to continued economic strength and enhance our transporation network in the longterm,” Pringle said in a statement.

California, he noted, is closer than any other state or region to building the first true high-speed rail system in the United States.” The federal money recognizes California’s work in partnering with local governments and state legislators and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to put the plan into action, he said.

Here’s a look at the states that were winners, the amount of funding, and a brief description of the projects being funded:

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Los Angeles is the most EV-ready U.S. city.

Electric vehicle company THINK has released its first U.S. EV-Ready Cities Index. The THINK EV-Ready Cities Index takes into account purchase and usage incentives – such as HOV lane access and infrastructure support, and market fit, including hybrid sales, traffic congestion, EPA air quality zone status, and potential energy sources for vehicle recharging. The index was compiled for THINK by ASG Renaissance, a market research and business services firm located in Dearborn, Mich.

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SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — California kids will have a head start when it comes to the environment.

Beginning this year, environmental studies will be a part of the curriculum in all public schools, making California is the first state in the nation to require it.

Students will take 85 units of environment-related education in science, history and social science classes in grades K through 12.

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(Photo: Geothermal Energy Association)

From Green Right Now Reports

The Geothermal Energy Association said today that state and federal policies in 2009 resulted in significant growth that places geothermal at the forefront of renewable energy.

In its year-end report, the association found that despite the recession, geothermal energy grew at a robust pace in 2009. The emerging industry added 750 full time jobs and 2,827 construction-related jobs. About $800 million was invested in the technology, six new geothermal plants went online in the United States and power capacity rose 6 percent during the year.

Currently, 144 new geothermal plants are under development in the United States, which could bring the nation 7,000 megawatts of new baseload geothermal power in the next few years. The report said the U.S. could see 10 gigawatts of geothermal power in the next few years — enough power to satisfy the needs of more than 10 million people.

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From Green Right Now Reports

As international climate treaty negotiations continue in Copenhagen amid debate over the potential economic impact of new standards, a new report shows that the costs for small business operating under California’s landmark climate law (AB 32) can be measured in pennies.

Border Gill in Santa Monica

Conducted by leading economists and released by the Union of Concerned Scientists, the report found that AB 32 policies will only increase the percent of small business revenue spent on energy by only 0.3 percentage points–from 1.4 to 1.7 percent–in 2020. In a case study of one small business — Border Grill restaurant — the report fond AB 32 will cost diners 3 cents extra per $20 meal in 2020.

The peer reviewed analysis, The Economic Impact of AB 32 on California Small Businesses, used data on the cost characteristics of small businesses to estimate the economic impacts of AB 32 and was commissioned by UCS and conducted by The Brattle Group, an international economic consulting firm.

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LOS ANGELES (KABC):

GREEN TO GROW
A hot topic has been the controversy surrounding a chemical in plastic bottles — particularly baby bottles. According to the FDA, a chemical called Bisphenol-A, or BPA, could potentially harm children. When Shelley Aronoff was pregnant with her son Hart, she’d researched the risks with Bisphenol-A and baby bottles. So to eliminate the risk, she developed her own BPA-free baby bottles and named her company Green to Grow.

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LOS ANGELES (KABC):

POMME BÉBÉ

Pomme Bébé is an organic baby food store located in Newport Beach. With a team of professional chefs, Pomme Bébé peels, steams and purées wholesome fruits and vegetables making nutritious baby and toddler baby meals. For the busiest of parents, Pomme Bébé delivers nationally. By placing your order online, freshly made organic baby food will be delivered to your front door in environmentally friendly packaging.

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From Green Right Now Reports
Audi’s all-new A3 TDI, part of a new generation of clean diesel cars, won the title of 2010 Green Car of the Year yesterday at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
Ron Cogan, editor and publisher of Green Car Journal and editor of GreenCar.com,  presented the award. The Audi A3 TDI was among [...]

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Nannette Miranda
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SACRAMENTO, CA (KGO) — California recycling centers have been disappearing recently. More than 600 of them have faded away since state funding dried up.

Freddie Hunter was ready to recycle on Monday, but was surprised to see that his neighborhood depot has shut down. It is one of more than 600 convenience centers near supermarkets that have closed recently because the recycling fund is too broke to keep them open.

“I think it’s terrible. I think it’s terrible. I think something should be done about that,” Hunter says. “Us poor people need every little penny we can get there.”

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From Green Right Now Reports

The Green California Schools Summit and Expo will be held at the Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena, Calif., from Dec. 9 through 11. From school gardens to recycling programs and energy efficiency retrofits, the summit will explore high performance schools — whether new buildings or renovations — that can save money, keep students and faculty healthier and engender life-long environmental awareness.

Alec Loorz, founder of Kids vs. Global Warming, will speak at the Green California Schools Summit

Pre-conference workshops and concurrent education sessions offer the chance to learn from stakeholders and innovators in the green schools movement – from State Architect David Thorman to government agencies, green schools rating organizations, architects and curriculum experts. An exposition will feature more than 100 companies with sustainable products and services.

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SACRAMENTO, CA (KGO) — Most people probably have not thought much about what it takes to get the power to your house when the lights are turned on, but the nation’s electrical grid is a complex network of switches and cables that span the nation. As California turns up the power on green energy, getting that power to consumers is presenting some unique problems.

High above the ground, on the border of San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties, PG&E crews routinely fly helicopters within inches of high-voltage power lines to keep them clean.

“It does take a lot of resources. We are devoting almost half of our capital budgets for just replacing and maintain and taking care of the equipment that we have,” says Kevin Dasso with PG&E.

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