March 18th, 2013

Gun control’s a sticky matter, but environmentalists are hoping bullet control can speed through the legislative system. A poll of Americans shows that 57 percent support nontoxic, lead-free bullets for hunting, according to the Center for Biological Diversity.

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November 7th, 2012

California’s ballot measure Proposition 37, which would have required labeling of genetically modified foods, a precursor to probable labeling across the U.S., failed narrowly in Tuesday’s election.

The first major ballot-box test in the U.S. for labeling GMO foods was killed by a tidal wave of opposition spending by giant biotech firms and pesticide makers and multi-national food corporations, advocates of labeling said.

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March 13th, 2012

CODA, the innocuous looking sedan that boldly promises the best range of any electric car on the market, officially entered its production phase this week.

The first fully outfitted silver, all-electric five-passenger Coda rolled off the assembly line at the plant in Benicia, Calif., on Monday, as factory workers cheered and company executives pledged to kick butt in a field that includes the Nissan Leaf, the Chevy Volt and the pricey Tesla Roadster.

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August 4th, 2011

Climate change is expected to lead to worsening drought conditions and greater heat extremes, along with myriad health problems. And a new web tool created by the Natural Resources Defense Council lets you see read just how badly your state could be impacted by climate change.

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February 4th, 2011

Organic milk, which has won strong consumer support in recent years, is being put at risk by the government’s recent decision to deregulate genetically engineered alfalfa, says the president of one of the nation’s most successful organic dairies.
Albert Straus, president of the Straus Family Creamery in California, says that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ruling allowing genetically modified alfalfa to be planted anywhere “will deprive consumers of their right to be certain that they are feeding organic food to their families.”

Alfalfa is a key food for dairy cows, and unless cows are fed an organic diet, their milk cannot qualify to be Organically certified. Alfalfa, the fourth most-planted crop in the nation, could be changed forever if GE varieties are planted across the U.S., Straus says in a statement today.

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September 1st, 2010

This whole debate about plastic bags once seemed a mite frivolous to me, next to some of the really mammoth issues confronting society — food scarcity, global warming, coal and oil pollution. I got that it mattered. But it seemed like a side trip on the road to sustainability, like a smaller matter that would eventually resolve on its own. I was more concerned about the carbon pollution from big industrial sources, and our cars and our homes, that comprise the Damocles sword threatening our children’s future.
We had big fish to fry.

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September 1st, 2010

California’s state Senate rejected a proposed law to ban plastic bags in grocery stores late Tuesday, voting 21-14 against the measure that had passed the Assembly earlier this summer.
Despite the support of progressives, environmental groups and the California Grocers Association, the plastic bag ban proved controversial, with the American Chemistry Council, which represents plastics makers and the oil industry, ridiculing the law in ads that claimed it was the wrong focus for the legislature and would cost the state jobs.

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August 27th, 2010

In this video report from Sacramento, Nanette Miranda of KABC-TV reports on the battle over the proposed plastic grocery bag ban in California.
The story quotes American Chemistry Council’s Tim Shestek saying the bill “has ramifications beyond California if it were to pass.” Shestek defends plastic bags as having a “good environmental footprint” and as fully recyclable.
It’s unclear how many plastic grocery bags are recycled. The ACC runs a website about recycling plastic bags.

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August 6th, 2010

California stands ready to be the first state to ban disposable plastic bags, a move that supporters say would help staunch plastic waste on land and in the ocean.

The Bag Monster, festooned in 500 plastic bags, will ride in San Francisco next week.

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July 15th, 2010

California Attorney General Edmund G. (Jerry) Brown Jr. is suing mortgage companies over their refusal to allow PACE funding for clean energy improvements on homes.
PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) money allows homeowners to finance energy efficiency projects like solar panels through their property taxes. Cities that offer the plans can sell bonds to generate the money for PACE loans, which are then attached to a homeowners’ property tax bill. The plan provides homeowners with the upfront money they need for big improvements, and allows them to stretch out their payments over 20 years, making large capital improvements like solar arrays possible.

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July 13th, 2010

California’s ambitious solar incentive program is basking in early success, despite the poor economy, according to a hopeful mid-course report.
Three years into a 10-year roll out, the California Solar Initiative (CSI), a component of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “Million Solar Roofs” plan, is already 42 percent of the way toward its state goals, according to a July 9 report to the legislature. That’s counting projects that are installed, holding reservations and in progress, according to collected data.
All told, California has more than 600 Megawatts of installed solar power connected to the grid at nearly 65,000 customer sites.

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May 27th, 2010

Bald Eagles continue to recover from their dangerous decline in the last century, and this week enthusiasts can celebrate the successful hatching of two bald eagle chicks on Santa Rosa Island off the coast of California.

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