PG&E is in for another spate of public criticism. This time it will be over the utility’s new usage rates, which were approved by regulators on Thursday. Homeowners consuming the most electricity will pay less per kilowatt hour than they did previously, causing critics to accuse PG&E of incentivizing wasteful energy habits. Still, the most frugal consumers pay 12.2 cents per kilowatt hour, while the biggest users pay 33.3 cents per kWh, down from 40.4 cents per kWh. [Read more - San Francisco Chronicle]
Chevron, which just this week announced it would renew plans for an expansion of its refinery in Richmond, faced a deluge of anger at its shareholder meeting in San Ramon on Wednesday. Activists gathered to protest Chevron’s “environmental crimes,” in particular the alleged destruction of Amazon rainforest in Ecuador by its subsidiary, Texaco. Complaints were also hurled about the Richmond refinery as the CEO reported $19 billion in profits, its second best performance. [ Read more -- Contra Costa Times].
Chevron has announced it will go after a permit to upgrade its Richmond oil refinery again, two years after a judge halted construction on the grounds that the oil company had not properly addressed questions in the project’s environmental impact report. Environmentalists were against the expansion saying it would lead to increased air pollution. This time around, Chevron has scaled back its plans as rising gas prices and the recession lower demand for gasoline. [Read more - San Francisco Business Times].
The California Assembly passed a ban on the sale and distribution of shark fins, sending the controversial bill to the Senate. The measure, which has pitted conservationists against the Asian community, would make shark fin soup illegal. While advocates of the bill note the harm that’s come to shark populations as a result of fin fishing, opponents note that restricting imports does little to address the legal killing of thousands of sharks in California. [Read more- San Francisco Chronicle].
Planning on making a meal of your fresh catch from the San Francisco Bay? The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment warns against eating bay fish. A whole host of fish species, including striped bass, white sturgeon, and shark, were found to have high levels of mercury. PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, were a problem in shiner perch. The findings come after 15 years of fish and shellfish monitoring in the bay. [Read more-California Watch].
California has set ambitious goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It aims to reduce emissions by 80 percent below 1990 levels in the next 40 years. But a new report says it won’t meet those targets without a revolution in energy production and use. The independent California Council on Science and Technology says “aggressive efficiency measures” for buildings and transportation must be put in place and the state would have to massively switch over to renewable and nuclear sources of power. All that’s got to happen even as the state’s population increase results in an expected doubling of energy use. [...]
One of the more immediate — and mundane — side effects of climate change is allergies. A new study shows that the itchy eyes and runny noses are on the rise thanks to warmer temperatures, which is allowing allergens like ragweed and mold to thrive. Fungal spore growth apparently increases with carbon dioxide. California has seen a 21 percent rise in ragweed allergies. [Read more- California Watch]
An explosion in Marin’s rodent population has brought rattlesnakes out in full force this season. Summer marks the beginning of rattlesnake season and they’re hitting the trails like any outward bound urbanite. The Marin parks department has issued a warning: watch where you step! [Read more -- Marin Independent Journal]
Nature photographers should check out this photo essay of Bay Area shooter Steven Christenson’s nighttime photos taken in Fremont. He discusses technique and is co-founder of the Bay Area Night Photography group. Pretty amazing. [See/hear more - QUEST] QUEST on KQED Public Media.
Did you know that sleeping next to someone blitzes you with 0.05 millionth of a sievert of radiation per night? That eating a banana gives you 0.1 millionth, and that a day’s dose at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant would give you .0036 sieverts?
For some great perspective on the doses of radiation and what we’re exposed to in both everyday and extraordinary circumstances is a superb radiation dose chart from XKCD.
Tags: japan nuclear plant, radiation
SF Environment Director Melanie Nutter talks about SF climate change policy at TEDx
Just as farmers markets are swinging into full bloom, there’s very disturbing news about radiation from Japan reaching new levels in Europe. And if...
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Did you know that sleeping next to someone blitzes you with 0.05 millionth of a sievert of radiation per night? That eating a banana...
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It’s been a point of maddening frustration for scientists and environmentalists that as the predictions on global warming grow more dire, the public seems...
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