The Daily Catch: Bay Area headlines

• Mega companies that are influencing clean energy
  By Victoria Schlesinger 

  04/11/2011

  In some cases big companies can do as much, or more, than government to propel us into a green energy future. Greentech media looks at ten giant conglomerates that are changing the market, including the Bay Area’s very own Netflix. Who would have thought that downloading movies could be our eco-salvation. [Read more - Greentech Media]

• Aging oil and gas wells could contaminate drinking water
  By Victoria Schlesinger 

  04/11/2011

  A topnotch piece of journalism about the threat old oil and gas wells pose to the nation’s drinking water is well worth the read. A 2008 report by the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission found nearly 60,000 “orphan wells” that need to be plugged. While the story focuses on Pennsylvania, you’ll recall that the Bay Area’s Solano County is awash in aging gas wells. [Read more - Scientific American]

• Journalist Charles Fishman talks about water on KQED
  By Victoria Schlesinger 

  04/11/2011

  Investigative journalist Charles Fishman will speak with NPR’s Terry Gross today about his new book The Big Thirst, which looks at our relationship to water and how it’s going to change in the coming decades. Fishman is best known for his book The Wal-Mart Effect. The interview airs at 1pm and 7pm on KQED. [Read more - KQED Fresh Air]

• Goose stepping takes on a whole new meaning in regional parks
  By Victoria Schlesinger 

  04/11/2011

  Now that we’re all flocking to our nearest park to spread out a blanket and soak up the Spring weather, we’re reminded of the Canadian Goose problem and the unsettling fact that an adult goose can produce between 1 and 2 pounds of droppings a day. The Mercury News has an interesting run down on ways regional parks are trying to contain the problem.  [Read more - San Jose Mercury News]

• A trashy move in fight over Bay Area garbage
  By Victoria Schlesinger 

  04/11/2011

  Bay Area garbage is big business and a new measure introduced by California Assemblywoman Fiona Ma aims to keep it that way. Assembly Bill 1178 would prevent cities and counties from limiting the amount of trash imported from other areas, and overturn voter-approved capping measures, such as the one recently passed in Solano County and supported by the Sierra Club. [Read more - Sacramento Bee]

• UC Berkeley and Stanford get $25 million to reduce solar costs
  By Victoria Schlesinger 

  04/08/2011

  The Department of Energy has granted $25 million for solar energy research to the University of California Berkeley and Stanford University. Specifically the funds are aimed at research that will lower the cost of solar as quickly as possible. The money will launch the Bay Area Photovoltaics Consortium (BAPVC) whose goal is to reduce the per watt of installation cost from its current  $3.40 per watt to $1 per watt. [Read more - UC Berkeley News Center]

• Caltrain sees light at end of its very dark budget tunnel
  By Victoria Schlesinger 

  04/08/2011

  Caltrain has decided to give itself another two weeks to come up with the funds to maintain its full service schedule with 86 trains, after it successfully diverted a drastic reduction due to budget problems. The transit agencies that fund Caltrain rallied under pressure from riders and developers who are building transit-centered properties near stops that could still be closed. [Read more - San Francisco Chronicle]

• Facebook shares specs for its energy efficient computer servers
  By Victoria Schlesinger 

  04/08/2011

  While Facebook has been heavily criticized by Greenpeace for using energy from coal-fired power plants to run their energy-hungry computer servers, the social networking company yesterday made public their design efforts to reduce their energy consumption. They say their open-source hardware initiative called Open Compute Project has improved energy efficiency by 38 percent, and they hope by sharing the information others will follow suit. The company said they think energy efficiency is more important than the energy source. That’s sure to draw some fire. [Read more - San Francisco Chronicle]

• Traffic pollution may cause brain damage in humans
  By Victoria Schlesinger 

  04/08/2011

  If there weren’t already enough reasons to switch to public transportation or electric cars, here’s another: brain damage. California researchers found that exposure to modest amounts of traffic pollution caused memory loss and signs of Alzheimer’s disease in mice. They have yet to study the impact on people, but those driving in open-air vehicles – such as convertibles, motorcycles, and mail trucks – appear to be at highest risk. Makes you rethink the causes of “going postal.” [Read more - California Watch]

• You can’t have local beef without a local slaughterhouse
  By Victoria Schlesinger 

  04/08/2011

  A shortage of Bay Area slaughter houses is derailing one of the eat-local movement’s primary tenents by forcing would-be butchers to drive long distances, thus producing greenhouse gases, in order to slaughter their livestock. The only local slaughterhouse is found in Petaluma and statewide there are just 23 facilities. Given California’s many regulations and a fear of NIMBYism, it’s doubtful more houses will open up. [Read more - New York Times]

Featured Video

The Franciscana, one of California's iconic manzanita plant, is rebounding from extinction with help from the San Francisco Botanical Society. Source: KQED's Quest.

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