Way Out West and Spot.Us, the crowd-funding journalism website, recently partnered to survey readers' interest in Bay Area green news. The results are in and Spot.Us and WOW are sharing them widely.
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A measure that requires California utilities to purchase 33 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2020 is up for debate again. Yesterday the state Senate approved a bill introduced by state Senator Joe Simitian from Palo Alto that mirrored the 33 percent measure vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger last year. Democrats are cautiously optimistic the bill will pass under Jerry Brown, who has championed green energy, despite the state’s fiscal woes. [Christian Science Monitor] [Los Angeles Times]
A new trend in cleantech investing promises to put money into helping companies with proven technologies expand rather than focusing on risky, nascent ideas, according to Earth2Tech. Venture capital funds are also looking to invest their cleantech money not just in California but China, India and Europe. [Earth2Tech]
The much maligned San Francisco Muni is under attack not by grousing riders but the California Public Utilities Commission, which accused the rail system of repeatedly violating safety regulations. Inspectors said Muni was endangering the public, citing problems with the track, train control system and the agency’s slow reaction to the issues. [San Francisco Chronicle]
Like Vladimir and Estragon in Samuel Beckett’s famous play Waiting for Godot, the Bay Area is watching and hoping today for snow to hit San Francisco streets for the first time in more than thirty years. Forecasters say that if the white stuff does reach such low elevations it will not be until later this afternoon or evening. [San Francisco Chronicle]
The lead scientist hired by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation to independently review the health impacts of methyl iodide, a controversial fumigant, concluded “there is no safe level” of the pesticide. UCLA chemical toxicology professor John Froine went on to say during a California Assembly Committees on Health and Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials hearing that the DPR inappropriately approved methyl iodide last December. [Monterey County Weekly]
The theme of West Marin’s first Geography of Hope film festival will be “Reflections on Water” and it will feature 50 independent films, shorts and documentaries this weekend at the Dance Palace in Point Reyes Station. The film festival is a prelude to the town’s literary conference with the same theme in late March. [Marin Independent Journal]
Bay Area school districts are working to put gardens, ponds and nature trails into school playgrounds, replacing the asphalt yards and metal play structures that have become synonymous with city schools. Money from San Francisco school bonds has funded 15 such renovations with another 29 under way. The work is being done by environmental planner Sharon Danks and her Berkeley-based firm Bay Tree Design. [The Daily Californian]
Officials unveiled a solar-powered cleaning system yesterday installed at the Frontier Fertilizer Superfund site in Davis, California, championed as a model for other toxic clean up sites. Solar energy will power a water pump and filtration system that is purifying tens of millions of gallons of contaminated groundwater. The water will initially be treated through electrical resistive heating, a process that will shorten the clean up time by 170 years and save millions of dollars, according to officials. [San Francisco Chronicle]
New data on cockfighting in California has revealed that in 34 of the state’s 58 counties law enforcement was called regarding the illegal practice, and that some 20,000 fighting birds were found, according to the Humane Society of the United States. Seven Bay Area counties were among those listed: Sonoma, Napa, Contra Costa, Alameda, San Mateo, and Santa Clara. [California Watch]
A leading California think tank proposes letting some fish species die off in order to save the larger Delta ecosystem. The report by the Public Policy Institute of California states that some species — notably the Delta smelt — may be too far gone to save. The plan also suggests a 30 percent cut to urban water use, which would affect Bay Area communities, but no comparable demands for agriculture to conserve. Fish populations have taken a nosedive in the Delta for a variety of reasons, including the exporting of water for farms and consumers. [Bay Area News Group via [...]
Way Out West and Spot.Us, the crowd-funding journalism website, recently partnered to survey readers' interest in Bay Area green news. The results are in and Spot.Us and WOW are sharing them widely.
Read more »
Tags: bay area green news readers, environmental journalism consumer, green news, green survey data, Spot.Us
Posted in Climate Change & Energy, Living, Nature, Policy | 1 Comment »
A parody of Alicia Keys and Jay-Z's hit "Empire State of Mind," this short video will show at the San Francisco Green Film Festival March 3-6, 2011. sfgreenfilmfest.org
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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It’s been a long, cold rainy winter this year in California. But it could get worse — much worse. The USGS warned this past...
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Listen to WOW reporter Alison Hawkes’ radio story about the greening of Treasure Island, which aired on KQED’s California Watch.
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