Environmental review of the Hunters Point redevelopment project will likely be in the hands of a judge after talks between building giant Lennar and local activists broke down. The activist group, POWER, want the developer to give more details on the health impacts of toxic chemicals buried underground on the site before launching construction. The lawsuit is the last issue holding up development. The state judge, who hears the case Monday, could rule that Lennar has to do more work on the environmental report. [Read more - San Francisco Examiner]
The League of American Bicyclists has named Stanford University as the most bike friendly university in the country. Of the 32 schools that applied to the first-ever list of Bike Friendly Universities program, Stanford was the only to receive a platinum rating because its extensive cycling network, education programs, and incentive programs. Nearly 22 percent of Stanford students and faculty commute by biking. [Read more - San Jose Mercury News]
In the latest installment of Oystergate, the Interior Department’s recent report, which found that government officials were not guilty of charges of scientific misconduct, is being called into question by locals. Scientist and partial owner of the Point Reyes Light newspaper Corey Goodman and the owner of Drake’s Bay Oyster Company Kevin Lunny, who leveled the charges against National Park Service employees, claim that just prior to the report’s release Interior Solicitor Gavin Frost told them scientific misconduct had occurred. [Read more - Point Reyes Light]
PG&E has been granted permission to increase its rates in order to pay for natural gas line repairs and maintenance. But in exchange for the $120 million hike (to be doled out over four years), the utility for the first time in its history must report semi-annually how it uses the funds. [Read more - San Jose Mercury News]
A study on emissions trading and poor communities may upend the rationale for stalling California’s climate change legislation AB32. An Indiana University study found that the 1990 emissions trading program to eliminate acid rain did not expose disadvantaged neighborhoods to higher concentrations of sulfur dioxide. [Read more - KQED Climate Watch]
Of all the things $1 million of BART’s budget could help buy – clean seats, quieter trains, etc. – that amount will instead go to peaceably pushing out BART’s General Manager Dorothy Dugger, who officially resigned on Wednesday after months of negotiations. BART’s board of directors must still approve the resignation and its terms. [Read more - San Francisco Chronicle]
San Francisco urban farmers now enjoy the nation’s most progressive rules when it comes to growing and selling their own produce. Yesterday the Board of Supervisors approved rules allowing gardeners to sell produce to restaurants and set up stands on their property without obtaining a conditional-use permit. [Read more - SF Weekly, Mission Local]
State and federal agencies are going after the hair-straightening treatment called Brazilian Blowout after officials determined the product contains 8 percent formaldehyde, a chemical known to cause cancer. California’s attorney general and the federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration have both issued warnings, while the former called on the company this week to warn workers of the product’s dangers. [Read more - California Watch]
As expected, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill requiring utilities to purchase 33 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2020. Brown framed the passage as a win for the state’s green economy and a vehicle for remaining a leader in the clean technology industry. California already requires utilities to buy 20 percent of their power from renewables. [Read more - San Francisco Chronicle, GreenTech Media]
Santa Clara County’s unprecedented vision for linking land conservation and development over the next fifty years faced new hurdles as the Gilroy City Council pulled out of the deal with one member calling it “salamander ransom.” Supporters hope the $1 billion plan will help protect endangered species on 45,000 acres throughout the county. The plan has been ten years in the making and is up for approval next year. [Read more - San Jose Mercury News]
Seismic scientists say that an early warning system could give Californians 60 seconds to prepare for major seismic activity and that such a system saved lives in Japan’s recent 9.1 earthquake. Scientists told policy makers, business owners, and state officials, following a two-day meeting in the Bay Area this week, that the system could...
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Tags: 60 second warning, california, early earthquake warning system, seismic scientists, uc berkeley
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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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