California | Grist

This Week in Placemaking

The greenest grocery store, biggest “living wall,” and more eco-innovations 5
Posted 4 months, 1 week ago
From the country's greenest grocery store in Augusta, Maine, to a soaring transit station in Anaheim, Calif., we survey the landscape of green-building projects in the news.
From this VantagePoint

Silicon Valley VC sees bright future for green tech—and a need to engage policy makers 6
Posted 4 months, 1 week ago
VantagePoint Venture Partners is making big bets on green tech by funding nearly two dozen startups involved in everything from LED lighting to algae biofuels to water to the smart grid. CEO Alan Salzman talks about what his firm sees ahead.
A bird in the hand...

Calif. Audubon: Putting birders to work to build a case for climate action 1
Posted 4 months, 2 weeks ago
While climate change could cause significant range declines in up to a third of California's birds, these impacts can be greatly lessened for many species if we take immediate action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
San Francisco solar energy incentive program shines bright in first year 0
Posted 4 months, 2 weeks ago
Mayor Gavin Newsom blogs about San Francisco's local solar energy incentive program.
HAVEN'T GONE COUNTRY

Farm City author cuts the foodie-elite snobbery from urban farming 4
Posted 4 months, 2 weeks ago
Food writer and urban farmer Novella Carpenter is everything the elitist, foodie stereotype is not: she squat-farms near downtown Oakland, Cali., dumpster-dives to feed her rabbits, and offers to show anyone who still thinks otherwise exactly "what urban farming smells like." See what else she spilled during her visit to the Grist office.
Yes, we Kahn

Carbon trading: Worthy of Feinstein’s ire? 18
Posted 4 months, 3 weeks ago
"Deregulation shifts the major burden of consumer protection to the competitive market, and therefore, in important measure, to the enforcement of antitrust laws." - Alfred E. Kahn, Lessons for Deregulation: Telecommunications and Airlines after the Crunch.

I've always found the above to be one of the wiser quotes about deregulation. What does this have to do with commodities and Senator Feinstein? Recently, she announced a proposed amendment to the Senate climate bill, one that would commence federal oversight of CO2 markets "to prevent Enron-like fraud, manipulation and excessive speculation in the new federal, state and regional carbon markets that will be established by [a cap and trade] system."
glass half full

California net metering bill progresses 1
Posted 4 months, 3 weeks ago
AB 560 (the bill to lift the net metering cap in California) passed a key hurdle today, passing out of the Senate Energy, Utilities, and Communications committee by a vote of 9-1.
Waiver hello

EPA affirms California’s right to set tougher automobile emissions standards 1
Posted 5 months ago
The EPA announced on Tuesday that it will grant a waiver for California and 13 other states to set automobile emission standards that are higher than national ones. The move is important symbolically, even though it isn't likely to lead to emission reductions in the next few years.
Big Blue's electric green dreams

IBM places big bet on lithium-air batteries 3
Posted 5 months ago
IBM has been recycling and repurposing a panoply of technologies to create a portfolio of environmental services -- everything from a traffic congestion pricing system in Stockholm to a smart water and electricity grid for Malta. Now Big Blue has its eye set on achieving a big leap forward in battery technology.
A Can of Worms

California is new front line of BPA fight 1
Posted 5 months ago
California is at the forefront of the fight to protect young children from exposure to BPA. A bill authored by Democratic state Sen. Fran Pavley would essentially ban BPA in products such as baby bottles, sippy cups, infant formula and baby food jars designed for children ages three and younger.
Solar passes gas

RE less than G 8
Posted 5 months, 1 week ago
The next time someone tells you solar is too expensive, send them here (PDF).

It's a contract PG&E signed for a 230 MW solar photovoltaic project, delivering 592 GWh/year. That’s a lot. But the best part? Look at the chart on the bottom of page 3. It won't tell you the price exactly, but it’s below 13 cents/kWh—which is the proxy price for a combined cycle gas turbine.

Solar cheaper than the fossil fuel alternative.
SCREEEEECH 2
Posted 5 months, 1 week ago
That, my friends, is the sound of the California solar market grinding to a halt -- which is exactly what will happen if we don't lift the cap on net metering.
Radiant Cities: Driving It Home

One man’s plan to re-create suburbia, sans cars 1
Posted 5 months, 1 week ago
If Sherman Lewis has his way, he and 950 other homeowners will soon be living in a car-free California paradise. But can he shift his vision into high gear, or will it stall out?
The House Doctors Are In

Symptom: High utility bills; Diagnosis: Full energy efficiency workup 4
Posted 5 months, 1 week ago
Meet the "greenup" team from Sustainable Spaces, a four-year-old San Francisco firm that conducts residential energy audits and energy efficiency retrofits to shrink a home's carbon footprint while saving the owner money over the long haul.
All Politics Is Green

Quiz S.F. Mayor Gavin Newsom about his green agenda 1
Posted 5 months, 3 weeks ago
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is running for governor in California, and boy oh boy is he thumping on the green platform. Here's your chance to determine and shape the environmental issues that our political leaders discuss with the media.
The California Coda

Our peak oil future? Electric vehicle startup unveils Chinese-made, $45K ‘economy’ car 9
Posted 5 months, 3 weeks ago
Open one of those minimalist black boxes that contain a shiny new iPod and you're greeted by five words -- "Designed by Apple in California." In much smaller print would be the phrase "Made in China." That, in a nutshell, describes the strategy of the latest entrant in the electric car sweepstakes: Santa Monica-based Coda Automotive.
The Climate Post: The House at the center of the world 0
Posted 6 months, 1 week ago
Lately, every week is the most consequential in the history of climate change. This week was no exception.
Wheeler Dealers

Auto industry’s litigation strategy may have backfired in showrooms 5
Posted 6 months, 1 week ago
Automakers can claim a victory of sorts, in that they secured a single national fuel-economy set of rules. Left in the dust, some said, are the dealers who followed manufacturers' orders.
Get out of my dreams, get into my car

Obama’s new mileage rules will be first real step to curb planet-warming emissions 18
Posted 6 months, 1 week ago
President Obama is unveiling new fuel-economy standards for automobiles -- the first major step by his administration to limit planet-warming greenhouse gases.
You Can Go Your Own Way

California plans no exit from hydrogen highway 39
Posted 6 months, 2 weeks ago
Energy Secretary Steven Chu may want to slam the brakes on future hydrogen funding, but California will continue to pay its own way down the Hydrogen Highway, infuriating electric vehicle advocates in particular.