May 18, 2012 | 1:06 PM | By

Bay Area’s Controversial Housing & Transit Plan Clears Hurdle

State law requires that every metro area have one–but try pleasing everybody

ABAG/MTC

Drawing of a proposed string of high-density, bike- friendly, mass transit-oriented developments along a stretch of El Camino Real between Daly City and San Jose.

A sweeping “green” vision for the future of transit and housing in the Bay Area inched a step closer to realization in Oakland last night.

Officials from the Association of Bay Area Governments and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission voted on portions of Plan Bay Area, a 25-year strategy for land use and transportation for the Bay Area’s growing population, which is expected to surpass nine million by 2040.

The plan also proposes ways to meet the state’s greenhouse gas reduction target of 15% by 2035 outlined under SB 375, the Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act – namely by encouraging high-density housing near transit hubs and along corridors. Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Get Involved, Government & Business, M2G, SB-375, sustainable design
May 18, 2012 | 11:48 AM | By

Quick Link: “Did Apple Cave to Radical Environmentalist Group?”

Apple’s decision to power its new data center with 100% renewables–in the heart of coal country–would seem to affirm that public pressure works. It also raises questions about the Cloud itself and what it really takes to run it. We’ll answer some of those questions in an upcoming report.


Just this week, two Greenpeace protesters were arrested outside of Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., for parking a pod and projecting messages about the company’s unclean energy use onto the building. This isn’t the first time the environmental group has called out Apple on its energy practices.

Read more at: www.theblaze.com

May 16, 2012 | 10:00 PM | By

Cap-and-Trade and Your Electric Bill

State rebates could offset electrical sticker shock, finds a new study

Forcing utilities to pay for their carbon emissions, as California plans to do, will mean more costly megawatts. Six months before formal compliance with the state’s new cap & trade system begins, regulators are still sorting out what to do about that.

One of them is to provide rebates to offset hikes in electric bills. A new report from the clean-economy advocates, Next 10 attempts to sort out the options and put some concrete numbers on them. For example, the authors estimate that for PG&E customers, pricing carbon will add somewhere from two-to-seven dollars a month to summer electric bills, and anywhere from $2.50-to-more than $10 for customers served by Southern California Edison. Where you fall in that range depends in part on which of California’s many climate zones you live in. Places like the Inland Empire, which rely more on air conditioning, would fall in the upper end of the range. Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Government & Business, Power, AB 32, cap and trade, Electricity
May 15, 2012 | 3:33 PM | By

A Visual Deep Dive into California’s Delta

Ambitious mapping & data effort accompanies KQED multimedia series

KQED / Bill Lane Ctr

"Deadlocked Delta" is a multilayered look at where much of California's water comes from.

If, like most Californians, you’re a bit fuzzy on why the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta matters to you, take a tour through the impressive new online resource from KQED’s science unit, the San Francisco Estuary Institute, and Stanford’s Bill Lane Center for the American West.

“California’s Deadlocked Delta” is more than a data trove for water geeks, it’s a visually pleasing deep dive into the single most important piece of California’s persistent water puzzle. It provides some eye-opening glimpses of how this critical intersection for the state’s freshwater supply has changed over generations. Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: The Science, Water, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
May 15, 2012 | 9:00 AM | By

Study: Western Streams Resist Influence of a Warming Climate

Streams show varied response

Josh Simerman, Flickr

Hot Creek, near Mammoth Lakes, was one of 20 streams in the Western U.S. examined in a study by Oregon State researchers who found no clear relationship between increasing air temperatures and stream temperatures.

Rising sea levels, melting glaciers, intensifying storm events – evidence is mounting that the effects of a warming planet will be far-reaching and potentially catastrophic. But one natural system may be more resilient than others when it comes to global warming: mountain streams.

Researchers from Oregon State University report in the journal Geophysical Research Letters that small streams in the western United States have not heated up in response to the region’s warming air temperatures.

Water temperature is a critical variable for aquatic ecosystems. Some fish, for example, time egg-laying to minute changes in water temperatures; in other species, stream temperatures are a key factor in determining the sex of juvenile fish. Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: The Science, Alpine, temperatures, Warming
May 14, 2012 | 5:32 PM | By

Studying the Mysteries of Migration

There are still many questions about bird migration, including how it’s affected by climate

Millions of birds make their way through the San Francisco Bay Area on the way north to their breeding grounds every spring. Many shorebirds and waterfowl have already left, and now waves of songbirds are passing through. As well-watched as birds are, there are still a lot of things scientists don’t know about migration, including precisely where different species go each summer and winter, and what exactly triggers them to get going. Since so many birds pass through here, the Bay Area is a good place to try and sort out some of the questions, and to try to tackle another: how does climate change affect birds?

The San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory, a non-profit science and conservation organization, has been monitoring birds here for 30 years. The information collected through its bird banding program, has helped reveal some of the likely effects of climate change on birds. For example, a paper released last year suggests that climate change is making some species larger.
Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: The Science, Birds, migration
May 14, 2012 | 12:13 PM | By

After Dry ‘Rainy Season,’ California Faces High Wildfire Risks

Exceptionally dry conditions this winter have heightened the risk of summer wildfires

By Alyson Kenward

Craig Miller/KQED

Dry conditions in California during most of this winter have left many areas parched and vulnerable to ignition from both human and natural causes.

In California, May typically marks the beginning of a warm and dry summer season. This year, however, things are different. Not only has it been warm and dry for the past couple weeks; it’s been warm and dry for months. So dry, in fact, that officials are warning the risk of wildfires across much of the state is going to be much worse than usual, for several months to come.

According to their most recent outlook, the National Interagency Fire Center predicts that large parts of southern and central California, along with forests throughout the Sierra Nevada, are likely to see more wildfires than normal, particularly later this summer.

“A big chunk of the state is looking at above-average wildfire risk,” said Rob Krohn, a meteorologist with the U.S. Forestry Service’s Predictive Services Branch in Riverside. According to Krohn, the exceptionally dry conditions in California during most of this winter have left many areas parched and vulnerable to ignition from both human and natural causes.
Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: The Science, Water, Wildfire
May 11, 2012 | 9:16 AM | By

Quick Link: Bill Would Bypass Locals in Siting Solar Project

How much say should local communities have in proposed renewable energy projects? Does it serve the greater good to bypass them entirely? It’s a question that’s heating up in the SoCal desert.


Despite strong opposition from environmentalists, the state Assembly on Thursday approved controversial legislation that allows a solar energy developer to bypass local agencies in seeking to build a large-scale power plant in a valley that is home to desert tortoises, golden eagles and bighorn sheep.

Read more at: www.latimes.com

May 11, 2012 | 8:44 AM | By

Quick Link: Icebreaker Post Sparks Online Reunion for “Coasties”

When we posted our piece about a retired icebreaker being towed off to the scrapyard, we saw it as a poignant moment for a hobbled U.S. polar fleet. We weren’t alone.


On Monday Climate Watch Senior Editor Craig Miller wrote about a Coast Guard icebreaker ship, the Glacier, that’s headed to the scrapyard… Glaciers are slipping away everywhere. It was tough to see this one go. I’m talking about a ship, not an actual river of ice.

Read more at: blogs.kqed.org

May 10, 2012 | 12:48 PM | By

Quick Link: Cap & Trade — Here Come the Pleas for Exemption

L.A.’s water managers aren’t the only ones asking for relief. Military bases and the UC system also lined up asking for exemptions during hearings on the regulation.


Southern California’s biggest water wholesaler says it faces an extra $10 million to $50 million in annual expenses to comply with California’s global warming law. Those costs will flow down to ratepayers already stressed by steeply rising bills, said the giant Metropolitan Water District, importer of most of the water used in Southern California.

Read more at: www.nctimes.com