http://blogs.kqed.org/climatewatch KQED's multimedia series providing in-depth coverage of climate-related science and policy issues from a California perspective. Sat, 20 Mar 2010 18:04:49 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Here's a news flash: California has an air pollution problem.  According to the American Lung Association's 2009 State of the Air Report, 38 of California's 52 counties get failing grades for either high ozone or particle pollution days.  (You can see your own county's grades for ozone and air particle ... http://blogs.kqed.org/climatewatch/2010/03/19/ppic-the-air-quality-carbon-connection/ Almost everywhere you look this week, California is dry. By which we mean the state is experiencing the first truly warm, rainless week since a series of Pacific storms blew through the state in mid-January. Hydrologists for the state Department of Water Resources and the federal California-Nevada River Forecast Center expect ... http://blogs.kqed.org/climatewatch/2010/03/18/california-water-update-a-mostly-adequate-year/ David Ferry is a freelance writer and former Climate Watch intern, based in the San Francisco Bay Area. [caption id="attachment_5098" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="A Saba Roadster on display at St. Mary's College in Moraga, CA.  Photo: David Ferry"][/caption] By David Ferry Electric vehicles can reduce emissions, save money on fuel, and, according to their ... http://blogs.kqed.org/climatewatch/2010/03/16/curbing-range-anxiety/ [caption id="attachment_5067" align="aligncenter" width="470" caption="Photo: Emily Coven"][/caption] Another day, another poll showing that fewer Americans believe climate change is real. Results from the latest Gallup Social Series Environment poll show that concern about global warming continues to wane, in some areas dipping to levels as low as when Gallup first started surveying ... http://blogs.kqed.org/climatewatch/2010/03/12/gallup-a-drop-in-concern-over-warming/ Touted as a "shovel-ready" project that would create jobs immediately by leveraging existing infrastructure, the Department of Energy's Weatherization Assistance Program has so far fallen far short of its goals.  The program received almost $5 billion under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to improve the energy ... http://blogs.kqed.org/climatewatch/2010/03/10/california-behind-in-weatherizing-homes/ [caption id="attachment_5045" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="A "SmartMeter" mounted on a Fresno home. (Photo: Sasha Khokha)"][/caption] The California Public Utilities Commission says it will name a consultant sometime this week to start testing PG&E digital “SmartMeters,” which customers have blamed for spikes in their utility bills. The announcement came after state Senator Dean Florez ... http://blogs.kqed.org/climatewatch/2010/03/10/the-backlash-against-smartmeters/ Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said today that he's "absolutely convinced" that California's climate law "will create jobs more than kill jobs." "Unlike others that only have theoretical opinions," he said, "I travel up and down the state and see first-hand."  By "theoretical opinions," the Governor appeared to be dismissing last week's analysis ... http://blogs.kqed.org/climatewatch/2010/03/09/governor-rejects-lao-jobs-report-on-ab-32/ [caption id="attachment_4975" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Photo: Gretchen Weber"][/caption] Energy Secretary Steven Chu returned to his old stomping grounds at Stanford University yesterday with a broad outline for jump-starting "a clean energy industrial revolution."  Speaking to a packed auditorium of students and faculty, Chu advocated the passage of a comprehensive energy bill, saying ... http://blogs.kqed.org/climatewatch/2010/03/09/chu-time-to-end-paralysis/ [caption id="attachment_4918" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Snowstorm at Donner Pass, January 2010 (Photo: Gretchen Weber)"][/caption] As we all know, climate scientists have been on the hot seat lately. Among other recent incidents, they've drawn fire for the leaked East Anglia emails and for the now-retracted assertion in a 2007 report from the Intergovernmental Panel ... http://blogs.kqed.org/climatewatch/2010/03/05/climate-scientists-respond-to-ipcc-critics/ [caption id="attachment_4938" align="alignleft" width="247" caption="Photo: US Forest Service"][/caption] American Pika are living at lower elevations and surviving warmer temperatures than previously thought, according to a paper in the journal Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research (available for download at the US Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station's site). One of the authors, Connie ... http://blogs.kqed.org/climatewatch/2010/03/04/some-pika-persist-at-low-elevations/ 36.778261 -119.417932436.778261-119.4179324