[Source: Stanford News] A pioneering California program to sell carbon offsets has surprising environmental benefits – including providing habitat for endangered species – and provides lessons for initiatives under development in other states and countries. You can’t grow money on trees, but you can earn money for letting trees grow. Or at least you can Read More…
Category: California News
Why does California have the nation’s highest poverty level?
[Source: CalChamber] With all the recent hoopla about California’s record-low unemployment rate and the heady prospect of its becoming No. 5 in global economic rankings, it is easy to lose sight of another salient fact: It is the nation’s most poverty-stricken state. So says the U.S. Census Bureau in its “supplemental measure” of poverty that Read More…
Minority-owned businesses thrive in California…but
[Source: Fox & Hounds] According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs, California is leading all states in minority-owned and women-owned employer firms—and by a good margin. When it comes to numbers, California is expected to run up big scores because it is the most populous state. But, the mix of minorities in the Read More…
Climate policies study shows Inland Empire economic boon
[Source: Berkeley News] According to the first comprehensive study of the economic effects of climate programs in California’s Inland Empire, Riverside and San Bernardino counties experienced a net benefit of $9.1 billion in direct economic activity and 41,000 jobs from 2010 through 2016. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley’s Center for Labor Research and Read More…
State high court says regional entity has discretion in environmental analysis
[Source: CalChamber] In a narrowly drafted ruling, the California Supreme Court upheld a regional government body’s discretion regarding the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions analysis it included in the environmental impact report (EIR) under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for its regional transportation plan. While the court emphasized that its decision was “not a general Read More…
CARB approves cap-and-trade improvements
[Source: California Air Resources Board] Following more than 18 months of review and public comment, the California Air Resources Board today approved amendments to the state’s cap-and-trade program that improve its implementation and the state’s effort to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Today’s amendments also establish a framework for the program’s annual limits on greenhouse gas Read More…
Questions remain as Gov. Brown signs legislation to address neighborhood-level air pollution
[Source: Los Angeles Times] Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday signed legislation aimed at improving air quality in disadvantaged communities, a key step in shifting the debate over how the state fights climate change and an issue that has tested the influence of environmental justice advocates The law imposes new requirements to monitor and reduce pollution Read More…
Gov. Brown and Democratic leaders offer plan to extend cap and trade, with aim for approval this week
[Source: Los Angeles Times] After weeks of back-and-forth between environmentalists and business interests, Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative leaders introduced a proposal Monday evening to reauthorize California’s cap-and-trade program, the centerpiece of the state’s efforts to battle climate change. The plan consists of two bills: Assembly Bill 398, which would extend the life of the Read More…
The health care issue in California and beyond
[Source: Fox & Hounds] Good move, Mr. Speaker. The single payer health care measure incorporated in Senate Bill 562 was “woefully incomplete” as Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon declared. Rendon’s move to bury the bill in the Assembly Rules Committee was driven by both policy and political concerns. The health care improvements cannot be fixed by Read More…