Tag Archives: California

Transportation

How is the West Coast Electric Fleets Initiative Doing?

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By Roy L Hales

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It has been nine months since the Governments of California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia embarked upon a shared initiative. In their joint press release, group spokesperson Governor Kate Brown explained “The West Coast Electric Fleets initiative leads the way in helping fleets scale up zero-emission vehicles to reach our goal that, by 2016, 10 percent of all new purchases are electric vehicles.” How is the West Coast Electric Fleets Initiative Doing?

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Water

Californians Waste A Lot Of Water

By Roy L Hales

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Water is a finite resource. According to Stephanie Feldstein of the Center of Biological Diversity, “Every time you turn on the tap, that water is coming from rivers, lakes and streams that wildlife depend on.” With Levi Strauss & Co’s help, the Center created the “Don’t Be a Drip” to identify some of the most wasteful activities and counties in the United States. Despite a four year long drought, they discovered Californians waste a lot of water.

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Energy

Supervisor Dianne Jacob Defends Rooftop Solar

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By Roy L Hales

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Many hoped California’s net-metering war was ending two years ago, when Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 327. The state’s Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) was given to the end of this year to create a new tariff that will kick in once the state’s big three investor owned utilities (PG&E, SCE and SDG&E) reach 5% nameplate generation capacity under net metering. With the deadline approaching,  the “big three” went on the offensive. One of the California Public Utilities Commission hearings was in San Diego, on Oct. 28, 2015. That was where County Supervisor Dianne Jacob Defends Rooftop Solar.

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Energy

How Utility Scale Solar Impacts The Land

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By Roy L Hales

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The joint study from Stanford University and UC Riverside reads like a report card. The authors recognized that, “solar energy has one of the greatest climate change mitigation potentials” of all renewable energy sources. It can play a leading role in helping the United States reach its’ goal of reducing emissions to 80% of 1990 greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This would require covering a great deal of land surface.  Using current technology, close to 71,428 square kilometres  (44,383 sq.  miles), or an area roughly comparable to South Carolina, could be covered with panels. Rebecca R. Hernandez et al examined more than 160 sites in California to find out how utility scale solar impacts the land.

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Water

The Drought’s Next Victims

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California’s drought spread across most of the West Coast this year. There have been reports of record high temperatures, water shortages and increased ravages from wildfires. The Drought’s next victims could be salmon.

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