Tag Archives: Governor Jerry Brown

Environment, Finances

Do The Pacific Coast’s Climate Leaders Mean Business?

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By Roy L Hales

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On June 1, 2016, the Governors of Washington, Oregon and California joined British Columbia’s Environment Minister and representatives from six West Coast cities, in the Borgia Room of San Francisco’s Westin St. Francis Hotel, to sign what history may show was a key milestone in the struggle to mount a concerted defence against the ravages of global temperature rise. The 2016 Pacific Coast Climate Leadership Action Plan has a strong emphasis on issues like ocean acidification; the integration of clean energy into the power grid; “support for efforts by the insurance industry and regulatory system to highlight the economic costs of climate change; and so-called “super pollutants” (also known as short-lived climate pollutants).” This sounds good, but do the Pacific Coast’s “Climate Leaders” mean business?

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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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Energy, Finances

Cisco DeVries Explains How PACE is Giving Preference To Mortgages

It has been eight years since Cisco DeVries invented Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) loans. They were meant to spur the mass adoption of residential solar, but have also proven to be an effective means of financing other energy and water saving devices. If PACE weren’t classified as a tax, it would have been offered through-out America years ago. Instead, five years ago Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac urged local governments to put their PACE programs on hold and the vast majority of PACE projects have been in California. That is about to change. Cisco DeVries explains how PACE is changing.

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Politics

What Has The Under2 MOU Changed?

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By Roy L Hales

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Are the drought conditions spreading throughout the West Coast connected to climate transformation? States of emergency have been declared in California, Washington and parts of Oregon. Though British Columbia has not experienced this, a recent computer simulation predicted 80% of its glaciers could disappear over the next decade. This entire region responded by joining with eight other states, on three continents, in a pact to tackle Climate Change. Yet the development of fossil fuel continues, so what has the Under 2 MOU changed on the West Coast?

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Water

Nine States Report Record Low Snowpacks 

Nine states report record low snowpacks. A report from the US Department of Agriculture states, “the largest snowpack deficits are in record territory for many basins,especially in the Cascades and Sierra Nevada where single – digit percent of normal conditions prevail. Very low snowpacks are reported in most of Washington, all of Oregon, Nevada, California, parts of Arizona, much of Idaho, parts of New Mexico, three basins in Wyoming, one basin in Montana, and most of Utah.” This region is undergoing the warmest winter temperatures since record keeping began in 1895.

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