Supporters of a statewide Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund today applauded the commitment by Governor Jerry Brown, Legislative leadership and a bipartisan group of legislators to continue to craft a solution to the state’s drinking water crisis…
News
This page features excerpts from news about environmental justice advocacy in the San Joaquin Valley and links to their original sources. Use the features on the right to sort by topic, news source, date, key word or author. You may also subscribe to receive the news by e-mail or through an rss reader. Please note that links to original sources may expire over time.
The election results are trending positively for environmental justice in California – with the likely defeat of Proposition 70 and the passage of Proposition 68. Prop 70 would have required a two-thirds majority for the State Legislature to appropriate funds for climate change-related projects.
A team from Stanford University’s School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences (Stanford Earth) has found that satellite-derived measurements of ground sinking in California could predict arsenic concentrations in groundwater…
Senate Bill 1014 requires the California Public Utilities Commission, the agency in charge of regulating Uber and Lyft, to establish a program with set “clean mile” targets. By 2023, at least 20 percent of miles traveled by ride-hail company cars must be zero emission, and 50 percent by 2026. By 2030, all vehicles owned or leased by ride-hail companies must be electric. While Uber has remained outwardly neutral on the legislation, Lyft publicly opposes it…
California is often the first state in the West to test new solutions to social and environmental problems. These days, the state is at the fore of a much more ambitious challenge, as it finds its progressive ideals — and its increasingly diverse citizenry — in frequent opposition to the policies of President Donald Trump. Every month, in the Letter from California, we chronicle efforts in the state to grapple with its role in the changing, modern West…
A state fund to fix contaminated water systems did not make it out of the legislature last fall but is being considered as part of the Governor’s 2018-19 budget. Last month, the Assembly Budget Subcommittee adopted Governor Brown’s proposal for a one-time loan of $4.7 million from the State Treasury to establish the Safe and Affordable Clean Drinking Water Fund as a budget trailer bill. The bill is based on Senate Bill 623, which was introduced by Senator William Monning (D-Santa Cruz) last year.
An Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) last month issued a ruling finalizing the methodology for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions accounting in the integrated resource plan filings utilities are required to file by Aug. 1. The Clean Net Short (CNS) methodology will apportion GHG emissions to each load-serving entity (LSE) based on projected hourly electricity demand…
This year’s primary election ballot features five propositions, most notably the Parks, Environment and Water Bond or Proposition 68, which was co-authored by Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia, whose district includes the Coachella Valley. While Prop 68 and the important role it plays in efforts to restore the Salton Sea has taken center stage locally, the other four legislative proposals are likely to have a direct effect on the lives of Coachella Valley residents as well. Early election results showed strong support for Propositions 69, 71 and 72. Support for Prop 70, however, appeared to fall short…
The many wells that nourish the farms of the Central Valley are not only pumping so much water from the ground that the land is sinking, they’re creating a dangerous vacuum where arsenic can slip in, new research shows. Scientists at Stanford University are warning if heavy groundwater pumping continues, water supplies for dozens of communities as well as billions of dollars of irrigated crops are at risk of contamination…
Ozone is good when high in the atmosphere, but at ground-level is harmful too breathe. Health experts liken the harm of breathing ozone to a sunburn on your lungs. The Valley has made significant progress in reducing levels of this pollutant.San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District outreach coordinator Cassandra Melching says the improvement is due to, “Valley residents and local businesses doing their part in reducing emissions and behavioral changes…”