California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) is proposing in his fiscal year 2015-16 budget to spend $650 million out of $1 billion expected to be collected through the state’s greenhouse gas (GHG) allowance auctions on low-carbon transportation initiatives, including $250 million on high-speed rail, $200 million on subsidies for zero-emission cars […]
Now that oil industry fear-mongering over gasoline prices has turned out to be completely phony, it’s time to take a serious look at the real impact of California’s climate change and clean energy policies on communities around our state. Simply put, the news is good and getting better. These successes […]
Re “How Lima climate talks will impact Central Valley” (Opinion, Jan. 9): Prof. Roger Bales is right to point out that California’s efforts to combat climate change can greatly benefit the Central Valley, both by cleaning the air and creating jobs and economic opportunities. What readers may not know is […]
California will spend $1 billion to combat climate change under a new budget proposal from Gov. Jerry Brown. But some argue it will reach $2 billion. The money in the Democrat’s draft fiscal 2015-16 budget comes from the state’s cap-and-trade program for carbon emissions, which requires some businesses to account […]
Advocates for climate justice responded to Governor Brown’s budget proposal with a call for more funding for programs that reduce pollution, create jobs and improve services in low-income communities of color. The groups – Asian Pacific Environmental Network, Coalition for Clean Air, The Greenlining Institute and Public Advocates – lead […]
Federal climate scientists confirmed today that 2014 stands as California’s warmest year on record. The state’s average temperature for the year clocked in at 61.5 degrees Fahrenheit, 4.1 degrees higher than the 20th century average. Last year’s average bested the previous record, set in 1934, by nearly two degrees. The […]
One of my first stories of 2014 was an interview with Reginald Parker, an African-American entrepreneur with a chemical engineering Ph.D. from MIT who was preparing to build one of the largest solar farms in the country. He broke ground on the project in September, in North Carolina, near an […]
California’s Senate President Pro tem Kevin De León announced yesterday Dec. 5, 2014 that he will propose legislation next month to require the state’s public pension funds, including CALPERS and CALSTRS, to begin to divest completely out of coal. He made the announcement at Tom Steyer’s Next Generation climate conference […]
Climate change and clean energy laws in California are not only helping the environment, but also providing jobs to people in need. That’s according to The Greenlining Institute in Berkeley. Bruce Mirken, with the institute, says state law requires a quarter of the cash raised by carbon-permit sales in California’s […]
OAKLAND, Calif. — The head of California’s Senate plans to introduce legislation to require the state’s public pension funds to get rid of their investments in coal equities. State Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León (D) said yesterday that he would introduce a bill next month targeting the state’s […]
Last week, I wrote about the history of environmental racism that has afflicted Oakland as well as communities of color and low-income communities across the state. Today, I want to introduce you to part of the solution. His name is Denny Sysaknoi, and at age 16 he was headed for […]
A Bay Area nonprofit has launched a new campaign highlighting how California’s climate-change and clean-energy laws not only protect the environment and public health, but also bring jobs and consumer savings to communities of color and low-income neighborhoods across the state. The Greenlining Institute – a Berkeley based group founded […]
UpLiftCA.org Highlights Impact on Real Californians: Jobs, Clean Air, Healthy & Thriving Neighborhoods Contact: Bruce Mirken, Greenlining Institute Media Relations Director, 510-926-4022; 415-846-7758 (cell) BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA – Today The Greenlining Institute launched a new campaign to highlight how California’s climate change and clean energy laws bring jobs and consumer savings to […]
Let’s start with one undisputed reality: Communities of color and low-income neighborhoods have long been used as environmental dumping grounds, sites for the sorts of facilities that wealthier communities don’t want. It’s not an accident that there are no oil refineries in Mill Valley or Beverly Hills, or freeways running […]
Do you look closely at your electricity bill? If you don’t, you might have missed something important. California’s policies to clean our air and combat climate change literally put money in the pockets of millions of families. In fact, they’ve already done it, but we worry that many in the […]
You may have seen the ads on Facebook, or on one of the roving billboards being pulled by a gasoline-powered truck. They warned darkly of a coming “hidden tax” on fuel that was so hidden nobody in the media was talking about it. You may have wondered what it meant, […]
California is poised to make major investments in neighborhoods that face significant pollution. On Sept. 3, nearly 200 people turned out in Oakland to have their say in how that money is spent. Their is still time to add your voice. Starting in just a few weeks, a state law […]
SACRAMENTO, Aug. 14, 2014 – State environmental officials today released an updated version of California’s groundbreaking environmental health screening tool, CalEnviroScreen. The tool will be used to inform the investment of state cap-and-trade funds specifically targeted for disadvantaged communities. Reflecting extensive public input, CalEnviroScreen 2.0 provides more detail than previous […]
Last month I wrote about California’s quiet revolution in climate policy, a revolution that has the potential to both save our air and create thousands of jobs in economically struggling communities. But no good deed goes unpunished: The oil industry has declared all-out war on California’s climate law, and has […]
Largely under the radar of national and even local media, California has begun a quiet revolution in climate policy that could change the whole national conversation about curbing global warming. Advocates of strong climate change policies have had an immense political challenge that goes far beyond debunking the antiscientific rants […]
