California could soon provide the blueprint for how to decarbonize buildings
When it comes to reducing carbon emissions, electric cars and solar panels always steal the spotlight. But there is another major thing that flies under the radar that must be addressed if we want to tackle climate change: buildings. As the Green New Deal acknowledges, buildings are responsible for Read More...
California to introduce new plan to assist residents below the poverty line
California’s newly elected Governor, Gavin Newsom, plans to introduce a new scheme to help its lowest-income residents. The head of state intends to more than double the California Earned Income Tax, which returns up to $2,879 to families and individuals with a precarious working status. Read More...
California says all city buses have to be emission free by 2040
On the heels of a dire government report published last month about climate change and its devastating impacts, many cities and states are scrambling to find ways to curb the greenhouse gas emissions that threaten their air quality, not to mention their Read More...
Wind farms could be installed off the coast of California in just a few years
In the past week, California took major steps to enable companies to lease waters off the coast for wind projects. If all goes as the state’s regulators and utilities expect, floating windmills could begin producing power within six years. This is especially big news for the state as it attempts Read More...
California deploys free solar panels in disadvantaged neighborhoods
For all its efforts with rooftop solar deployment, California has yet to show that decentralized renewable energy is not just a luxury that only the middle-class and high-income residents can afford. A new program run by nonprofit Grid Alternatives aims to install solar systems in disadvantaged Read More...
Toilet-to-tap-water policy inching closer to a realistic plan in parched California
California’s aquifers and reservoirs are being drained as the state suffers through its fourth year of drought. Regulators recently started working on the permitting framework for seawater desalination projects. Simultaneously, California water managers and environmentalists are urging adoption Read More...
California’s 2030 renewable energy plan will save $51 billion a year
Governor Jerry Brown made headlines last January when he announced an ambitious plan to source 50 percent of energy from renewables by 2030. A new analysis by Strategen Consulting now confirms that the plan is not only achievable, but also “economically sound (and) environmentally beneficial.” Read More...
Community-led programs accelerate transition to renewable energy across America
Community Choice Aggregation programs are bringing competition into power generation by letting cities and counties decide where their energy comes from. California's local authorities are leading the way, supporting governor Jerry Brown’s new ambitious climate goals to have the state produce 50 Read More...
California lays the groundwork for seawater desalination rules
In its fourth year of drought, with depleted aquifers and compromised farming communities, California is moving forward to securing the Pacific Ocean as a new source of water supplies. Assuming that the future will not look like the past, regulators started working on the regulatory framework for Read More...
The sharing economy inspires a new water conservation model in California
California is well into its fourth consecutive year of drought. Governor Jerry Brown called for the state's first mandatory water restrictions just last week, while acknowledging that "there's been fairly inadequate conservation so far.” Groundwater management regulation, which came into effect Read More...