Sierra Club

Oakland skyline and San Francisco Bay

It's the Tech Industry vs. the Sierra Club in California's Big Housing Debate

California State Senator Scott Wiener made a big splash this month by announcing a package of pro-development bills, and now interest groups are taking sides in a heated debate over housing and density.

January 25, 2018 - San Francisco Chronicle

The Embarcadero

Trial Over San Francisco Waterfront Development Height Limits Begins

The State Lands Commission filed suit shortly after San Francisco voters approved Prop. B in June 2014, requiring waterfront developments exceeding height limits to obtain voter approval rather than go through the Planning Commission process.

January 15, 2018 - San Francisco Examiner

Vermont SUV

New Hampshire Bills Target Vehicles That Don't Guzzle Enough Fuel

Two bills target hybrid and electric vehicles and even fuel efficient vehicles with new registration fees to increase road funding, as nine states did last year. However, many of those states also hiked gas taxes in the same legislation.

January 5, 2018 - New Hampshire Public Radio

Dakota Access Pipeline

Keystone Pipeline Leaks Oil in Advance of Crucial Decision on Sister Pipeline

Thursday's massive oil spill in South Dakota is not a good omen for TransCanada for a favorable decision on Monday on an application before the Nebraska Public Service Commission on the routing of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline.

November 18, 2017 - The Washington Post - Energy and Environment

Coal Ash

And Then There Was One

Donald Trump ran on an "America First" platform for president. The latest news from the climate talks in Bonn, Germany, though, shows that it is now "America Alone" in terms of nations who haven't adopted the Paris climate agreement.

November 13, 2017 - The Washington Post

State Capitol

Budget Gap Spotlights Oklahoma's Onerous Three-Fourths Supermajority Requirement

California legislators have it easy compared to their counterparts in Oklahoma and Arkansas who seek to increase revenue through tax increases. A bill to hike gasoline and cigarette taxes and revise alcohol taxes faces a high hurdle.

November 1, 2017 - KFOR-TV

Intersection

Confronting Wisconsin's $1.1 Billion Highway Widening Proposal

A coalition of environmentalists, civil rights activists, and other community interests teamed up to successfully oppose a Milwaukee highway widening proposal. In an interview, one of the leading lawyers discusses his work.

October 23, 2017 - Streetsblog USA

An Island of 3.4 Million Living Off the Grid

Living off the grid usually refers to a lifestyle choice to live far from power lines and other basic infrastructure that most of civilization takes for granted—until a natural disaster wipes it all out.

October 9, 2017 - The New York Times

Maryland's $9 Billion Project Would Be the Nation's Largest P3 for Highways

Gov. Larry Hogan (R-Md.) announced last week plans for the largest highway contract awarded to a public-private partnership: adding four express toll lanes to the Capital Beltway and I-270. A third highway widening will be completed internally.

September 29, 2017 - Planetizen

Natural Gas

Appeals Court Deals Second Setback to Trump Administration on Methane Regulation

Another unpleasant reminder for the Trump Administration that there are three equal branches of government: A federal appeals court ruled 9-2 that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt must enforce a rule to reduce methane emissions from oil and gas wells.

August 7, 2017 - CNN Politics

Appeals Court Rebuffs Trump's EPA on Methane Emissions Suspension

In a win for the environment, a D.C. Circuit panel ruled that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt could not arbitrarily suspend the starting date of a landmark Obama rule that would reduce methane emissions from new and modified oil and gas wells.

July 6, 2017 - The Washington Post

Tolling May Finance Repair of Bay Area Highway Threatened by Sea Level Rise

Officials have begun tackling the problem of adapting low-lying State Route 37 in the North Bay, closed several times this year due to flooding, to climate change. With no identified funding, a working group is leaning toward road tolling.

May 9, 2017 - The Press Democrat

San Francisco

How the San Francisco Branch of Sierra Club Advocates NIMBYism

Despite the pro-infill position of the Sierra Club's national organization, San Francisco's branch advocates to preserve the buildings that are currently there at the expense of density and subsidized housing.

May 2, 2017 - The Bay City Beacon

Mero Los Angeles

Best Fuel to Power Buses: Renewable Natural Gas or Battery-Electric?

Next month the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Authority will decide what type of buses to purchase to replace 1,000 aging diesel buses. Two op-eds in the Los Angeles Daily News present alternative viewpoints.

April 11, 2017 - Los Angeles Daily News

Electric Cars

Electric Vehicle Fees: Where's the Controversy?

Some may find it silly to get worked up over an annual fee of about $100 to pay for road maintenance when electric vehicle purchasers receive a $7,500 federal tax credit, on top of generous state perks, but electric vehicle supporters object to them.

March 9, 2017 - Vox

Coal Mine

Remember Trump's Pledge to Save Coal Jobs?

The West's largest coal power plant and two Ohio coal plants will be closing, and the coal mines that supply them may shutter as well. The Arizona utility "is tired of overpaying for power," words that surely the president should understand.

February 16, 2017 - The Washington Post - Energy and Environment

Lake Oroville Emergency

Oroville Dam Crisis Foreseen Over 11 Years Ago

Had federal authorities acted on the motion filed by three environmental groups in October 2005, nearly 200,000 people in three counties would not have been forced to evacuate due to a poorly constructed emergency spillway for Oroville Dam.

February 16, 2017 - The Mercury News

Dakota Access Pipeline

Trump Reverses Obama's Rejections of Keystone XL and Dakota Access Pipelines

Fulfilling two campaign promises, President Trump conditionally approved two controversial pipelines to transport oil sands from Alberta and Bakken oil from North Dakota, certain to stir opposition from environmentalists and Native Americans.

January 24, 2017 - USA Today

EPA Rejects Automakers' Bid to Reduce Fuel Economy Standards in Midterm Review

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ruled that existing technology allows for increased efficiency in model years 2022 to 2025. The 2011 rule to achieve 54.5 mpg by 2025 required a 'midterm evaluation' to see if the final target was achievable.

January 18, 2017 - The Washington Post - Energy and Environment

Rex Tillerson

The Surprising Climate Change Believer Among Trump's Cabinet Picks

Compared to nominees for cabinet positions that deal with energy and the environment, Rex Tillerson, Trump's choice for Secretary of State, appears to be the only 'climate believer' even though he heads America's largest oil and gas corporation.

December 17, 2016 - The Washington Post - Energy and Environment

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