Tag: California

Chevron, Richmond, cap and trade
Climate, Politics and Advocacy

Jerry Brown Passes Cap and Trade Written by the Oil Industry

California extended its Cap and Trade system until 2030, a symbolic move that actually allows grave concessions to the oil industry, ties the hands of local agencies ability to regulate greenhouse gases, and threatens both the state’s climate goals and the health of communities, ecosystems and the planet. RL Miller unveils the ugly political process where the Jerry Brown had the oil industry write the bill and forced the rest to go along.

East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice, SCIG, Port of LA
Urban Land

Reform California’s Environmental Quality Act? Not Now.

The California Environmental Quality Act, protector of resources and communities through consideration of implications of proposed projects, is under attack. Representatives from industry and real estate development, and sometimes even Governor Jerry Brown, seek ways to weaken it, or to exempt their pet projects. While the law is far from perfect, it remains the gold standard of environmental protection in the US.

Plains All American, Refugio Oil Spill, Santa Barbara
Energy, Tar Sands

Santa Barbara Oil Spill Spreading: Big Oil Plans for More Tar Sands

The most recent oil spill on the Santa Barbara coast that has decimated wildlife and soiled California beaches with tar over a 350-mile area has been an unmitigated disaster. It illustrates weaknesses in basic safety measures for pipelines and crude by rail, as well as risks associated with industry plans to expand tar sands and other extreme drilling infrastructure on the West Coast.