Posts From Wayne Lusvardi
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Will Brown’s brown lawns cause brownouts for summer 2015?
On April 1, Gov. Jerry Brown ordered mandatory 25 percent cutbacks in urban water usage over the next nine months due to the prolonged water shortage in the state’s surface water reservoirs. In response, U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said
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Big water importers dealt minimal cutbacks
Gov. Jerry Brown has mandated an overall 25 percent reduction in urban water usage over the next nine months – equivalent to 1.3 million acre-feet, or enough to supply 7.8 million people. But does Brown’s plan target where the most
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CA may use Prop. 1 water bond to buy enviro water during drought
In the midst of a grueling four-year drought in agriculture, state officials say some $287.5 million in borrowed cash is available to purchase water for smelt and salmon runs and other wildlife. The funds come from California’s $7.5 billion Proposition
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Bill simplifies tiered utility rates
Now that the $42 billion bill for the 2001 California Energy Crisis has been paid off, California’s current four price tiers for electricity will be flattened to two tiers over the next four years. Environmentalists who advocated for cleaning up
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Can tiered water rates be used to encourage conservation?
A media firestorm erupted Monday, April 20, over Gov. Brown’s opposition to a State Court of Appeals decision in a water rate setting case involving Proposition 218. The initiative, passed in 1996, requires voter approval for any new property-related utility
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UCLA Study: 35% water reduction order in Palm Springs may backfire
Gov. Jerry Brown’s recently announced Executive Order B-29-15, mandating statewide water use reductions will hit the Palm Springs area of California the hardest with 35 percent cuts in water usage. But a new UCLA study of outdoor watering restrictions in
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Climate change should be top issue despite public apathy, Steyer and Cisneros say
Despite a recent Gallup poll showing climate changing ranking last among a number of environmental priorities, including polluted drinking water, air pollution and the loss of tropical rain forests, billionaire hedge fund manager Tom Steyer and former Secretary of Housing and
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Hoover analyst: CA already met 50% renewable goal
Eureka! California already surpassed Gov. Jerry Brown’s 50 percent goal for renewable energy power by 2030. It did so, in fact, in 2011. That’s the conclusion of an article in the March-April issue of Eureka, a new periodical by the Hoover
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Studies show tradeoffs on health vs. environment
Two new studies show cleaning the environment to improve health is about tradeoffs. One study is on clean-air regulations, the other on diesel truck exhausts. The studies give policymakers more information on the choices they will be making. The first
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Deal to send rice water to SoCal could dry up before summer
The Sacramento Bee recently reported it’s a done deal to transfer water from Central Valley rice farmers to Southern California. The transfer would alleviate curtailments of urban water allocations. But if California does not provide the full allocation to the owners
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