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Feds freeze offshore CA fracking
Twin legal settlements with environmentalist plaintiffs put a freeze on fracking in California waters. “The agreements in Los Angeles federal court apply to operations off Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, where companies such as Exxon Mobil Corp. operate platforms,” the Wall Street Journal reported. “Federal
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Environmentalists use Porter Ranch disaster to target CA fracking
The California Public Utilities Commission is considering closing the massive 3,600-acre natural gas storage location in the Porter Ranch area of Los Angeles County, anxious that the Southern California Gas Co. has been unable to stop massive leaks of methane from the
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Study: Vast CA solar power possible using existing infrastructure
A new study for Nature Climate Central journal says California could have abundant solar power to meet all of its needs — and without building huge fields of solar arrays like the Tonopah facility by Interstate 15 near the Nevada
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Fracking with no freshwater — or water — increasingly common
The next great environmental fight in California is likely to be over hydraulic fracturing, the energy extraction process that uses underground water cannons to blast away rock and reach oil and natural gas reserves. Gov. Jerry Brown appears ready to
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Some crucial context on Brown’s new energy policy and AB 32
Gov. Jerry Brown’s decision to seek to extend the state of California’s push against global warming to 2030 with a further embrace of costlier-but-cleaner energy got a positive response from many environmental groups and journalists. The idea that California would
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Oxy CA energy spinoff has bumpy launch
When energy giant Occidental launched a spinoff to focus on California energy exploration on Dec. 1, the circumstances facing California Resources Corp. were daunting. The plunging price of oil made unconventional energy extraction methods, which cost more, less attractive. And
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Report may force CA media to admit Obama backs fracking safety
As Cal Watchdog has repeatedly noted over the past two years, the California print media — with the exception of the U-T San Diego editorial page (my edits) and a San Francisco Chronicle reporter — never note the Obama administration’s
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Will NY fracking ban trigger ‘domino effect’ that reaches CA?
California environmentalists and government regulators have long prided themselves in pioneering new rules and restrictions. But now it appears a liberal East Coast state has taken the lead in dealing with one of the day’s most controversial environmental issues. This
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CA media finds de Leon guilty of not being Steinberg
There has been steady turnover in the leadership of the state Assembly every few years, so there is plenty of evidence that most new speakers get the equivalent of a honeymoon. Certainly that’s been true of current Speaker Toni Atkins,
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Fracking safety: NYT vs. LAT, yet again
The fracking revolution continues to unfold in a half-dozen states around the nation, with enormous benefits to all Americans. A New York Times analysis Friday laid out the particulars: The steepening drop in gasoline prices in recent weeks — spurred by
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