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'A Pivotal Moment': California One Step Closer to 100% Renewables
The California State Assembly on Tuesday voted 43-32 on a bill that aims for 100 percent renewable energy by 2045, one of the nation's toughest clean energy mandates.
Should the bill become law, California has to entirely transition away from fossil fuel electricity in less than three decades. Utilities would also have to get 50 percent of their energy from solar, wind or other specific renewable sources by 2026 and 60 percent by 2030. The legislation requires the state to slowly transition away from natural gas, which is California's top electricity source.
Senate Bill 100, introduced by Sen. Kevin de León, (D-Los Angeles), was approved in the Senate last year. Both chambers now must agree on amendments, but it is expected to be finalized by Friday before heading to Gov. Jerry Brown's desk for approval. The Democratic governor is poised to sign it into law, The New York Times reported.
"I will always work for the people of California, and the future, [that's] why I authored this bill. And after a grueling year it has finally passed. And our state will remain a climate change leader in the world," de León, who is running for U.S. Senate, tweeted Tuesday.
The passage comes less than two weeks before the Rise for Climate, Jobs, and Justice mobilization in San Francisco on Sept. 8 and the Global Climate Action Summit from Sept. 12-14, where Gov. Brown will serve as co-chairman.
The first state to adopt such an aggressive clean energy standard was Hawaii in 2015, calling for 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2045.
The Golden State's move is considered groundbreaking because it could inspire other governments and spur Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Washington, DC, to consider similar pending legislation.
If signed, California will represent the largest global economy and one of the biggest states of any kind in the world to have a goal of moving to 100 percent clean energy, the Sierra Club noted.
"This is a pivotal moment for California, for the country, and the world, Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club, said in a statement. "While Donald Trump abandons reality by ignoring the climate crisis and the incredible growth of clean energy, California is stepping up to lead the transition to a 100 percent clean energy economy."
Opponents of the initiative include Pacific Gas and Electric Company, San Diego Gas & Electric Company, Western States Petroleum Association, Agricultural Council of California and more than two dozen others, The Sacramento Bee reported. Some lawmakers worry the bill could hurt fossil fuel workers and raise utility prices.
"We pass all these goals for renewables, but at the same time our families back home will pay the cost with an increase in the electric bills every year as we try to achieve this," Assemblyman Devon Mathis, R-Visalia, told the publication.
The bill was praised by most Democrats, green organizations and high-profile environmental activists, including Vice President Al Gore, actor and former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Leonardo DiCaprio, Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo.
"With wildfires intensifying and temperatures skyrocketing, the impacts of climate change across the Golden State are impossible to ignore," 350.org executive director May Boeve said in a statement. "Just this week, the state's own climate assessment revealed that climate change will be deadlier, more destructive, and costlier than previously thought. SB 100 is a critical first step toward addressing the worsening climate crisis, but to truly change course, we must end fossil fuel extraction."
- California's Renewable Energy Programs ›
- California is generating so much solar energy its utilities are dialing ... ›
- California is set to hit its green-energy goals a decade early ›
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‘Companies Should Not Be Allowed to Use Hazardous Ingredients in Products People Use’: Michelle Pfeiffer Speaks Up for Safer Cosmetics
The beauty products we put on our skin can have important consequences for our health. Just this March, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned that some Claire's cosmetics had tested positive for asbestos. But the FDA could only issue a warning, not a recall, because current law does not empower the agency to do so.
Michelle Pfeiffer wants to change that.
The actress and Environmental Working Group (EWG) board member was spotted on Capitol Hill Thursday lobbying lawmakers on behalf of a bill that would increase oversight of the cosmetics industry, The Washington Post reported.
By Collin Rees
We know that people power can stop dangerous fossil fuel projects like the proposed Line 3 tar sands oil pipeline in Minnesota, because we've proved it over and over again — and recently we've had two more big wins.
World Leaders, Media Ignore Biodiversity Report Detailing Mass Extinction Event Now Underway
By Julia Conley
Scientists at the United Nations' intergovernmental body focusing on biodiversity sounded alarms earlier this month with its report on the looming potential extinction of one million species — but few heard their calls, according to a German newspaper report.
By Cullen Schwarz
Ethical shopping is a somewhat new phenomenon. We're far more familiar with the "tried and tested" methods of doing good, like donating our money or time.
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Hundreds of Sunscreens Don’t Work or Have Unsafe Ingredients, Annual Review Finds
Summer is fast approaching, which means it's time to stock up on sunscreen to ward off the harmful effects of sun exposure. Not all sunscreens are created equally, however.
The climate crisis is a major concern for American voters with nearly 40 percent reporting the issue will help determine how they cast their ballots in the upcoming 2020 presidential election, according to a report compiled by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.
Of more than 1,000 registered voters surveyed on global warming, climate and energy policies, as well as personal and collective action, 38 percent said that a candidate's position on climate change is "very important" when it comes to determining who will win their vote. Overall, democratic candidates are under more pressure to provide green solutions as part of their campaign promises with 64 percent of Democrat voters saying they prioritize the issue compared with just 34 percent of Independents and 12 percent of Republicans.
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Senate Approves $19.1 Billion in Disaster Funding After Years of Climate-Fueled Disasters
President Donald Trump has agreed to sign a $19.1 billion disaster relief bill that will help Americans still recovering from the flooding, hurricanes and wildfires that have devastated parts of the country in the past two years. Senate Republicans said they struck a deal with the president to approve the measure, despite the fact that it did not include the funding he wanted for the U.S.-Mexican border, CNN reported.
"The U.S. Senate has just approved a 19 Billion Dollar Disaster Relief Bill, with my total approval. Great!" the president tweeted Thursday.
Violent tornadoes tore through Missouri Wednesday night, killing three and causing "extensive damage" to the state's capital of Jefferson City, The New York Times reported.
"There was a lot of devastation throughout the state," Governor Mike Parson said at a Thursday morning press conference, as NPR reported. "We were very fortunate last night that we didn't have more injuries than what we had, and we didn't have more fatalities across the state. But three is too many."