Peter Gleick’s National Water Plan for California

October 12, 2020 6:55 amOctober 12, 2020 11:11 am

California’s water policy is overwhelmingly a local matter. But if you read the mainstream media you might think that it was mostly a state or federal issue. For example, consider that two thirds of all spending on water projects in...

Court Opens Up Big Prop.13 Loophole for ‘Public Franchise Fees’

October 2, 2020 7:07 amOctober 7, 2020 7:49 pm

Two recent court cases have created a contested loophole in property-tax related Propositions 13, 26 and 218 which would cause a legal and actual tax earthquake in California. Cities have already started to impose legally unhinged toll booth-like charges, called...

New Cal Grid CEO is Ex-Enron Green Power Trader

September 29, 2020 11:59 amSeptember 29, 2020 2:17 pm

Elliot Mainzer, will be the new CEO of the California Independent System Operator (Cal-ISO), as of October 1, replacing Steven Berberich who is retiring. Mainzer does not hide from his resume that he once “established” the “Renewable Power Desk” for...

Mississippi Sierra Club: Green Power Did Not Cause California Blackouts

September 18, 2020 1:30 pmSeptember 18, 2020 1:46 pm

Expansion of solar power in nearby states, not California, resulted in a lack of available exportable power and rolling blackouts. Louis Miller, head of the Mississippi Sierra Club, concludes in “Let’s Not Black Out the Facts About California Blackouts, What...

Energy Fragmentation Resulting in Blackouts Says PG&E

September 9, 2020 10:33 amSeptember 10, 2020 7:55 am

California’s fragmented energy system has resulted in not enough local or imported power to rescue California from blackouts, not due to deregulation or privatization, energy trading, technical breakdown or error, or natural events, just as in 2001. On November 7,...

Bruce Babbitt’s California Grand Water Bargain is a Selfie to Seek Federal Appointment

August 31, 2020 6:46 amAugust 31, 2020 6:52 am

Bruce Babbitt, former Secretary of the Interior under Pres. Bill Clinton, is calling for a “Grand Water Bargain” for California as he did in 1994 when he was formerly Secretary of the Interior under Pres. Bill Clinton. Babbitt was the...

How Long Can ‘Dirty Coal’ and Gas Bail Out L.A. From Heat Waves?

August 28, 2020 12:56 pmAugust 28, 2020 1:02 pm

During the current triple digit heat wave hitting California, the state electric grid’s Independent System Operator (ISO) stated it was conservation efforts that avoided more extensive rolling blackouts. But, data from the U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA) indicates that what...