A fracking moratorium in CA?
So far, fracking for oil and natural gas in California hasn’t taken off the way it has in other states. But it’s growing fast enough that some state legislators want to rein it in. Several bills are...
View ArticleThe electric Rav4: Toyota body, Tesla heart
Last fall, Toyota started selling a new, all-electric version of its popular Rav4 in California. Chances are, you didn’t notice. The company never blitzed the airwaves with ads, the way Nissan did for...
View ArticleMosaic to fund another $100m of solar
Back in January, an Oakland startup called Mosaic launched a crowdfunding campaign to pay for solar power. Small-scale investors could put as little as $25 down, to help put solar panels on community...
View ArticleCA fracking foes win court victory
So far, most of the fight over fracking in California has played out in Sacramento, with legislators introducing bills to study hydraulic fracturing or stop it cold. But some environmentalists have...
View ArticleCap & trade: California and Quebec join forces
When it comes to cap and trade, California will no longer have to go it alone. Gov. Jerry Brown has approved linking California’s new carbon market with Quebec’s, in a transnational bid to fight global...
View ArticleWind power blows away records, at least for awhile
Wind power installations across the United States nearly doubled in 2012, growing faster than any other source of electricity. Just don’t expect the momentum to continue in 2013. An annual report from...
View ArticleEnviro experts in Chevron-Ecuador lawsuit switch sides
Chevron Corp. on Friday unleashed its latest salvo in the never-ending lawsuit over oil field contamination in Ecuador. And this particular shot was aimed squarely at a New York lawyer who tormented...
View ArticleA West Coast Keystone pipeline?
Opposition to the Keystone XL Pipeline, which would bring oil from Canada’s tar sands to the U.S. Gulf Coast, runs high in California. The proposed pipeline route doesn’t come anywhere near here. But...
View ArticleSan Francisco supervisors vote to divest from Big Oil
San Francisco took a symbolic step Tuesday toward ridding its retirement holdings of investments in the biggest fossil fuel companies, even if it may be years before divestment is realized. The Board...
View ArticleSelling solar lamps to the world’s poor
Poor people can make demanding customers. Just ask Donn Tice. Tice runs d.light, a San Francisco startup that sells solar-powered lamps in the developing world. The company is one of many trying to...
View ArticleAfter SF vote, other cities may divest from Big Oil
It’s still in the very early stages, but the movement among city governments to drop their investments in oil and coal companies may be picking up steam. A nationwide divestment campaign launched...
View ArticleTesla Motors stands behind its battery with new warranty
Hoping to make drivers more comfortable with electric cars, Tesla Motors announced Friday that it will cover the cost of repairing the batteries on its Model S sedan in every situation other than a...
View ArticleNearly half of fracking happens in places short on water
Fracking for oil and gas is a thirsty business. Hydraulic fracturing uses large amounts of pressurized water — mixed with sand and chemicals — to crack subterranean rocks and release oil or natural...
View ArticleTesla thrives, Fisker fades
Electric-car critics have been having a field day with the implosion of Fisker Automotive. And yet just 380 miles away from Fisker’s almost-empty headquarters in Anaheim, another plug-in car company...
View ArticleFracking: Feds delay sale of drilling leases in CA
Federal authorities have delayed their next sale of oil-drilling leases in a swath of California that has become a battleground in the nationwide fight over fracking. The Bureau of Land Management has...
View ArticleCalifornia greenhouse gas emissions fall.
We don’t often get to highlight hopeful news on greenhouse gas emissions. Gloom & doom tend to be the order of the day. Which is why a report released Monday by the U.S. Energy Information...
View ArticlePG&E’s $900 million San Bruno tax break?
The $2.25 billion penalty that PG&E may face as a result of the deadly 2010 San Bruno pipeline explosion certainly sounds like harsh punishment. State officials proposed the penalty last week,...
View ArticlePG&E San Bruno costs adding up.
State utility regulators are mulling a proposal — well, several proposals — to slap Pacific Gas and Electric Co. with a $2.25 billion penalty over the San Bruno explosion. Why that particular number?...
View ArticleUsing solar power to pump oil.
In a remote stretch of the Omani desert, row after row of long, curved mirrors collect the sun’s energy. Similar facilities have been gathering sunlight in the Southern California desert for years,...
View ArticleChevron foes target CEO Watson
Critics often crash Chevron Corp.’s annual shareholders meeting to demand that America’s second-largest oil company change its ways. This year, they’re also demanding that Chevron change its...
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