Today, California claims a whopping 750,000 unique solar projects — an order of magnitude more than the number that existed in the state a decade ago. We illustrate this impressive, rapid expansion of solar projects throughout California over time in a cool, new animated map.… Read More
In the 1980s there were over thirty proposed garbage incinerators in California. By the middle of the decade all but four of them had been stopped thanks to the advocacy of organized citizens.
The city of Santa Monica’s efforts to shrink the digital divide ranks as one of the Top 25 Programs in American Government of 2017. That’s according to Harvard University’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, who names the top programs in governance based on innovation in government policy.… Read More
Bernie was a role model and tutor to ILSR going back to the mid-1970s as ILSR first engaged in the waste and recycling world. He was an experienced paper broker who gave time freely to recycling organizations, individual recycling groups and newcomers to the recycling movement. He was a World War II veteran and accepted the task of fighting for the climate with vigor. Late in life he fumed at the losses to the environmental movement which he helped build.… Read More
California is one of a long list of states that have in some way addressed the current lack of regulations regarding network neutrality. In addition to Executive Orders in six states, including Vermont and Montana, state legislatures in 29 states have introduced legislation that address some aspect of network neutrality. Oregon, Vermont, and Washington have adopted legislation. To see a comprehensive list of state bills across the country, check out the National Conference of State Legislatures’ website.
Wiener’s SB 822 had been described as “the most comprehensive” of state legislation introduced since FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and the Republican Commissioners repealed federal network neutrality late last year. The bill passed in the Senate in late May, but amendments adopted during a contentious Communications and Conveyance Committee meeting in the Assembly transformed it into quite a different piece of legislation.… Read More
The conventional wisdom in electricity generation is that scale matters. But this outdated notion rests on the assumption that electricity generators compete only in the wholesale market. California’s nearly 1 million solar roofs already producing power provide the factual counterpunch to this myth, but so does ample research on the economies of scale and the price of competition in the wind and solar markets.… Read More
In response to the FCC’s decision to end federal network neutrality protections, California and other states have introduced bills to fill the gap left by the Commission. Local communities who had flirted with the idea of publicly owned Internet infrastructure in the past have now taken a second and more serious look to counteract the FCC’s harmful policy shift. … Read More
The report, Yes! In My Backyard: A Home Composting Guide for Local Governments, profiles 11 home composting programs (10 in the United States, 1 in Canada) and is a guide for local governments starting their own programs. It makes the case that home composting should be a central component of every community’s residential food waste reduction strategy. The guide is not intended as a manual on how to compost at home.… Read More
Zero Waste San Diego calls our attention to the effort in San Diego, CA to adjust the City Ordinance that prohibits the city from charging for residential waste collection services.The law thus “precludes the creation of the industry standard ‘pay as you throw’ financial incentives for recycling and waste reduction’. A waste-based fee “would free up millions of dollars of general fund revenues.” … Read More
