Category Archives: News

Caltrans faces legal battle over I-80 Freeway

By Gerardo Zavala | June 7, 2024 | Daily Democrat

The Sierra Club and the Environmental Council of Sacramento have filed a lawsuit against Caltrans alleging legally inadequate environmental analysis of the Yolo 80 Corridor Improvements Project that would add two new lanes through Yolo County … A press release from the two environmental agencies filing the lawsuit claimed that the environmental impact report “grossly underestimates increased vehicular travel, which would emit far larger quantities of greenhouse gasses and air pollutants than claimed.”

Click here to read the article in full: https://www.dailydemocrat.com/2024/06/07/caltrans-faces-legal-battle-over-i-80-freeway-improvement-project-in-yolo-county/

Here’s what Solano County’s California Forever project could mean for Sacramento

By Robin Douglas | June 2, 2024 | Sacramento Business Journal

Immediate Past President of the ECOS Board of Directors, Ralph Propper, was quoted in a Sacramento Business Journal article about the proposed California Forever project.

“I think this project will make things worse in all regards,” Propper said, listing air quality, greenhouse gas emissions and habitat preservation as likely to be harmed by the development.
He also noted that California Forever’s footprint is only a bit farther from the city of Sacramento than the city of Lincoln in Placer County. “The Sacramento area has some of the worst air quality in the country, and look at the way the wind blows,” he said.

Click here to read the full article.

Why is this influential Sacramento developer pushing for sprawl south of Highway 50?

Proposal for sprawling development south of Highway 50 is missing key details for Folsom and El Dorado County

By the Sacramento Bee Editorial Board | Monday, April 22, 2024 | The Sacramento Bee

Angelo Tsakopoulos already has an ownership interest in thousands of acres of adjacent ranch land. The 87-year-old father of California Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis is pushing for a 2,800-acre, 8,000-home complex that is not in any existing government-approved growth plan and is beyond Sacramento County’s urban services boundary.

Read more at: https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/article287736515.html#storylink=cpy

In Landmark Climate Ruling, European Court Faults Switzerland

By Isabella Kwai and Emma Bubola | April 9, 2024 | The New York Times

Experts said it was the first time an international court determined that governments were legally obligated to meet their climate targets under human rights law.

…

“It is the first time that an international court has affirmed clearly that a climate crisis is a human rights crisis,” said Joie Chowdhury, a senior lawyer with the Center for International Environmental Law, an international group that voiced its support for KlimaSeniorinnen’s case.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/09/world/europe/climate-human-rights.html