By Yousef Baig
Building the connector would shift development patterns in a way that could ensure a future Sacramento in which cars are the only viable mode of transportation.
Category Archives: News
What My Family and I Saw When We Were Trapped in China’s Heat Wave, NY Times, Sept 9, 2022
By Matthew Bossons, managing editor of Radii, a Shanghai-based online publication focused on Chinese youth culture
“But the heat wave that baked China for weeks was startling in its scale, duration and intensity. Through July and August, it shattered temperature records, dried up rivers, withered crops, sparked wildfires and caused deaths from heatstroke. It may have been the most severe heat wave ever recorded. And it laid bare frightening realities about how humanity is expected to adapt.”
‘Our state is on fire.’ Calls from protesters, youth for more environmental action in CA, Sacramento Bee, August 13, 2022
Activists, many young and from around the state, called for Gov. Gavin Newsom to phase out fossil fuels in California, among other climate initiatives, during the People’s Climate Protest on Saturday, Aug. 13, 2022, at the Capitol in Sacramento.
Watch the video at: https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article264489976.html#storylink=cpy
Carbon fee & dividend in action: Canadians now get quarterly checks, Citizens’ Climate Lobby, July 27, 2022
From the Citizens’ Climate Lobby July 27, 2022 Weekly Briefing:
Good news: Our neighbors to the north are perfecting their carbon fee and dividend policy! As of this month, Canadians have begun receiving their first quarterly dividend checks from the country’s carbon fee. Before now, Canadians received a rebate on their annual taxes. Moving forward, they will receive direct cash payments.
“The first payment will include the first two quarters of the year,” the Global News reported. “Single adults will receive $269.50. A family of four can expect to receive $539.50.” The next quarterly dividend checks, officially called “Climate Action Incentive” payments, will be sent in October and January.
The Sudbury Star spoke with Citizens’ Climate’s own Cathy Orlando, who said, “Receiving checks from pollution pricing is literally a dream come true. I want to take this moment to thank all the unsung heroes who made this happen in Canada.”
Many of those unsung heroes are CCL volunteers, who have worked for years to help bring about this day. Canada first announced its plan for a nationwide carbon fee and dividend in 2016, and the policy went into effect in 2019. Canada announced the move to quarterly dividends in Jan. 2021, and our volunteers were crucial in making that happen.
New building codes include climate change mandates, Sacramento Business Journal, July 17, 2022
Starting in January, most new commercial construction in California will be required to install some solar generation and battery storage, along with heat pump technology, as the state moves toward its zero-carbon goals.
The new 2022 building standards mandate, approved by the California Energy Commission, adds to the renewable solar mandate that went into effect in January 2020 for all new single-family residential construction.
Transportation measure comes under fire in some circles, Sacramento Business Journal, July 15, 2022
This fall, Sacramento County voters will weigh in on a sales tax measure with a cornucopia of proposed boosting for local transportation: road fixes, transit improvements and more.
One proposed use of measure proceeds, though, has drawn criticism in some corners, including from a regional transportation planning agency. About 11.5% of all annual tax revenues would be allocated to Caltrans for state highway improvements and to the Capital Southeast Joint Powers Authority for the Capital Southeast Connector project.
To groups like the Environmental Council of Sacramento, the latter project is out of line with smart growth.
“We feel it’s inducing sprawl and vehicle miles traveled,” said Ralph Propper, a past president of ECOS and chair of its climate change committee. “It wouldn’t meet state mandates.”
