[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Legislators are balking at the cost of future prison upgrades: $1.2 billion a year. "It borders on the incredible," said SenatorChristine Kehoe (D-San Diego). The projected cost per prison healthcare bed under the plan is $602,000.

Assemblyman Gene Mullin (D-SF) has proposed a bill to protect animal researchers from activists who harass them. AB2296 would allow UC officials to withhold the names of researchers from public documents.

And while some researchers need officials to hide their identities, others get to visit a tropical research "paradise" in the South Pacific. The University of California runs a facility tounderstand the effects of global warming, which surprised somelegislators. An informal hearing about the budget costs of a tropicalparadise may be in the works.

There's more...

Image courtesy Sacbee.com

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Bernadette Del Chiaro and
Jason Barbose
Environment California

In his State of the Union Address tonight, President Bush offered many promises and platitudes on clean energy and global warming, but paltry few policy solutions. The President failed to outline support for key policies that would actually put America on a path to solving global warming and forging a clean energy future.

In five specific areas, the President’s remarks fell short:

First, the President announced his support for renewable technologies. Unfortunately, this is in direct contradiction to his threats to veto legislation last year that would have established a national renewable electricity standard and extended crucial tax incentives for the renewable energy industry. These two policies are critical to insuring the long term growth of renewable energy in this country. In the short term, the President must work with Congress to extend the clean energy tax incentives that expire by the end of this year as soon as possible. He must also voice his support for a national renewable electricity standard.

by David Dayen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

The Temp’s Rising -
Do you live in an Urban Heat Island?
How to turn your ‘urban heat island’ into a ‘cool city’

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

Strength of Public Feeling Likely to Impact Pending Bills, Politics, and AB 32 Implementation by Air Resources Board and Legislation

By Frank D. Russo

The Public Policy Institute of California, a respected nonpartisan polling organization, has just released it's 79th statewide survey that should leave no doubt as to where the California public and voters stand on the environment, particularly their strong support for enforcement of the state's laws on greenhouse gases and air pollutants even if these actions have significant costs. The numbers in some cases just about jump off the pages.

There are a lot of details in this 46 page poll. Here are the highlights:

• 66% of Californians say the effects of global warming have already begun and 77% agree there will be effects within their lifetime with 88% saying it will effect future generations. Only 7% say it will have no effect.

• 82% feel global warming is a very serious or somewhat serious threat to the economy and quality of life in California while 15% don't think it will be serious.

by Julia Rosen [courtesy of Working Californians blogs]

Today, Sen. McCain will deliver a speech in DC, calling for America to wean itself from foreign oil and fight global warming by placing a cap on greenhouse gas emission. NYT:

In the text of a speech he is scheduled to deliver today in Washington, Mr. McCain said: “The problem isn’t a Hollywood invention nor is doing something about it a vanity of Cassandra-like hysterics. It is a serious and urgent economic, environmental and national security challenge.” [snip]

“The world is already feeling the powerful effects of global warming,” the text of the speech set for today said, “and far more dire consequences are predicted if we let the growing deluge of greenhouse gas emissions continue, and wreak havoc with God’s creation.”

read more »