EVs and certain other zero-emission vehicles that run on hydrogen fuel cells and compressed natural gas are already eligible to drive in carpool lanes even when they only have one passenger, as long as they get a special sticker from the state. The program used to be even bigger, including hybrid cars like the Toyota Prius, but after successfully encouraging mass adoption of hybrids, that part of program expired. Now the state legislature is focused on encouraging consumers to buy even lower-emission cars.

Assembly Bill 2405, authored by Assemblyman Bob Blumenfield from Los Angeles, would allow every car that currently qualifies for carpool lanes to also avoid tolls. In some cases, the roads are both carpool and toll lanes, and in others, roads that are purely toll lanes would be affected. Critics in the government have argued that EV drivers should have to pay tolls, because the tolls are an important part of paying for some new roads.

Some have also argued that letting a single EV driver ride in a carpool lane actually encourages pollution, because the situation leads to more congestion on the road overall. That was a common argument made against allowing hybrid cars in carpool lanes, too. But a fascinating new study last year found that the opposite was actually true: When hybrid cars were banned from carpool lanes, congestion increased. The carpool lane became 15 percent slower. Researchers speculated that the reason was safety concerns — as regular lanes became more crowded, carpool drivers slowed to make passing in and out of the lane safer.

Just as carpool lane exemptions helped get hybrids on the road, the same can be done with electric cars. Exempting EVs from tolls is an extra push, and a good idea.

Main image: Model S by Tesla

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Commonly regarded as a leader in green legislation, California has long been a pioneer in environmentally friendly policies. In keeping with that record, state Sen. Lois Wolk (D) put forward Senate Bill 843, which would allow residents to participate in “distributed energy,” a framework through which, for example, solar panels on a parking garage provide electricity to a nearby apartment building. Under the proposed bill – which had broad support from the Department of Defense, businesses, schools and nonprofits – customers of the big three California investor-owned utilities, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), Southern California Edison (SCE), and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), could “subscribe” to energy installations within their territories. No state funds would be used, but the program would create up to 2 GW of renewable energy, 12,000 jobs, $230 million in state sales tax, and $7.5 billion of economic activity. Sounds like a giant win for everyone right?

It would have been, if the utility triumvirate hadn’t stepped in and squashed it. Big Energy’s influence goes far – all the way into the Assembly Committee on Utilities and Commerce. Sen. Wolk put it this way: “PG&E and Southern California Edison control the committee … the coalition of support behind this measure was simply no match for the high paid lobbyists and the campaign contributions of these monopoly corporations.”

The utilities claim their objection was in the interest of the customers and keeping their bills low, but given their history of raising the prices themselves, that seems a bit disingenuous. Grist’s David Roberts lays the blame elsewhere. First, he says, the power distributed in these models wouldn’t have counted toward the utilities’ renewable energy requirements under California law. Second, he says the program would have cut utilities position as middlemen, which threatens the entire utility model.

Main photo credit: Shutterstock

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The center has promised to plant twice as many trees along the parade route after the shuttle’s two-day procession in mid-October, but that’s not enough to appease some local residents who say replacing mature trees with saplings is not an even trade. They argue that young trees will decrease property values — which is not unfounded, as tree-heavy areas are often wealthier neighborhoods — as well as not provide ample shade.

Younger, actively growing trees actually produce more oxygen than more mature trees, scientists say. But mature trees absorb much more carbon dioxide than saplings, making them an important participant in the fight against air pollution.

Engineers charged with mapping a route from LAX airport to the California Science Center originally considered airlifting the shuttle to its final destination. They were forced to give up on that idea because the shuttle weighs too much for a helicopter to handle, and dismantling the shuttle was ruled out of the question because it would damage the heat sensors affixed to the body of the craft.

One shorter street route was planned along Leimert Boulevard, but residents strongly opposed it, as that route would have required removal of many trees planted in honor of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

The current plan has already gone underway, with crews chopping down pines and ficus in Inglewood. Some Inglewood officials are pleased to see the trees go, as the sidewalks will be repaired at no cost to the city and new, less problematic trees will line the streets. California Science Center officials and some community leaders also say the tree chopping is a fair price to pay to own a piece of American history.

Featured photo credit: Shutterstock.com

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“The earlier it’s caught and supportive care is given, the better the survival rate,” said Dr. Vicki Kramer, chief of vector-borne diseases at the state Public Health Department.  FYI: Early flu-like symptoms include headache, coughing, fever, muscle ache, and shortness of breath.  Symptoms may take up to 60 days to manifest after exposure.

The disease is carried in the excrement and saliva of mice and other rodents. The cabins involved have a double-walled design conducive to mice nesting.  Officials have closed 91 tent cabins in the village and the California Department of Public Health spokeswoman, Anita Gore, said it is possible that one of the infected people visited other parts of the park.

The outbreak occurred despite the park’s efforts in April to increase protection, which were initiated after a state report showed 18 percent of mice trapped in Yosemite were positive for hantavirus.

Featured image via Shutterstock

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Called the trogloraptor, the creature is a large, cave-dwelling spider with primitive features and long, claw-like legs it likely uses to pin down its prey, according to a report published in the journal ZooKeys. Its name literally means “cave robber.” The spiders were only found hanging from cave roofs by a few strands of silk.

The spider is unique in that it has a breathing apparatus unlike any other breed of spider known to man.

“It’s very unusual for anywhere, in all of life, to walk out in the woods, pick up something, look at it, and say, ‘Bam, this is a new family of life on Earth,’” Jonathan Coddington, associate director for science at the Smithsonian Institution, told PBS. ”That isn’t just among spiders. It almost never happens.”

The spider was first brought to the attention of researcher Charles Griswold by a group of citizen scientists from the Western Cave Conservancy, the news organization reports. Griswold spent 18 months studying the mystery spider before determining it was an undiscovered breed.

Though various attempts were made to study the predatory and mating habits of trogloraptor, the researchers were unable to determine much about the species’ lifestyle. Numerous unsuccessful attempts to feed the spider may indicate a prey preference that was not offered.

Featured photo credit: Charles E. Griswold, Tracy Audisio, Joel M. Ledford/ZooKeys

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In 2003, California set a target for 20 percent of the energy produced in the state to be from renewable sources. On Tuesday, regulators announced that the goal had been met. In 2011, California’s three big utility companies, Pacific Gas & Electric, San Diego Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison, collectively sourced 20.6 percent of their energy from solar, wind and other renewable power generators. According to the report, the state expects 2012 numbers to surpass those of 2011.

And the state has plans to celebrate by continuing its efforts. California has added 2,871 megawatts since 2003 and looks to add another 2,800 megawatts this year alone. These additions will help the state meet its next goal: 33 percent renewable energy in 2020.

We at Revmodo congratulate California on reaching its goal. We look forward to seeing more states make similar accomplishments.

Main image credit: Geograph

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With help from the Environmental Protection Agency, a San Diego-based environmental group has developed a mobile app that will help citizens become more aware of local waterway health, and encourage involvement in conservation and cleanup efforts.

The Riverview app, developed by the EPA and Below the Surface, creates the equivalent of Google’s Street View function for the nation’s major rivers. The app allows the public to share photos about waterways using social media technology.

“Empowering and engaging citizens is absolutely essential to clean water in this country, and the Riverview app is a fantastic tool for spurring grass-roots stewardship of our rivers, lakes and coastal waters,” Nancy Stoner, a top EPA water official, said in a statement.

To demonstrate how important direct contact with waterways is to spurring conservation efforts, and to raise awareness for the launch of the Riverview app, clean water advocates from Below the Surface and Orange County’s Paddle with a Purpose recently completed a weeklong, 70-mile trip down the San Diego coastline. The “Trestles to TJ” tour started near the border of San Diego and Orange counties, and it finished near the mouth of the Tijuana River in South County.

It’s not yet clear whether the Riverview app will be compatible on all device platforms or where to download it, but we’ll let you know when we find out.

Photo credit: hermanturnip/Flickr

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As reported by Reuters, a total of 17 zones, encompassing nearly 285,000 acres of government-owned land in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah, will now be available for large-scale solar power generation facilities through the Solar Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement plan. The Department of Energy as well as the Department of the Interior and Bureau of Land Management will be able to fast track the development and construction of such power plants, with the goal of generating 23,700 MW of power from the 17 zones – enough to power 7 million American homes.

Solar technologies approved for development in the plan include concentrated solar power, parabolic trough, power tower, and flat-plate photovoltaic systems, and in considering the locales for the solar zones, the DOE used three main criteria: abundance of sunlight, proximity to transmission lines, and environmental impact.

With a careful eye on previously noted environmental concerns, the administration picked specific zones to minimize damage to the land and surrounding areas. Environmentalists have been protesting the development of rural southwestern areas for solar power generation for years, and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar worked to keep their concerns in mind when developing the plan. This includes blocking 78 million acres of land from development due to environmental and cultural sensitivities. The plan “maps out where it makes sense to develop solar energy and just as importantly, it also maps out where doesn’t make sense to develop solar energy,” said Salazar. “The blue print guides the development away from important environmental and cultural resources.”

In addition to the 285,000 acres the government is making available for fast tracking, it also identified 19 million acres in the southwest where solar system installations would be allowed with additional studies and permits.

The Solar Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement is open for public comment for the next 30 days. After its closing, Secretary Salazar will decide whether or not to approve it.

Image Credit: FlyingSinger/Flickr

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A new distributed energy project at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, Calif., uses power generated on site from fuel cells, solar panels, wind turbines and diesel generators to form a “microgrid” that can keep power going when storms disrupt power from the main grid, according to MIT’s Technology Review, which published a story on the system. Unlike a regular emergency backup system, which represents an added expense, the microgrid also saves the jail about $100,000 a year.

Coordinating power from intermittent sources like wind and sun, while also determining when to power up other sources or pull electricity from the main grid, requires the microgrid to do a lot of thinking. Among other things, it needs to adjust the frequency and voltage of power from various sources, adapt to sudden changes in the amount of energy the system is generating and communicate with the main grid so that it can send more power to the utility when it’s experiencing high demand from other sources. The system can also adjust the amount of power being used by the jail, for example decreasing the use of air-conditioning, when the main grid has a demand spike.

Microgrids are gaining attention from businesses — like jails — that can’t risk a blackout, as well as from remote locations that can’t access the grid. But as their cost decreases, they may become more attractive elsewhere as well.

Technologies used in microgrids also translate to larger-scale settings as utilities adopt smart grid technologies to integrate distributed generation sources and adapt to rising, volatile demand. Technological advances, including “smart batteries” that communicate with the grid and smart meters that are already installed in many homes, are making deeply integrated systems using a variety of power sources increasingly common.

Main photo credit: Alameda County

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The company’s dossier includes over 60 wine brands made with grapes from California vineyards, including Beringer Vineyards, Etude and Stags’ Leap Winery, and all are now certified as 100 percent “sustainable.” The certification is provided by the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance and the Sustainability in Practice program.

To meet the standards set by these organizations, TWE’s California vineyards have adopted practices to conserve energy and water, protect wildlife and habitats, protect natural resources, create equitable and safe work environments, and practice sustainable agriculture. Each vineyard implements different practices to meet the standards and their needs, ranging from installing solar panels to meet energy needs and using clean fuel to provide frost protection.

“At Treasury Wine Estates, sustainability is integral to our company culture and long-term success,” said Michael Kluczko, senior vice president of Americas Supply. “We have a long-running commitment to embedding sustainability throughout every part of our business. Today’s announcement is affirmation of our sustainable farming practices and specifically to the actions our supply and viticulture teams have taken over the last three years to achieve this recognition. We rely on the environment to grow our grapes and to make our wine. It’s our responsibility to look after it.”

TWE’s California vineyards are not its first sustainably certified operations. The company’s Australian labels meet the standards of the country’s Entwine program, and in New Zealand, its brands are certified by the Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand program.

Main photo credit: Anne Pollitt/Geograph.org

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