How Climate Activists Failed to make Clear the Problem with Natural Gas
3/13/2018 “…natural gas is not a clean replacement for other fossil fuels. So as natural gas has boomed, U.S. emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, have increased dramatically…[when] you leak more than 2 or 3 percent it’s worse for climate change than coal…Democrats don’t want to hear this — natural gas was their get-out-of-jail-free card. They could get credit for going after climate change without really requiring systemic change…Republicans don’t want to hear it. The Trump Environmental Protection Agency has scrapped even Obama’s modest efforts to plug methane leaks…
We picked the worst possible strategy we could have used to combat climate change…the conversion to natural gas is making things markedly worse because the money that gets spent on this useless transition locks us into burning fossil fuel when, with each passing month, the actual alternatives of sun and wind get cheaper and more available. If we hadn’t discovered fracked natural gas, the effort to deal with climate change would have moved us far more quickly into renewables; instead, we’ve wasted a decade and likely far more, since all those new pipelines and power plants are designed (and financed) to last for 40 or 50 years.”
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Solana Beach blazing energy-alternative trail
Cleaner power at lower rates. Ask the Santee City Council to join the Solana Beach CCA. Solana Beach did the work to start the program and Santee has sunshine. It’s a great match that can speed the transition to cleaner power. Councilman Houlahan supports Community Choice Energy – we need to get 2 more votes.
3/11/2018 “[Solana Beach] often takes the lead on environmental issues…the first city in San Diego County to offer its residents the chance to buy electricity from someone other than San Diego Gas & Electric Co…the city will offer options for customers to upgrade to a 100 percent renewable energy program called SEA Green. Solar panel owners can join the SEA NEM program to get credit for electricity their systems return to the grid through a net metering program.”
Phil Dielh, San Diego Union-Tribune
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Santee Draft Maps for District Elections Available for Public Review
Change in Council Election Cycle Also Being Considered
3/08/2018 “Comments on the draft maps can be sent via letter to the Santee City Clerk’s Office, 10601 Magnolia Ave., Santee, CA 92071 or by email to Deputy City Clerk Sara Real, sreal@cityofsanteeca.gov
The public also may comment in person at the March 14 City Council meeting, when the maps will be presented, or at the March 28 meeting, when the Council is scheduled to vote on the maps.
In addition to setting the boundaries of the proposed council districts, the City Council has the option to change the rotation of council seats.
Under the current rotation, three council seats are up for election in 2018 and one in 2020. Left unchanged, three of the new council election districts must hold elections in November 2018. Once a set of district maps is chosen, the council (based in part on public input) will decide which districts will hold those 2018 elections. The fourth district would then hold a 2020 election.
As part of its move to by-district elections, the city is also considering a change in the council election cycle so that two council seats would stand for election every two years. Under this alternative, two districts would hold elections in November of even-numbered years.
To accommodate this change, one of the three districts up for election in November 2018 would be designated as a one-time, two-year term. The designated two-year seat would then hold an election for a regular four-year Council term starting in 2020, and every four years thereafter.”
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Teenagers Defeat Trump’s Move to Kill Climate Change Lawsuit
3/7/2018 “…teenagers in Oregon alleged…government policies have exacerbated global warming in violation of their rights — and those of future generations — under the U.S. Constitution. They claim that for more than 50 years, the office of the president and eight federal agencies promoted regulations to support the U.S. energy industry’s proliferation of fossil fuels, accounting for a quarter of the world’s carbon emissions. They asked the court to force the government to formulate a formal plan to change course.”
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