SFGate: The Thin Green Line

Dispatches from the environmental battlefield.

Texas faces familiar smart meter woes 11 Mar 2010, 2:33 pm

As a former Texas resident, I can tell you Texas and California don’t have much in common. They have breakfast tacos ; we have burritos. They have no regulations or consumer protections; we have a couple. But when Texas utility Oncor began installing smart meters in Central Texas homes, the…

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Google Map your bike ride 10 Mar 2010, 10:36 pm

Believe it or not, bike routes are the additional feature most people request on Google Maps. And, starting today , people in 150 cities — including San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose and Mountain View — can get them . The routes will factor in bike lanes, bike-friendly streets and…

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The truth and the lies about the campaign to kill AB 32 9 Mar 2010, 8:56 pm

A new study by a non-partisan legislative analyst says that full implementation of California’s groundbreaking climate law, AB 32, will likely cause modest job losses. Anti-environmentalists will almost certainly take the finding as a vindication, but that would be overstating the point. Yes,…

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‘This is why you’re fat’ 9 Mar 2010, 3:07 pm

I’ll admit it, this post is a lame attempt to string together two really cool nuggets of information. By looking at food through energy and subsidy dollars, they both offer some insight on why we grow and eat what we do, despite its obvious tendency to make us obese. First, from The Oil Drum ,…

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Deli’s efforts to go green stir up controversy 8 Mar 2010, 3:29 pm

Put a California native and a one-time Chez Panisse chef in charge of a Jewish deli in Berkeley’s Gourmet Ghetto, and it’s inevitable that the deli will make some efforts at sustainability. Saul’s owners Karen Adelman and Peter Levitt have been gradually greening the deli’s menu since they…

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How to fix Muni: Two views 6 Mar 2010, 2:55 pm

The San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association recently wrote a letter for SFMTA Executive Director Nathaniel Ford with a road map on how to fix Muni’s budget — without service cuts or fare hikes. With such a small gesture, SPUR has ended one of the most frustrating aspects of…

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Bike advocates express knee-jerk ‘concerns’ about cellphone ban 5 Mar 2010, 8:25 pm

When I see a cyclist chatting on a cell phone, or better yet, texting while riding hands-free, one word springs to mind: Suicide. But it’s not hard to spot cyclists barreling down Valencia Street, phone in hand. And it’s certainly not hard to spot automobile drivers using their phones,…

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Why Congress can’t get anything done 3 Mar 2010, 4:12 pm

UPDATE : An argument so solid it needs no words: With the recent resignation of Evan Bayh and last week’s televised health reform summit, it may finally be acceptable to tell some basic truths about politics in Washington. Yes, the Democrats are kind of wimps, who seem unsure about their…

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SFPD to end Critical Mass? 2 Mar 2010, 7:57 pm

SFPD’s new chief, George Gascon, is reportedly considering putting an end to Critical Mass, the group cycling event that occurs the last Friday of every month. Participants have, on rare occasions, engaged in vandalism of cars — but those incidents don’t compare in number with those…

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Prop 16: Worst ballot measure ever 1 Mar 2010, 7:29 pm

Word about Prop 16 , which will appear on the June ballot, is beginning to get out. The measure would amend the state constitution — which requires just a 50 percent vote plus one — to require municipalities to garner a two-thirds vote in order to replace their private utility…

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