California

California this week put in place the toughest restrictions in the world on smog from ships, requiring reductions of more than 80 percent of soot from foreign and US ships out to 24 miles from shore. Tankers, cargo vessels and cruise ships burn bunker fuel, which has sulfur content as much as 1,000 times higher than on-road diesel. The US is moving forward to copy California's rules by 2015. Paul Rogers reports in the San Jose Mercury News.

"Los Angeles will eliminate the use of electricity made from coal by 2020, replacing it with power from cleaner renewable energy sources, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said."

"A judge has ordered Chevron Corp. to stop work on its controversial oil refinery expansion in Richmond, [Calif.], handing environmentalists their biggest victory in a long fight over the project."

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday a proposed settlement of a lawsuit that could result in scrutiny of how dozens of dangerous pesticides affect threatened and endangered species living around San Francisco Bay."

"California officials said Wednesday they are trying to avert the federal government's threat to seize six parks that could be closed to help reduce the state's ballooning budget deficit."

"A plan to cap a vast, long-neglected deposit of the pesticide DDT on the ocean floor off Southern California got its first public airing Tuesday."

"A handful of San Joaquin Valley cities and public agencies have used millions of dollars meant for filtering contaminated water for entirely unrelated purposes."

Experts say the Joshua trees in Joshua Tree National Park may be vaninishing as a result of global warming, pollution, and the introduction of non-native species.

"By the middle of next year, the nine campuses that make up the nation's largest community college system plan to be completely energy self-sufficient. It's a huge step, and it will begin saving money immediately."

"As their attorneys shuffle between four similar lawsuits that allege the Walt Disney Co. has for decades contaminated groundwater with cancer-causing chromium 6 and other toxic chemicals, stories of ill health from the plaintiffs are beginning to emerge."