Environment

Combat climate change, or clean up the water? Legislators chose to dip into a greenhouse gas fund to fight California’s drinking water problem. The move alarmed environmentalists and legislators on both sides of the aisle — but it could soon become the norm.

As the Capitol passes the halfway point for making new laws this year, the progressive policies that are advancing amount to less of a torrent than a trickle.

For carbon-free transportation, California must cover a lot more ground soon. But by some estimates, electric truck fleets could still be a decade away.

Automakers backed Obama-era rules on car emissions and gas mileage, then asked President Trump to change them. Now the companies fear a long Washington-California court fight.

After efforts to unite the West under a carbon-trading program stalled for nearly a decade, Oregon will decide this month whether it wants to follow in California’s footsteps. This bill would make Oregon the second state after California to rely on the market for emissions reductions throughout the entire economy. Supporters say that expanding the cap-and-trade market to Oregon could increase competition, lower compliance costs, and speed decarbonization of the West. But others worry a failure in Oregon could hurt carbon trading's chances in other states.

California transportation officials warn the fight over passenger vehicle standards might affect air quality, construction jobs, the economy — and ensure Californians stay stuck in traffic.

Mary Nichols, the powerful head of the California Air Resources Board, didn’t even need to explicitly threaten a ban on gas-powered cars last week to get the attention of carmakers. The warning was only in her prepared statements for a workshop with the state Transportation Commission. But the remarks, obtained by Bloomberg, hit headlines and […]

Updated May 30, 2019 Welcome to death watch. The legislative kind. We’ve tracked which bills California lawmakers have rejected as the Legislature hit the half-way point for making new laws for this year.  May 31 is the deadline for bills to pass the house in which they were introduced, a critical hurdle in the legislative […]

Unless the emissions trend is reversed, the state could stall on its route to clean air.

Unless the emissions trend is reversed, the state could stall on its route to clean air.