Hi Janice,

On January 12, the California Public Utilities Commission approved the
Environment California-sponsored California Solar Initiative,
committing a combined $3.2 billion in incentive funds to drive consumers toward
solar power over the next 11 years.

The initiative is the largest boost to solar power in the country, but
to successfully build a million soar roofs in California the
Legislature needs to complete the program by passing The California Solar Roofs
bill (SB 1, Sen. Kevin Murray, and Los Angeles).

Help us pass a strong bill and fulfill the vision of a million solar
roofs in California by urging your assemblymember to vote YES on SB 1.
Then ask all of your friends and family to do the same by forwarding
this e-mail to them.

To take action click on the link below or paste it into your Web
browser:

http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/action/energy/solarbill?id4=ES

Background

With oil at $70 a barrel, gasoline at $3.00 a gallon and the price of
electricity on the rise, the economic value of shifting to renewable,
homegrown energy has never been greater. And, with the threat of global
warming looming, not to mention our perennial summer-time battle with
smog fast approaching, there’s no better time to tap into California’s
abundant sunshine to generate clean, pollution-free electricity.

It is for these very compelling reasons that California’s policy makers
have begun to put in place a series of policies needed to make solar
power a mainstream and affordable energy resource. By tapping into the
state’s powerful consumer market, California can take what is currently a
boutique and expensive technology and create economies of scale by
putting the power of the sun into the hands of everyday Californians. Doing
so will bring more jobs, cleaner air and greater energy independence
for all of us to enjoy.

Three years ago, Environment California launched a first-in-the-nation
campaign to change the way people thought about solar power. We wanted
people to no longer think about solar as an expensive technology for a
backwoods cabin or Malibu mansion but rather see its potential for
becoming as cost-effective and commonplace as double paned windows.

Over these past three years, we’ve worked with state Senator Kevin
Murray (D-Los Angeles), Governor Schwarzenegger and other state leaders on
a series of bills aimed at building new homes with solar panels, giving
consumers and businesses the financial incentives they need to invest
in solar power, and ultimately, growing California’s solar market to the
point where economies of scale can be reached and prices can drop.

Three years later, we won a major victory when the California Public
Utilities Commission adopted the California Solar Initiative on January
12, 2006. Mirroring legislation authored by Senator Murray and sponsored
by Environment California, the California Solar Initiative created the
nation’s biggest program to build a million solar roofs in ten years.

Specifically, the Initiative created a $3.2 billion fund for consumer
rebates to lower the cost of solar and grow the market. The goal of the
Initiative is to install 3,000 MW of solar power–the equivalent of six
giant power plants- on a million rooftops throughout the state.
Achieving such a goal would grow California’s solar market 30-fold, lowering
the cost along the way, and ultimately phasing out subsidies altogether.

As historic as this PUC program is, more work needs to be done to
realize the vision of building a million solar roofs. Specifically, there
are a handful of policies that only the state legislature can put in
place. These policies are contained in the California Solar Roofs bill, SB
1, up for a final vote in the weeks ahead.

Many will remember the Million Solar Roofs bill, SB 1 (Murray/Campbell)
of 2005. In its simplest form, the Million Solar Roofs bill sought to
build 3,000 MW of solar panels on a million homes, businesses, farms,
schools, etc., throughout the state over the next ten years. To
accomplish this visionary goal, the bill would have established several key
policies:

1.Order the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to create a multi-year,
multi-billion rebate fund to help lower the cost of solar and grow the
market.
2.Mandate that all new homebuilders offer solar panels just like marble
countertops.
3.Lift the statewide cap on net metering – the policy that allows an
owner of a solar system to get a credit on their electric bill for any
excess energy generated by their solar panels – so that new customers
could benefit from this policy.
4.Require the state’s municipal utilities to set up their own Million
Solar Roofs programs locally.

Unfortunately, despite broad, bipartisan support for the bill, SB 1 ran
aground in the final hours of last year’s legislative session.
Environment California and our allies were forced to seek one of the four goals
of SB 1 administratively, through the PUC.

On January 12, 2006, the PUC adopted the nation’s largest solar
program, creating a $3.2 billion fund over the next ten years to help drive a
million consumers toward solar power and create a self-sufficient,
mainstream solar market in ten years.

The PUC’s program, called the California Solar Initiative, is a
gigantic step in the right direction. Now, to fully realize a million solar
roofs in California, we are working to pass the last three critical
pieces of the original Million Solar Roofs legislation: mandate on new
homes, net metering and municipal participation.

Environment California is teaming up with Senator Murray again this
year to pass a version of SB 1, now called the California Solar Roofs
bill, which includes these three pieces. Help us pass a strong bill and
fulfill the vision of a million solar roofs in California by urging your
assemblymember to vote YES on SB 1. Then ask all of your friends and
family to do the same by forwarding this e-mail to them.

To take action click on the link below or paste it into your Web
browser:

http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/action/energy/solarbill?id4=ES

Sincerely,

Dan Jacobson
Environment California Legislative Director
DanJ@environmentcalifornia.org
http://www.EnvironmentCalifornia.org

P.S. Thanks again for your support. Please feel free to share this
e-mail with your family and friends.

———-

I set up a link to a sight that has photos and texts about the San Fransico Earth quake, and the fire that came just after.

My husband took our daughter to her doctor’s on Monday, and he said “she had the flu alright and the one going around that’s really bad! He also said that “two of (his) nieces had come with it and one of them had to be hospitalized. The niece was hospitalized because her tempture had gotten too dangerously high. When my husband told him I had gotten it too, the doctor ran his hand over his face and said “yeah, it’s really going around.”

And he also said (my daughter) “can’t go back to school until he gives her another exam to clear her of the flu.” My husband is going to take her back tomorrow and then on Monday she will probably be allowed back to school.

My daughter and I haven’t left the house all week, just my husband who has been leaving going to work and running errands for us when he comes home. And I’m finally feeling better today so I’m starting to feel isolated, it’s not quite cabin fever yet but maybe I’ll have that tomorrow.

Ah, something to look forward to cabin fever!

Hi Janice,

For over three years, the Bush administration has been undermining the
Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which protects 58.5 million acres of
wild forests around America, 4.4 million acres here in California.

To ensure our forests continue to provide clean drinking water, habitat
for wildlife and endless opportunities for recreation and solitude we
must convince Gov. Schwarzenegger to fight for 100 percent protection of
California’s last wild forests. Follow the link below to e-mail the
governor, and then ask your friends and family to do the same.

To take action follow this link or paste it into your Web browser.

http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/action/preservation/wildforests

Background

Enacted in January 2001, the Roadless Rule protects the last third of
America’s national forests while allowing new road construction in order
to fight fires, ensure public safety, and allow brush clearing to
protect forest health. The Roadless Rule ensures that forests will continue
to provide clean drinking water, habitat for wildlife and endless
opportunities for recreation and solitude.

On July 12, 2004 the Bush administration announced its proposal to
repeal the Roadless rule and replace it with a process that allows
governors to petition for more or less protection for roadless areas in their
states.

The Bush administration scheduled a 60-day comment period on their
plan. During the comment period, the administration received more than 1.4
million comments in opposition to its proposal. About a dozen governors
spoke out in opposition to the proposal, as did many members of
Congress.
Despite the public support, President Bush repealed the Roadless Rule
in May 2005. Since then Gov. Schwarzenegger has made several public
promises to protect 100 percent of our wild forests in California. Time is
running out for him to fulfill this promise.

Help spur the governor to action. Ask him to protect our last
remaining wild forests. Follow the link below or paste it into your web
browser.

http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/action/preservation/wildforests

Sincerely,
Dan Jacobson
Environment California Legislative Director
DanJ@environmentcalifornia.org
http://www.EnvironmentCalifornia.org

P.S. Thanks again for your support. Please feel free to share this
e-mail with your family and friends.

———-

Hi Janice,

Soot pollution is the nation’s deadliest air pollutant, and affects
communities across California. Over the past few weeks, over 4,000
Environment California activists have asked the EPA to strengthen standards
for soot pollution. Dozens more will testify at the air quality hearings
being held in San Francisco next week.

Now, I hope you will take one more step and write a letter to your
local paper about soot pollution and the Bush administration’s efforts to
role back current standards. We need the EPA and the media to pay
attention to this important clean air issue. Please ask your family and
friends to do the same by forwarding this email to them.

To submit a letter and get tips on how to write one, click on this link
or paste it to your web browser:

http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/action/clean-air/lte-soot

Background:

Particle or soot pollution is made up of tiny particles, called “fine”
particles, and slightly larger ones, called “coarse” particles, that
are both dangerous and pervasive. Because of their size, these particles
can bypass the body’s natural defenses, such as coughing and sneezing,
and lodge deep within the lungs or even pass into the bloodstream,
causing serious respiratory and cardiovascular problems, such as asthma
attacks, heart attacks, and lung cancer. In fact, particle pollution is
so dangerous that it cuts short the lives of tens of thousands of
Americans each year. Power plants and diesel engines are the largest source
of particle pollution. In some parts of the country, agriculture and
mining contribute to serious local coarse particle problems.

Under the Clean Air Act, the administration must set air quality
standards at levels that protect public health and review these standards
every five years, and update them as needed. For fine particle pollution,
there are two standards: an “annual” standard based on how much fine
particle pollution is safe to breathe on a regular, everyday basis and a
“24-hour” standard based on how much fine particle pollution is safe to
breathe on any one day.

In the last several years, study after study has confirmed the damaging
health effects of particles, even at levels well below the current
annual and 24-hour standards. In 2005, both the administration’s
independent science advisors on clean air issues and the EPA’s staff scientists
concluded that adverse health effects occur at levels well below the
current fine particle standards. As a result, they recommended that the
administration strengthen the standards to protect public health.

In December, however, the Bush administration rejected these
recommendations and proposed fine particle standards that would largely maintain
the status quo, as requested by electric utility lobbyists and other
special interests. Specifically, the administration rejected lowering
the annual standard and proposed only a token reduction in the daily
standard that will have little impact on public health. It is
unprecedented for an administration to disregard the recommendations of its
independent clean air science advisors.

Air quality standards are the foundation for reducing air pollution
nationwide, so the decision on the fine particle standards is one of the
most important decisions this administration will make on air pollution.
Yet, once again, the Bush administration has chosen to favor polluters
over public health and to put politics above science and the law.

In January, the Bush administration opened a public comment period on
the proposal and over 4,000 Environment California activists have
already commented in favor of stronger soot pollution standards. Dozens more
will testify at air quality hearings in San Francisco next week.

Now, I hope you will take one more step and write a letter to your
local paper about soot pollution and the Bush Administrations efforts to
role back current standards. We need the public and the media to pay
attention to this important clean air issue.

To submit a letter and get tips on how to write one, click on this link
or paste it to your web browser:

http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/action/clean-air/lte-soot

Sincerely,
Dan Jacobson
Environment California Legislative Director
DanJ@environmentcalifornia.org
http://www.EnvironmentCalifornia.org

P.S. Thanks again for your support. Please feel free to share this
e-mail with your family and friends.

———-

I got this from Granny(Ann) it was a tag meme and Ann threw it open for anyone to play. Anyone else want to take a crack at it?

1: Black and White or Color; how do you prefer your movies?
I grew up a with black and white TV , and I’m totally use to gray scale, so much so that color on the old movies just seem weird!

2: What is the 1 single subject that bores you to near-death?
On TV it would be bowling, tennis, or worse golf.

3: MP3s, CD’s, Tapes or Records: what is your favorite medium for prerecorded music?
I love CD’s, I think they are the greatest medium ever! The side of small Frisbee and all the music of a old fashion LP.

4: You are handed one 1st class trip plane ticket to anywhere in the world and $10 million cash. All of this is yours provided that you leave and not tell anyone where you are going. Ever. This includes family, friends, everyone. Would you take the money and ticket and run?
Um, no. But now and again I do have those days. H-mm? Naw, I’ll just save that one for my very active fantasy life, that my life would be oh so dull with out.

5: Seriously, what do you consider the world’s most pressing issue now?
Do I have to chose just one? But there are so many; Bigotryry, greed, neglect, child abuse, elder abuse, hatred, envy, murder, rape the list is just too long!

6: How would you rectify the world’s most pressing issue?
Who me? Look, you can only affect those you things that you have some influence over. I do my best but mostly I pray a lot! And I send in a few e-mails every now and then.

7: You are given the chance to go back and change 1 thing in your life; what would that be?
One thing? Only one? But there just too many things! Mostly I think I just be braverier sooner.

8: You are given the chance to go back and change 1 event in world history, what would that be?
I’m copying Ann’s, who copied Julian’s, who copied Tina’s because it’s darn good: “I would render Barbara and George H. Walker Bush infertile.” Then I’ll add Hitler’s mom and dad, then Atilla the Hun, then Stalinlen, and Paris Hilton because she just annoys the crap out of me.

9: A night at the opera, or a night at the Grand Ole Opry Which do you choose?
What a choice? Opera.

10: What is the 1 great unsolved crime of all time you’d like to solve?
Jack the Ripper, who I have always been fascinated by.

11: One famous author can come to dinner with you. Who would that be, and what would you serve for the meal?
Pat Hodgell because she is my favoite author, and I serve h-mm, baked chicken and a mess of veggies and almond fried rice. Mostly because I have fixed that meal so long I can do it blind folded, and I wouldn’t want to miss a single moment with Pat.

12: You discover that John Lennon was right, that there is no hell below us, and above us there is only sky what’s the 1st immoral thing you might do to celebrate this fact?
Immoral–ME? Never!

Hi Janice,

Last week U.S. Rep. Hilda Solis (El Monte) introduced legislation that
would protect people from dangerous toxic chemicals.

The bill would allow the U.S. to take part in an international treaty
to phase out the most harmful chemicals linked to birth defects and
learning disabilities. The bill would also protect California’s right to
pass stronger protections against toxic chemicals if the federal
government fails to act.

Please take a moment to ask your representative to show strong
California leadership and cosponsor this bill. Then ask your friends and family
to help by forwarding this email to them.

To take action, click on this link or paste it into your web browser:

http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/action/enviro-health/chemicals

BACKGROUND

U.S. Rep. Hilda Solis (El Monte) has taken an important step in
protecting people’s health worldwide from some of the most harmful toxic
chemicals by introducing H.R. 4800.

This bill would allow the United States to implement an international
treaty, the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants
(POPs), which is aimed at eliminating or restricting a small number of the
most dangerous contaminants. POPs are toxic chemicals that build up in
our bodies and persist in the environment for a long time. Many POPs
may cause developmental problems like learning disabilities and birth
defects.

The bill includes three main provisions:
* Requires the Environmental Protection Agency to decide whether or not
to regulate new chemicals added to the treaty in a timely fashion;
* Does not prohibit states from further protecting their citizens from
dangerous toxics when the EPA fails to act; and
* Uses a health-based scientific standard when making decisions about
regulating chemicals added to the treaty.

Other proposals on the table fail to do these three simple things.
Showing strong California support on Congresswoman Solis’ bill will help
the legislation move forward to further protect public health from toxic
chemicals.

Most recently, Environment California led the successful fight to ban
toxic flame retardants from consumer products like couches and fabrics.
California was the first state to act on this issue and set an
important precedent.

Please take a moment to ask your representative to show strong
California leadership and cosponsor this bill. Then ask your friends and family
to help by forwarding this email to them.

To take action, click on this link or paste it into your web browser:

http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/action/enviro-health/chemicals

Dan Jacobson
Environment California Legislative Director
DanJ@environmentcalifornia.org
http://www.EnvironmentCalifornia.org

P.S. Thanks again for your support. Please feel free to share this
e-mail with your family and friends.

———-

As our dependence on natural gas drives up winter energy bills 40 to 70 percent, what will happen with our Million Solar Roofs campaign?

In addition to reducing global warming pollution, a million solar roofs mean 3,000 MW of energy, the equivalent of six giant power plants. This investment will ease demand for limited fossil fuels, hedge against higher prices and bring economic benefits to all.

So, after the Million Solar Roofs Bill, SB 1, failed to pass the Legislature in September, what can we expect of this important initiative in the coming year?

On January 12, 2006, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is expected to approve a landmark 10-year, $3.2 billion incentive program for homes, businesses, farms and schools to go solar. This giant pot of money, called the California Solar Initiative (CSI), is the core of SB 1 and aims to drive down costs by driving up demand.

When the Legislature reconvenes in 2006, the remaining policy elements of SB 1 still await approval by the Assembly. These policies will play a key supporting role to the CSI and include the requirements that solar become a standard option on all new homes and that utility companies give a million new solar customers a credit on their electric bill for excess solar power.

In light of rising energy prices and continued air pollution problems, we look forward to working with both the CPUC and the Assembly to enable California to quickly get on track to building a million solar roofs, lowering the cost of solar, and putting the power of the sun in the hands of everyday Californians.

—————————————————————-

City of Roseville to go solar (My uncle Bruce lives there)

On November 2nd, the City of Roseville, just east of Sacramento, approved a first-ever program aimed at building 20 percent of new homes with solar panels. The program will aim to build up to 4,000 solar homes in 10 years and is expected to be finalized in June 2006.

“As far as we know, this is a California first,” said Bernadette Del Chiaro, Environment California’s clean energy advocate. “As rising natural gas prices hit home this winter, this is the kind of solution-oriented policy making urgently needed.”

Roseville is one of the fastest growing cities in the region, expecting to add 20,000 new homes in the next ten years. Growth will bring increased energy demands.

According to the proposal, a BEST Home would save homeowners more than $100 per year after modest rebates and with energy efficiency features. The city and ratepayers would benefit from reduced pressure to build fossil fuel power plants.

“Solar homes are a win-win for everyone,” said Del Chiaro. “We applaud Roseville’s leadership.”

Clean Energy Advocate Bernadette Del Chiaro.

——————————————————————————–