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REGULATION
Environmental, copyright and labor advocates bristle at the looser rules meant to help companies through the economic downturn.
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New York: Low-flying photo shoot will be investigated / New Jersey: 3 sentenced in Ft. Dix case / North Carolina: Cancer report disavowed / Washington, D.C.: Wildlife rules back in effect >>
The Kern County city replaced Los Angeles in a lung association report. But L.A.-Long Beach retained the title as worst ozone-polluted metropolitan area. >>
Letters
Trucks and L.A.'s pollution, Pakistan and the Taliban, and Martin Luther King's legacy. >>
Editorial
Stealth politics to quadruple costs to homeowners for L.A.'s storm-water pollution abatement program is bad policy. Give voters all the information and let them decide. >>
LOS ANGELES ELECTIONS
New ads by Councilman Jack Weiss accuse attorney Carmen Trutanich of defending environmental polluters. They cost Weiss the backing of L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca. >>
If the Tehachapi slender salamander, which lives north of L.A., becomes a protected species, urban growth could be limited. >>
A plan to ask city voters to approve a quadrupling of storm-water pollution cleanup fees is shelved over council concerns that it had been rushed and might not pass. >>
Jockeying has already begun for a piece of Villaraigosa's ambitious plans for a 2,236-acre project near downtown that the mayor hopes will transform L.A. into 'the global capital of clean technology.' >>
Here is the National Trust for Historic Preservation's 2009 list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places (in alphabetical order): >>
The genetic breakthrough marks the first time multiple vitamins have been engineered into a single plant. The enhanced crops would be a particular boon to diets in developing countries. >>
Making a case for more conservation funds, environmentalists say a down economy is a good time to buy land. >>
The economic stimulus invests $4.5 billion in a digital energy network, which may prevent blackouts. The project to build one is daunting, though, experts say. >>
A Mojave Desert Army base is full of plug-in cars, solar panels and new experiments. Liberal agenda? Nah, it's about saving money, even lives. But the Defense Department could cement a national trend. >>
With the oil industry targeting Arctic waters, energy needs are weighed against a region's fragile life cycle. >>
PERSONAL FINANCE
Electronic devices and appliances that use electricity even when they're idle may be costing you hundreds of dollars a year, experts say. >>
Wildlife strikes involve creatures -- including foxes and lizards -- hitting windshields, wings and stabilizers. New York's JFK airport tops the list. Carriers don't have to report strikes. >>
TELEVISION REVIEW
The first of four MSNBC specials about the planet documents an expedition to study the effects of global warming on the Arctic ice pack. >>
The Acacia fumosa is widespread but had probably been overlooked by botanists because of its remote location and the violence there. >>
The new Step Up on Fifth apartment complex is a beacon of hope for the city's homeless, offering its tenants a 'protective internal environment.' >>
'This crisis is good,' Tibetan leader says, because it reminds people that money has limitations. He also speaks about arcane aspects of Buddhist history and philosophy. >>
The Air Resources Board adopts a landmark regulation expected to slash gasoline consumption by 25% and encourage development of low-carbon fuel sources for cars and trucks. >>
35 animals die in fire at wildlife education ranch >>
The chemical blast killed two people at a West Virginia Bayer CropScience plant in August. >>
Editorial
Reducing pollution at the L.A. and Long Beach ports should be the goal, not unionizing drivers. >>
Sharron Pearson is overwhelmed by the response to her request for aid for airfare and expenses. 'It went incredibly well -- amazing,' says the assistant principal who coordinated the effort. >>
Q & A
Drought prompts the city to limit automatic sprinkling, as well as adopt higher rates for exceeding a usage reduction of 15%. DWP officials discuss the new rules, which will take effect June 1. >>
If approved by council, proposal would ask property owners to pass measure boosting charges to $99 by 2014 to pay for cleaning up storm-water runoff. >>
As the state moves to reduce the carbon footprint of fuel, an engineer hopes to build a plant in Lancaster that will convert garbage into an alcohol-based mixture. >>
energy
New rules to be released by the Interior Department pave the way for projects along the Atlantic Coast -- including one on Nantucket Sound opposed by the Kennedys. >>
Both orbit the same star, 20 light-years from Earth, called Gliese 581. The larger of the two orbits in the 'habitable zone,' and could have oceans. >>
Opinion
Environmental protection can be done more efficiently and for less cost at the local level. >>
Sharron Pearson is the first student from the Los Angeles school to be accepted by Oxford Tradition, officials say. She has a scholarship but figures she needs $2,500 for airfare and other expenses. >>
The administration appears to have moved the issue, along with global warming, to the back burner as it confronts the economic crisis, world lawyers say. >>
Opinion
The agency's sweeping new power to battle global warming is another example of the weakening of democratic controls. >>
Maria Gunnoe has confronted the coal industry for 11 years. >>
The civil suit against the Army Corps of Engineers will be heard after others have been thrown out. It could result in settlements to tens of thousands of storm victims. >>
Hoping to control dust, L.A.'s DWP poured ankle-deep water into a Central California lake bed. Now tens of thousands of migrating waterfowl and shorebirds stop there. >>
Clothing designer Christina Kim weaves recycled materials as well as the work of artisans the world over into her eco-friendly, human-friendly Dosa fashions. >>
The agency's proposed 'endangerment finding' may result in regulation of automobiles and other greenhouse gas producers. >>
Areas of the continent have suffered dry periods lasting centuries as part of a normal cycle, scientists report. They fear what could happen if climate change is added to the equation. >>
An appeals panel rules that the Interior Department didn't adequately analyze a Bush administration plan to auction off leases in the Arctic seas. >>
In an effort to cut the city's water use by 15%, the base water allocation will decrease by 15% and the cost for usage above that will increase by 44%. >>
The ruling today by the Environmental Protection Agency paves the way for federal limits on carbon dioxide emissions. >>
Hospital pharmacy worker shoots boss and another manager. Colleagues remember him as a nice man with a family. He had apparently heard a rumor about approaching layoffs. >>
Tainted soil forces the shuttering of the complex in the South L.A. area. Of more than 250 families who called the complex home, only 14 remain. Tenants say the county is mishandling their relocation. >>
The former head of the DWP will focus on the mayor's clean-air and water conservation measures, as well as an attempt to revive a solar energy plan defeated in last month's election. >>
The site where Mexican forces surrendered to Sam Houston in 1836 had previously been mismarked. >>
Obama promises to step up efforts to curb guns flowing into Mexico, but says a revival of the U.S. assault weapon ban is not in the offing. >>
David Evans -- also known as the Edge -- wants to build five contemporary houses high atop a Malibu hill. Residents worry that the project would produce an environmental disaster. >>
During a public comment session in San Francisco, environmental activists decry expansion of oil and gas drilling, which could be allowed after Bush lifted a ban on new leases off the nation's coast. >>
Kerry Knudsen, a curator at the UC Riverside Herbarium, names a new species of tough, orange-colored lichen, Caloplaca obamae, after the 44th president. >>
COLUMN ONE
The Georgetown apartment complex in Tampa was slated to be replaced with luxury condos -- until the market fell in. Now the land could become a bayfront park. >>
The judge says that regulators presented 'weak' arguments that the program to replace polluting big rigs threatens to cause irreparable harm or to unreasonably increase shipping costs. >>
A goal of the joint effort with Caltech, UCLA and USC is to better compete for federal money for such programs and a proposed state climate change center. >>
The U.S. Interior secretary pledges $260 million in stimulus money for California's water infrastructure and part of $29 million for earthquake monitoring systems. >>
Clean-air advocates will ask lawmakers for help in revising laws after a federal court ruled many of the provisions of the port cleanup plan unconstitutional. >>
Alaska's governor steps away from past denials and tells Interior Secretary Ken Salazar at an Anchorage hearing that natural gas could ease 'the transition to green energy alternatives.' >>
The L.A. mayor envisions green technology jobs driving the region's economy out of recession. Experts say the environmental and public safety themes could broaden his appeal to moderates statewide. >>
It is the first time such action has been taken since the early 1990s drought. Statewide water conditions remain below average for the third consecutive year, officials say. >>
The $2.4-million device made by Beijing-based Nuctech had failed tests earlier this year. But port officials now say the problems have been rectified. >>
L.A. County supervisors approve housing officials' relocation of remaining renters at a contaminated Willowbrook complex but veto a request for eviction power. >>
The $750-million project will merge two aging terminals and create an estimated 14,000 jobs. >>
Editorial
The City Council should move ahead with a pricing plan and other rules that will encourage conservation. >>
NATION'S HOUSING
Donovan says mortgages should come with lower rates or better terms to encourage purchases and retrofits that save energy. >>
Afghanistan: Cleric defends marital sex law / Iraq: 9 Sunni fighters killed in suicide blast / Ecuador: Volcano threatens Galapagos wildlife >>
Editorial
Floods, fires, droughts, disease, extinctions and a dying Great Barrier Reef may be a hint of things to come globally. >>
Two years of testing show that wild animals are not 'Typhoid Marys,' California biologist says. >>
The birds were found shot last month near Big Sur. The feds are on the case -- and so is a private investigator hired by an environmental group. >>
The report by Environment America contradicts contentions that moderate warming would actually boost crop yields. The U.S. could lose $1.4 billion in annual corn revenue, the report says. >>
Increased use of the corn-based fuel may mean the government pays more for food stamps and other assistance programs, the Congressional Budget Office says. >>
ENERGY
As big oil companies and other players snap up struggling mills at bargain prices, small firms risk being priced out of the market. Heavy debt and rising corn prices add to the squeeze. >>
OUT THERE
The dilapidated post-WWII motel and restaurant sits on 64 acres that have been approved for a 1,500-home development, but a local conservancy files suit to save the landmark that served as the hub of an agricultural city. >>
Drought, fires, killer heat waves, wildlife extinction and mosquito-borne illness -- the things that climate change models are predicting have already arrived there, they say. >>
Officers who killed the 15-pound cat in February should have used alternative methods, a review finds. The chief says the department has taken steps to train officers to deal with animals. >>
Drought, fires, killer heat waves, wildlife extinction and mosquito-borne illness -- the things that climate change models are predicting have already arrived there, they say. >>
As Bering sea chinook stocks dive, proposed new rules would set a limit on the 'bycatch' in the pollock industry. >>
The experiment will help determine whether storing greenhouse gases underground, or sequestration, is a viable solution for global warming. >>
Eight months after their surprising embrace of offshore oil drilling, the supervisors are set to resume their decades-old ban of the practice. An Interior Department hearing is planned for next week. >>
GREENSPACE
Also: L.A. renewable energy project up for award; California snowpack, water supply still below average >>
Sasha and Malia play on a surface made from recycled tires, which an environmental health group says is unsafe. >>
Spokane County's limits on the sales of phosphates in dishwasher detergent has slowed the flood of pollutants into the Spokane River -- but sped the flood of shoppers into Idaho to get the strong soap >>
PORTS
Dumping exhaust-spewing rides for new trucks that offer comparative luxury is one advantage of complying with the L.A. and Long Beach harbor complex's lower-emissions effort. >>
HOUSING SCENE
The federal credit for many improvements to make homes more energy-efficient has been tripled to 30%. >>
The Interior Department report, which looks at the potential of wind turbines off the U.S. coast, is part of the government's process to chart a course for offshore energy development. >>
LEGISLATION
Measures offer motorists as much as $5,000 to scrap gas-guzzlers and buy new vehicles. >>
Nestle wants to tap an aquifer in Colorado for bottled water. Some residents are angered by the project. 'They're taking and not giving,' one critic says. >>
He says his false bids on oil and gas parcels were acts of civil disobedience against the exploitation of public sites. The two felony charges carry up to 10 years in prison and a $750,000 fine. >>
The final environmental impact report for the $750-million project is set for release today. Port officials expect it to be approved despite opposition from environmentalists. >>
As the G-20 leaders prepare for a summit, the largely peaceful protests against unchecked capitalism, war, destruction of the environment and other ills are a sign of the populist anger in Europe. >>
OBITUARIES
She made the U.S. Olympic team at 14, won two gold medals at 19 and competed in her third Games just four months after having her third child. Then she became an advocate for the Eastern Sierra. >>
Jeff Twaddle, 54, swallowed a bait fish as a joke in front of elementary students on a field trip Friday. He died after it blocked his airway. >>
A compilation of research papers suggests that climate change will mean the state will have less water, experience a loss of cropland and see soaring wildfire rates. >>
The officials respond to 'grumbling' about H. David Nahai's leadership after the defeat of Measure B, the solar energy plan. A Villaraigosa spokesman says Nahai has the mayor's full support. >>
Operators balk at having to comply with a California requirement to install costly nozzles and hoses to capture fumes. The governor calls on the Legislature to delay enforcement by a year. >>
U.S. study finds widespread, high concentrations near Southern California and Chicago, as well as Alaska. >>
Democrats Waxman and Markey propose a multi-part effort to reduce greenhouse gases and promote renewable energy. A lengthy congressional debate is likely to follow. >>
The agency wants the U.N.'s International Maritime Organization to create a 230-mile Emissions Control Area on the coasts of the U.S. and Canada. Foreign vessels comprise 95% of calls to U.S. ports. >>
As concern about pollination and 'colony collapse disorder' spreads, urban beekeepers are helping preserve the local honeybee population, one insect at a time. >>
Blowback
We must act now to reverse the harm on our oceans caused by global warming, overfishing and too much coastal development, says an author of the Marine Life Protection Act. >>
The city's first 15, introduced in 2005, are moving off the road after nearing the city's taxi retirement age. The Ford Escapes have demonstrated their durability and cost-effectiveness. >>
TEXAS
The Gulf Coast sanctuary is a refuge for more than 300 species of birds as well as other wildlife, including alligators. >>
Climate change is a concern among undergraduates, driving a surge of interest in science and engineering on campuses nationwide. >>
Seongja Hyun, 36, is federally charged with illegally importing from China two pounds of the substance, which is used for medicinal purposes in some Asian communities. >>
A group of ethanol investors met with Gov. Schwarzenegger in an effort to derail the proposal, which they say would cripple the nation's biofuels industry. >>
The administration plans the first increase in requirements for passenger cars since 1985. >>
Editorial
A proposal by Sen. Dianne Feinstein could pit those who want to preserve desert land against those who want to use it for solar and wind energy projects. >>
The city's first 15, introduced in 2005, are moving off the road after nearing the city's taxi retirement age. The Ford Escapes have demonstrated their durability and cost-effectiveness. >>
In Fargo, volunteers are desperately filling sandbags to hold back the rising Red River as the National Weather Service issues a revised forecast for the flood level. >>
The legislation gives maximum federal protection to more than 2 million acres in nine states, including more than 700,000 acres in California. Obama is expected to sign it into law this year. >>
Officials from a pipeline company assess conditions at a nearby oil storage facility to determine whether to remove its contents. >>
Jonathan Cannon, citing questions about a foundation for which he served as a board member, said he didn't want to be a distraction. >>
The study prompts the EPA to expand research to more than 150 locations. Experts downplay the risk to humans but cite danger to fish, frogs and other aquatic species. >>
The agency puts hundreds of mountaintop mining requests on hold so it can study impacts of dumping debris into waterways. >>
The rare birth of two of the endangered cats is a genetic coup for the zoo's conservation center. >>
The Irvine maker of plug-in hybrids plans to begin production of its $87,900 Karmas late this year. >>
Some fear the effort to eradicate foliage where illegal immigrants and smugglers hide poses a threat to nearby populations in Laredo, Texas, and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. >>
In a move that could pit environmentalists and alternative energy industries against each other, the senator wants hundreds of thousands of acres in California designated as a national monument. >>
Blowback
Proposed fishing reserves under the Marine Life Protection Act would be disastrous for California. >>
Sources say the agency has told the White House that climate change is endangering public health, a move that could lead to nationwide measures to limit emissions. >>
He was admired for his images of migrant workers, endangered landscapes and social movements, including a controversial series on the Black Panthers at the height of their activism in the late 1960s. >>
Editorial
As White House officials weigh issuing a finding that climate change endangers public health, foes of greenhouse gas regulations are ignoring the cost of doing nothing. >>
The city has issued a stop-work order against 2H Construction after crews allegedly graded 10 acres near the Los Cerritos Wetlands. The firm was operating without proper permits, an official said. >>
The city's Gas & Electric Co. signed a contract to lease 15 to 20 electric vehicles from Nissan-Renault. The automobiles, in the last stages of development, will be available to the public in 2012. >>
The tiny Nano car, being sold at a base price of $2,200, already has 1 million applicants for the 60,000 expected to roll out this year. Environmentalists fear the impact of such a cheap car clogging streets. >>
Volunteers and government officials are trying to save 17 survivors, all long-finned pilot whales. It is the latest mass beaching of whales in Australia. >>
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
No one is sure why the orange-and-black dainties return every year to the mountains of Michoacan. But it's easy to see why the humans do. >>
HOW I MADE IT: BALWINDER SAMRA
The Port of Los Angeles is the technology incubator for Samra's company, Balqon, which is supplying the major smog source with heavy-duty electric cargo trucks. >>
Jane Lubchenco of Oregon State says she's eager to take on issues including global warming, polluted coastal waters and severely depleted fish populations. >>
Conservation efforts have saved the peregrine falcon and others, but many species are in decline. >>
A review is ordered on a change in regulations that lifted a ban on concealed, loaded guns in national parks and wildlife refuges. >>
Those who want to harvest sea life and those who want to keep it safe from harvesting will be trying to hatch a compromise in coming months over where to locate havens in popular waters. >>
LOS ANGELES ELECTIONS
Measure B falls short of a majority in a blow to Villaraigosa and a labor group whose top officials proposed it. San Fernando City Councilwoman Nury Martinez wins school board seat. >>
In Pomona, Obama visits an electric-vehicle testing center and announces a program for companies to compete for grant money. He pledges to put a million plug-in hybrid vehicles on the road by 2015. >>
Allocations to water agencies will be increased by 5% thanks to storms in late February and March. But officials caution that deliveries will still be far less than normal. >>
The complaint cites the brief cancellation of a production of 'Rent' and a Facebook video in which football players threaten a female student. The district says the suit contains factual errors. >>
Changes probably won't raise rates for low-income users, but residents who don't cut usage by 15% would pay more than normal. The city still expects a water shortage this summer. >>
Environmentalists and others like to gather it in containers for use in drier times. But state law says it belongs to those who bought the rights to waterways. >>
AUTOS
The gas-electric vehicles are piling up on dealers' lots as anxiety over gasoline prices evaporates. But more hybrid models are on the way. >>
SMALL BUSINESS
Following in the path of Vectrix, firms including Mission Motor, Zero and Brammo expect zooming growth for plug-ins on two wheels. >>
But the Interior secretary says 'directional drilling' from outside ANWR boundaries would be allowed only if it could be shown that the refuge's wildlife and environment would not be disturbed. >>
DESIGN
The private college hopes to be a global leader in stylish designs that leave small carbon footprints and don't end up in landfills. >>
HOME OF THE WEEK
Hillside contemporary-style tree house was built with the environment in mind. >>
Slotted curbs allow runoff to flow into planters, which filter impurities that usually end up in the ocean. >>
An 18-year study shows an increased annual risk of death from respiratory illnesses, depending on the pollution level. It goes beyond studies that linked brief ozone spikes to short-term effects. >>
Advanced Lithium Power of Vancouver will provide the batteries for the high-end Karma. >>
A geothermal plant that provides much-needed tax revenue to the county gains approval to start pumping 3,000 acre-feet from an aquifer that feeds a beloved lake in a frontier-like setting. >>
Global warming is projected to cause ocean levels to rise up to 55 inches this century. Report urges considering abandonment of some coastal areas and halting insurance subsidies in flood-prone areas. >>
Honda Motor Co.'s much-anticipated Prius fighter may double as a recession fighter. >>
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Environment Blog
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Methane time bomb
As permafrost thaws in the Arctic, pockets of methane -- a potent greenhouse gas -- could be released into the atmosphere. Experts are only beginning to understand how disastrous that could be.
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Contact
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Los Angeles Times
Environment - 3rd floor
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Los Angeles, CA 90012
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