'Green Power,' Jobs and City Hall Politics
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'Green Power,' Jobs and City Hall Politics

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Money for solar panels on roofs all over Los Angeles will be on the March ballot, but even supporters of alternative energy are raising questions. Also, the nation's largest artificial reef will hopefully mitigate damage to marine life caused by nuclear power plants at San Onofre.  


Banner image: Kelp crab common to Edison’s experimental reef

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'Green Power,' Jobs and City Hall Politics ()

The LA City Council wants the Department of Water and Power to install solar panels on government, commercial and industrial roofs all over the city. They would generate 400 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 100,000 homes. Friday, the Council put a bond measure on the March ballot, bypassing the appointed commission that oversees the DWP and without getting an outside analysis of the cost. But even supporters of alternative energy are raising questions. Why will the DWP install and own them, even on private buildings? What did the DWP's employee union have to do with getting Council approval? We look for answers.

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Reporter's Notebook

New Artificial Kelp Reef Unveiled near San Onofre Nuclear Plant ()

The nuclear power plants at San Onofre suck in and discharge 2.4 billion gallons of seawater every day. For decades, Southern California Edison claimed the environmental damage was minimal, but scientists proved the cooling system kills marine life, including garibaldi, the state fish, and shrinks the kelp forest. Since 1997, SCE has worked to compensate, and today it announced completion of the biggest artificial reef in the country. UCLA Professor Richard Ambrose, who's been studying the problem since the mid-80's, is a lead scientist on the project.

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Which Way L.A.? is made possible in part by the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, the Nathan Cummings Foundation, and the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation, which supports study and research into policy issues of the Los Angeles region.

 

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