Deputy Mayor, City of Los Angeles
Deputy Mayor of the City of Los Angeles and Interim General Manager of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and author of Winning Our Energy Independence; President of the Port of Los Angeles Harbor Commission, he formerly held energy-policy positions at the New York Power Authority and Tennessee Valley Authority, as well as several positions in the State of California
Governor Schwarzenegger and Mayor Villaraigosa Go to Copenhagen Reports from Copenhagen are not optimistic about reaching important agreement on climate change. The US is taking heat for refusing to budge on greenhouse gas reductions the rest of the world calls inadequate. Tens of thousands of delegates — and more than 100 heads of state — are waiting for President Obama to show up on Friday. In the meantime, LA’s Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is on hand and so is Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger .
Measure B: Solar Power Nobody disagrees that solar power should be developed -- the sooner the better, but there's a major debate about Measure B on the March 3 ballot for the City of Los Angeles. It calls for 400 megawatts of solar power by 2014, installed, operated and maintained by the city-owned Department of Water and Power . The City Council put the measure on the ballot unanimously, with full support from Mayor Villaraigosa. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers , which contracts with the DWP, is helping to finance the campaign. We hear a debate between City Controller Laura Chick, who publicly broke with the Mayor and is urging a “no” vote, and David Freeman, a former General Manger of the DWP, who helped put Measure B together.
Clean-Truck Incentive Money Up in Smoke? Today’s Los Angeles Times says officials at the Ports of LA and Long Beach are worried that their reputations are on the line. They promised $20,000 for every truck that exceeded their new clean air standards. But instead of the 1000 or so predicted, 7500 have showed up, and the Ports don’t have enough money. David Freeman is President of the Port of Los Angeles Harbor Commission.
Proposition 7 Sounds Good, So Why Don’t Most Environmentalists Like it? Proposition 7 is called The Solar and Clean Energy Act of 2008. We're already seeing a blitz of TV commercials on a measure that has divided environmentalists in California. Current law requires private utilities to get 20 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2010. Prop 7 would speed that up by mandating 50% by 2025. Opponents agree on the goal: phase out coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear power sooner; replace them with energy from the wind, the sun, biomass and the tide.
Cleaner Trucks at the Ports The ports of LA and Long Beach handle half of all America's imports from overseas. Together, they are a principal economic engine for Southern California. But they're also a major polluter and a menace to public health, causing significant illness and premature deaths. On October 1, new rules go into effect that are expected to reduce diesel pollution from trucks by half—overnight.
Global Warming and the Presidential Campaign More and more scientists say global warming is happening faster than they expected, while the world's major polluters fail to take meaningful action. As a candidate in the 2000 campaign, George W. Bush promised reductions in carbon dioxide emissions. But as soon as he took office he backed away, and not until this month did he call for halting the growth of greenhouse gases, by 2025 and without any mandates. All three of the candidates to replace him have said that's not good enough. John McCain , Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton all promise to deal with the issue in the "first one-hundred days," but what are they planning to do? A so-called " cap and trade " bill is already on the Senate's agenda. What does that mean, and where do the candidates stand? Should renewable technologies, like solar and wind, get the kind of subsidies lavished on oil and gas? What about nuclear power?
Is America Growing Itself to Destruction? America's continuing drive for material well-being has made it the world's colossus, but it may also contain the seeds of destruction. That sounds like fire-and-brimstone preaching, but it's also a warning from pragmatic experts on energy independence and global warming. Will unlimited economic growth be the undoing—not just of America, but the rest of the world? Could the US replace disposable luxury with quality and longevity?
Do We Have Too Much? America's continuing drive for material well-being has made it the world's colossus, but it may also contain the seeds of destruction. That sounds like fire-and-brimstone preaching, but it's also a warning from pragmatic experts on energy independence and global warming. Will unlimited economic growth be the undoing—not just of America, but the rest of the world? If it wanted to, could the US just slow down and replace the drive for disposable luxury with a yen for quality and longevity based on renewable resources?
Carbon Tax Bill Would Charge McMansions for Global Warming For several years the battle to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases has focused on the automobile. Hummers became public enemies and the Prius was suddenly chic. Now, Washington has found a new villain in the fight against global warming—American homes. John Dingell of Michigan and other key members of Congress are considering painful measures, including eliminating the cherished mortgage deduction for wasteful McMansions. It's a sign that the global warming fight is now more about ways and means than science. Is it a political ploy or are McMansions going to go the way of the gas guzzler? Jim Sterngold guest hosts.
Big Rig Pollution and the Port’s Green Truck Program The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach account for almost 25% of the region’s diesel emissions. Studies show human cancer risks fifteen miles inland, and diesel exhaust has been linked to asthma, heart disease and underweight newborns. The Ports have embarked on a massive cleanup effort focusing partly on 16,000 trucks that cause a big part of the problem. That means big money, and today 30 big-rigs caravaned down the 110 Freeway from the Sports Arena to the Ports themselves to raise public attention.
Human Rights in the era of Donald Trump President Trump’s UN Ambassador, Nikki Haley, said today the US might pull out of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. Serious violators of human rights are members of the Council itself–and a US resignation could make things worse. Later on today’s show, now that he’s into his second term, comedian turned US Senator Al Franken is telling jokes again.
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?
What is Trump's plan for Middle East peace? On his first foreign tour, President Trump has promised "peace" between Israel and the Palestinians. Are there any details for re-starting talks that have been stalled for the past three years?
Will the Senate write a healthcare bill in secret? While Democrats and Republicans argue White House relations with Russia, another question is being decided behind closed doors: who gets help buying health insurance and who doesn't? We hear how the pros and cons are being shrouded in secrecy.