Reporter, Los Angeles Times
Reporter for the Los Angeles Times, focusing on the environment, covering global warming
PROFILE
Margot Roosevelt
Guest
FROM Margot Roosevelt
Which Way, L.A.?
Proposition 23 Dissected Los Angeles businesses are divided over Proposition 23 , a measure that would postpone the implementation of AB 32 , the greenhouse gas law that Governor Schwarzenegger sees as his legacy. Different polls show different results for where it now stands with the voters. Neither Jerry Brown nor Meg Whitman is supporting Prop 23, but Whitman says that, if she’s elected, she’ll postpone AB 32 for a year. Jerry Brown disputes Whitman’s claim that AB 32 would cost jobs in 97% of the economy, saying rather that it will help create new jobs in the developing green economy.
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Voters to Decide Fate of State's Greenhouse Gas Law Californians will get a chance to vote on a major element of Governor Schwarzenegger's legacy. Thanks to some Texas oil companies, AB 32 , the Global Warming Solutions Act, will be put to the test in November's election, as Margot Roosevelt reports in today's LA Times .
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Climate Change, Immigration Reform and California Today was the day that Democrat John Kerry, Republican Lindsay Graham and Independent Joe Lieberman were set to introduce a new climate change bill in the Senate. But over the weekend, Senate leader Harry Reid said immigration reform would come first. Graham called that a " cynical ploy " that would leave climate change with "no chance of success."
To the Point
Senate Republican Goes Cold on Climate Bill Fallout from Arizona's new immigration law has already reached the US Senate, where Harry Reid now say it's time to deal with what is, after all, a federal issue. Republican Lindsay Graham calls that a “ cynical ploy ” to appeal to Hispanic voters, and he's backing away from a bipartisan compromise on climate change. Cut to California, where Texas oil companies are spending big money to repeal what's now the toughest climate-change law in the country. If voters agree in November, will the effort to curb global warming suffer a double whammy?
Which Way, L.A.?
Mayor Villaraigosa's Latest Choice to Lead the DWP In last night's speech on the State of the City , Mayor Villaraigosa said the strain of challenges facing LA have "undermined civic unity." He referred specifically to the battle over increasing utility rates, explained as necessary for the Department of Water and Power to switch from fossil fuels to "green energy." He promised to reform the DWP, an agency he said is known more for secrecy than transparency. This week Villaraigosa appointed Deputy Mayor Austin Beutner to become the DWP's ninth general manager in the past 10 years.
To the Point
California Green Fuel Standards Lead the Way Corn-based ethanol plants are closing down, but the race to produce fuel that doesn't produce greenhouse gases is still on. This week, California's Air Resources Board is expected to enact the world's first regulation to reduce the carbon footprint of fuel. It would measure the impact of various fuels from "cradle-to-grave," and entrepreneurs are ready to capitalize as Margot Roosevelt reports in today's Los Angeles Times .
To the Point
Global Warming and Trapped Methane in the Melting Arctic Evidence of global warming is most dramatic in the polar regions, where melting permafrost threatens polar bears and emperor penguins with extinction. Near the Arctic Circle, researchers are finding evidence of a different kind, huge pockets of methane, a major contributor to global warming 11,000 years ago with 20 times the heat-trapping effect of carbon dioxide. That's according to a report in the Los Angeles Times. The writer, Margot Roosevelt, explains out what that could mean.
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Air Resources Board Approves Sweeping Pollution Rules Governor Schwarzenegger says he'll fight global warming, whatever the cost, even during an economic crisis. Today, his Air Resources Board set the toughest goals in the nation , even though the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst says it'll cost more than the Board estimated. It's a road map for implementing AB 32 , the law that caught worldwide attention in 2006. We hear a debate.
Which Way, L.A.?
Global Warming and Health Care Reform One of Governor Schwarzenegger’s signature issues is Global Warming. He announced today that eight western states and Canadian provinces have established the common goal of reducing greenhouse gases. But Senators from Schwarzenegger’s own Republican Party denounced Democratic Attorney General Jerry Brown when he sued San Bernardino County for failing to include greenhouse gas targets in its long-term growth plan. Yesterday, that suit was settled.
Recommended
Left, Right & Center
President Trump: US to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord Trump says he was elected to serve Pittsburgh, not Paris.
To the Point
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?
To the Point
Is the threat from Russia missing from the Russia meddling probe? There's much being made about the Trump administration's possible ties with Russia. But the bottom line is Russia's effort to influence American democracy. Do the President and his aides care enough to take action before voters go back to the polls?
To the Point
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.