Investigation-InfrastructureCadiz creates water out of thin airMonday, April 9th, 2012 April 9, 2012 By Wayne Lusvardi Call it “thin water.” A small private company called Cadiz Inc. in Los Angeles is in the process of creating water in California’s Mojave Desert -- like a magician, literally out of thin air. By selling that water wholesale, water agencies will be able... New High-Speed Rail Plan Runs Over Prop. 1A MandatesTuesday, April 3rd, 2012 April 2, 2012 By Katy Grimes As California politicians show more desperation to build any part of the California High-Speed Rail system in order to get their hands on $3.5 billion in federal stimulus money, the plan is looking more like a whack-a-mole game. But every hole that is plugged, ever... The Dirty Secrecy of Clean Energy CostsMonday, March 19th, 2012MARCH 19, 2012 By DAVE ROBERTS “Sunshine is the best disinfectant,” said Supreme Court Justice Lewis Brandeis regarding the need for governmental transparency – but apparently not when it comes to solar power and other renewable energy sources. California has embarked on an ambitious, un... Gleickgate Pollutes Enviro MovementFriday, February 24th, 2012 FEB. 24, 2012 By WAYNE LUSVARDI The environmental movement is suffering from a cluster of scandals. First there was Climategate. Then there was Climategate 2.0. Now, there's Climategate 3.0 -- also called “Gleickgate.” Climate activist Dr. Peter Gleick of the Pacific Institute ... Water Wars Flood L.A. Central BasinSunday, January 29th, 2012 JAN. 30, 2012 By WAYNE LUSVARDI Remember “Chinatown,” the murky 1974 movie about the water wars in the Los Angeles Basin in the 1930s, starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway? A January 18 California appeals court water rights case is reminiscent of the multilayered plots and subplots ... Bureaucratic Octopus Grabs Bay AreaMonday, January 16th, 2012 JAN. 16, 2012 By DAVE ROBERTS Like a giant octopus grabbing helpless humans in a horror movie, a new bureaucracy is squeezing the Bay Area. One Bay Area is a plan to push Bay Area residents out of their cars and jam them into pack-and-stack high rises in the coming decades. The goal: cut gr... Protests, Economy Rain on Rose ParadeMonday, December 26th, 2011 DEC. 26, 2011 By WAYNE LUSVARDI Like Disneyland, Hollywood and Silicon Valley, the Tournament of Roses Parade is a symbol of California’s sun-blessed creativity. It crests with the crowning of the Rose Queen and her Royal Court, a bit of monarchism even die-hard democracy lovers won't obje... Punch Hits CA Water Softening IndustryWednesday, November 16th, 2011 NOV. 16, 2011 By DAVE ROBERTS The hammering fist of government has the nuance and delicacy of someone playing the piano while wearing boxing gloves. California’s $500 million water softening industry has been a punching bag for state politicians for several years, and it’s trying to fight ... Obama EPA Killing CA Energy JobsMonday, November 7th, 2011 NOV. 7, 2011 By WAYNE LUSVARDI Over the past three years, the approval rate of new permits for oil and gas “fracking” wells in California has fallen by 90 percent -- from 71 to 7 out of every 100 permit applications. “Fracking” involves the high-power injection of water, sand and proprieta... Wind Turbines Suck Power Like VampiresTuesday, November 1st, 2011 Nov. 1, 2011 By WAYNE LUSVARDI Having just passed Halloween, our minds think of ghosts, ghouls and goblins. One such goblin that will undoubtedly be overlooked is that wind power turbines gobble up energy from the electric grid even when they are not spinning. During the winter months, th... |