Legislation to commit California’s utilities to a higher standard for developing and using renewable energy is heading for a final decision in Sacramento.

State Senator Joe Simitian (D-San Mateo) left, the author of SB 14, says his measure offers multiple benefits, including some that extend well beyond California.

Glynnis Hokenson,  Kate Goltermann and Bret Fanshaw (l-r) from the  Environment California Research and Policy Center in Sacramento,  brought the white wind turbine mock-up to the steps of Santa Rosa City Hall last week to call attention to their campaign in support of the "Triple It" bill to increase California's requirements for new, renewable energy sources.

Go here to read an analysis of SB 14 by the Consumer Federation of California.

Both bills are also being supported by the California League of Conservation Voters.

Compared to other states, Californians are only moderately vulnerable to changes in the cost of oil, but we’re leading the list in taking steps to reduce our use of gasoline.

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You can read the full 21-page report here, or  a two-page summary here.

Percent of Income Spent on Gasoline by the Average Driver, 2008

 important way to reduce oil vulnerability is by adopting public policies to reduce across the board consumption of fossil fuels. Deron Lovass, the Natural Resource Defense Council’s Transportation Policy Director, says those policies tend to fall in one of three general areas.

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Oil Vulnerability Rankings by State 2008

YouthBuild, an education and job training program for young people in the Santa Rosa area, is going green.

Many of the recent YouthBuild graduates like to return and visit the current class, and Program Director Casey McChesney welcomes them as walking role models for the youth who are developing their own ideas of what success could represent for them.

You can hear a previous North Bay Report about YouthBuild from December 2008 here.

An oil industry leader and a major California environmentalist agree on the steps the United States must take to address climate change and increase national energy independence-but they have markedly different ideas about how long it will take to reach those goals. Today's North Bay Report is a preview summary of their conversation.

Chevron and the Sierra Club both see renewable fuels as a growing part of our future. Yet as the world transitions to a low-carbon economy, they have different views on how that change should occur and who should bear the costs. Higher taxes? Voluntary conservation and efficiency? Government mandates? In their first-ever public conversation, Chevron CEO Dave O'Reilly and Carl Pope, Executive Director of the The Sierra Club, discuss balancing energy and the environment in the 21st century.  The conversation,  which was recorded live on June 10, 2009, was moderated by Alan Murray, Deputy Managing Editor of The Wall Street Journal. Hear it in full here.

  Although the climate protection legislation passed by the House of Representatives includes a cap and trade provision, to "monetize" co2 emissions, both speakers said they favor a simple carbon tax or fee instead. Dave O'Reilly (left)  offered several reasons why that would be preferable.


Pope (right)  and O'Reilly were also in agreement on the desirability of quickly reducing our national dependence on coal to generate much of the country's electricity. Pope was adamant about the need to more strictly regulate the coal industry in many respects.

While O'Reilly agreed with Pope's forecast that this country and the world will need to move toward renewable fuels for vehicles and transportation, he expects the transition will take far longer than Pope's projections.