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How many more residents can the environment of United States support? That question hasn't been comprehensively studied, but there's a group that says that it should be.
Phil CafaroThe idea of a national study of the environmental impacts of population growth through immigration is not new, notes Phil Cafaro, president of Progressives for Immigration Reform and a Philosophy professor at Colorado State University. He's hoping that it's time is finally arriving.
It should be noted that there are those, including some respected civil rights organizations, who skeptically view Cafaro's organization as a front for deceptive political efforts to "greenwash" immigration politics.
The graph on the left, prepared by Cafaro, shows projected US population gains through the end of this century under four quite different immigration ceilings.
The two components of population growth are immigration and fertility, Cafaro, says, and in the United States' recent past, the two have been compounding.
The California Air Resources Board officials are calling the state's first-ever cap-and-trade carbon auction a success. And, as Lori Abbot reports, it could be an important milestone for California as a leader in the global clean tech market.
At right: A gasifier at Sierra Energy transforms waste into fuel. (Courtesy of Sierra Energy.)
The federal government (National Marine Fisheries Service) and wildlife conservation groups are aligned in in a battle over pesticide use, with the latest round in a The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service photo at the right shows fish casualties the agency says were the result of pesticide contamination. Courtesy of USFWS.
Halloween has special meaning for California's Death Valley, but it has nothing to do with spooks and spirits. Lori Abbot explains what the day's observance is really about.
A leak in a major water supply line to Santa Rosa ran for approximately five hours Monday afternoon, before it was repaired.
Drinking water was released at a rate of 10-gallons per minute during that time. According to the Sonoma County Water Agency, the chlorinated water was contained in a field and did not enter creeks or waterways.
The leak occurred at about 1:30 pm when a contractor for PG&E accidentally hit the Water Agency's Kawana aqueduct pipeline with heavy equipment, while working in West Santa Rosa near the intersection of Brittain Lane and the Joe Rodota Trail.
The contractor notified the Water Agency about the leak, and crews from the Water Agency and the City of Santa Rosa responded immediately to isolate the damaged pipe and repair the problem. The leak was stopped at approximately 6:30 p.m. There were no interruptions to water service.
The 6 ½ mile-long Kawana aqueduct is one of a series of large pipelines that deliver naturally filtered Russian River water to more than 600,000 residents in portions of Sonoma and Marin counties.
