San Francisco bans plastic straws
San Francisco supervisors voted unanimously to ban restaurants, bars and retailers from selling or using on Tuesday, becoming the largest city to block establishments from giving out plastic straws
California
California slashes emissions, hits major greenhouse gas goal years early
In a major win for California’s fight against global warming, the state appears to have hit its first target for cutting greenhouse gases, and it reached the goal early.
California passes sweeping law to protect online privacy
The new law grants consumers the right to know what information companies are collecting about them, why they are collecting that data and with whom they are sharing it.
California approves $738 million transportation electrification initiative
“What we’re seeing is one of the largest and most well-thought-out approaches to advancing electrification of vehicles,” says Adrian Martinez, an attorney for Earthjustice.
Disney embraces $15 minimum wage in negotiations with workers
Disney says that marks the largest increase to starting wages it’s ever offered.
Stockton, CA becomes first U.S. city to test universal basic income
Stockton, Calif., hopes to become an exhibition ground for fighting poverty with a simple yet unorthodox experiment: giving $500 a month in donated cash to perhaps 100 local families, no strings attached.
Premature birth rates drop in California after coal and oil plants shut down, study finds
Within a year of eight coal- and oil-fired power plant retirements, the rate of preterm births in mothers living close by dropped, finds new study on air pollution.
California becomes first state to order solar on new homes
Most new units built after Jan. 1, 2020, will be required to include solar systems as part of the standards adopted by the California Energy Commission.
California laws seek to limit surveillance technology
California privacy advocates say it is “more critical than ever that the amount of surveillance and personal data collected be the bare minimum, to ensure the safety of our community from unlawful and inhumane targeting.”
California hits new utility-scale solar generation record of 10.5 GW
For the first time in the state’s history utility-scale solar generation surpassed 10.5 gigawatts. Then two days later, that record was broken when 10,539 megawatts were generated.