en-us Copyright Sightline Daily - all rights reserved newsfeeds@sightline.org newsfeeds@sightline.org Most recent California headlines from Sightline Daily, the Northwest news that matters http://daily.sightline.org Plone http://daily.sightline.org/logo.gif 427 69 California issued new building standards Thursday, which state officials said would push developers to reduce the energy use of buildings by 15% and target a 50% reduction in water for landscaping. However, the new green building language, which was heavily influenced by the construction industry, fell far short of the stringent rules that environmental advocates had sought. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-building18-2008jul18,0,2240874.story Economy Energy Policy Sustainable Living California 07/18/2008 Los Angeles Times Justin Wages became "one of them" when he bought a new Toyota Prius hybrid three years ago. The Prius, like the Corvette and the Porsche, comes with an avid fan base and brand loyalty as standard equipment. It may be homely – and it's certainly no muscle car – but Prius owners are thicker than peanut butter and defend their high-mileage hybrids with monastic resolve. http://www.sacbee.com/107/story/1088295.html Economy Energy Sprawl & Transportation California United States 07/18/2008 Sacramento Bee If every cloud has a silver lining, what good can be said of the big brown dome of wildfire smoke that capped much of California these past few weeks? Plenty, say ecologists who study the effects of fire on the landscape. http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/1091986.html Forests Wildlife California 07/18/2008 Sacramento Bee With West Coast gasoline prices averaging $4.41 per gallon, even car-crazed southern Californians are joining the nation's slow move away from the automobile and toward public transportation. But even as more Americans pile onto city buses, subways, and suburban trains, the increase at the pump is also hitting transit agencies hard. http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0718/p01s02-usgn.html Energy Sprawl & Transportation California United States 07/18/2008 Christian Science Monitor Double-digit drops in median home prices hit every Bay Area county in June, even the ones that had seemed Teflon-coated. Across the nine counties, the median price paid for resale homes, new homes and condos in June plunged 27.1 percent from a year ago to $485,000. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2008/07/18/MN6711QRVS.DTL Economy California 07/18/2008 San Francisco Chronicle The peripheral canal was once like plutonium in California water politics, yet a new report embraces it as the answer to environmental problems threatening the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. http://www.sacbee.com/378/story/1091869.html Environment Pollution & Toxics Population California 07/18/2008 Sacramento Bee California on Thursday became the first state in the nation to approve green building standards to cut energy and water usage, a move that officials say will help the state meet its ambitious goals to curb greenhouse gas emissions. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2008/07/18/MNMG11R59J.DTL Economy Energy Policy Sustainable Living California 07/18/2008 San Francisco Chronicle There is no quick fix to $4.50-a-gallon gas, no way to provide instant relief to consumers we know are hurting. Yet President Bush and others continue to push the false promise of offshore oil drilling. http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-feinstein18-2008jul18,0,314099.story Energy Environment Pollution & Toxics California 07/18/2008 Los Angeles Times If you or your loved one is struggling to break the cycle of fossil fuel addiction, San Francisco may just be your Betty Ford Center. The city by the bay is the most "walkable" in the nation, according to rankings set for release today by WalkScore.com, a service designed to help those seeking a less automobile-dependent life. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2008/07/17/MN3J11Q3N8.DTL Sprawl & Transportation California Washington 07/17/2008 San Francisco Chronicle