Energy

LA TIMES INVESTIGATION – Toxic Waste Watchdog Can Be Glacially Slow

December 27, 2013  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p><strong><em>The California Department of Toxic Substances Control is supposed to use regulations, fines and the threat of legal action to protect the environment. But its oversight is often ineffectual.</em></strong></p> <p><br /> One summer Saturday in the Bay Area city of Richmond, nitric acid leaked from a tank at a metal plating company, forming a toxic cloud that floated over a neighborhood of small houses and stucco apartments.</p>

Environmental Advocate Claims DTSC Trying To Make Wildomar Investigation ‘Disappear’

December 13, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p>After testing soil, soil gas and groundwater samples from specific locations within the allegedly toxic housing tract of Autumnwood in Wildomar, <a href="http://lakeelsinore-wildomar.patch.com/groups/politics-and-elections/p/state-testing-finds-wildomar-neighborhood-is-not-contaminated">officials with California Environmental Protection Agency’s Department of Toxic Substances Control announced preliminary findings this week that claim the neighborhood is safe.</a></p> <p>But the release of that data has drawn sharp criticism from some.</p>

Op-Ed Commentary: Raise The Cap On Medical Malpractice Damages

October 28, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<div id="text-pages"> <div class="page" style="display: block;"> <p>The following Op-Ed Commentary was <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Raise-the-cap-on-medical-malpractice-damages-4930864.php">published in the San Francisco Chronicle on Mon., Oct. 29th, 2013</a>.</p>

California Becomes First In The Nation To Propose Chromium-6 Safe Water Limit

August 22, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p>California became the first state in the nation on Thursday to propose a safe-water limit on cancer-causing chromium-6, made famous in the film “Erin Brockovich.”</p>

Fracking Foe Blasts Legislative Aides for Energy Company Holdings

August 8, 2013  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p>SACRAMENTO -- As a showdown nears on legislation that would regulate hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in California, one prominent activist is criticizing four aides to Assembly Speaker John Perez (D-Los Angeles) for their holdings in energy company stocks.</p> <p>Fracking is a controversial process that involves injecting water and chemicals into the ground to break up rock and increase production of oil and natural gas. Opponents say fracking fouls groundwater, pollutes the air and may raise the risk of earthquakes.</p>

Medical Malpractice Issue Again Hits California Capitol

August 4, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p>One of the Capitol's longest-running battles – over the state's $250,000 cap on pain and suffering damages in medical malpractice lawsuits – is heating up again.</p> <p>Consumer Attorneys of California, whose members press malpractice suits, wants the Legislature to lift the cap or repeal it.</p>

Battle Lines Drawn In Fight To Raise Malpractice Awards

July 25, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p><strong>The fight to lift the 40-year-old cap on pain and suffering damages is headed for voters, unless the Legislature can help find a compromise. But that seems unlikely.</strong></p>

Sacramento Bee Op-Ed: Another View: Toxic Waste Watchdog Rewards Serial Polluter

July 21, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p>The state's top toxics regulator just pulled a fast one on a farming community suffering birth defects and infant deaths.</p> <p>The Department of Toxic Substances Control signaled it would grant a serial toxic polluter – Chemical Waste Management – a permit to expand its operations greatly at the controversial Kettleman City hazardous waste dump.</p>

Report Says Keystone XL Will Increase Gas Prices

July 18, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p>YORK -- The Keystone XL pipeline will raise gasoline prices in the United States, hiking prices at the pump 20 to 40 cents per gallon in the Midwest, with no long-term economic benefit to the U.S. economy, says a new report by Consumer Watchdog.</p> <p>The independent agency’s report, released this week, concluded that the “Midwest’s gas prices could increase anywhere from 20 to 40 cents per gallon if the Keystone XL goes through.”</p> <p>The Watchdog report found that:</p>

Keystone XL Pipeline Would Boost Gas Prices, Leave KC ‘Vulnerable’

July 16, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Kansas City could see gas prices spike by 40 cents a gallon if the Keystone XL Pipeline is built, according to a Consumer Watch study, <a href="http://www.kansascity.com/2013/07/16/4346704/gas-prices-would-rise-in-midwest.html"><em>The Kansas City Star</em> reports</a>.</p> <p>The report that with the increase of exports to other countries, U.S. oil supplies will fall short. In turn, oil prices will rise, as will the price of gas and diesel.</p>

Keystone XL Pipeline Will Raise Gasoline Prices, Not Just Environmental Concerns

July 16, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/-mvm-vJko0w" width="560"></iframe></p> <p>The last thing Americans, or the American economy needs, is another jump at the gas pump. A <a href="http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/sites/default/files/resources/keystonexl_cwd.pdf" target="_hplink" rel="noopener">new report by Consumer Watchdog</a> finds that's what America will get if the president approves Keystone XL pipeline: a 25 cent to 40 cent gas price hike in the Midwest, and pain at the pump all the way to California.</p>

Keystone XL Critics Warn Pipeline Would Push Up Midwest Gas Prices

July 16, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p>A Consumer Watchdog <a href="http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/sites/default/files/resources/keystonexl_cwd.pdf">report</a> released Tuesday said Keystone XL would push retail gasoline prices 20 to 40 cents a gallon higher if approved, with prices spiking most in the Midwest.</p> <p>If built, Keystone XL would cut the discount  Canadian oil now sells for in relation to international  benchmark crudes, the group said.</p> <p>Midwestern drivers would be the hardest hit because their region imports more than half of its oil from Canada, the report said.</p>