By Tamara Barak
San Francisco Examiner

Combining the fight against global warning with a Web-based community is a match made in the Bay Area. Although EarthLab.com was born in Seattle, local residents are flocking to it in record numbers since its launch on July 7, in conjunction with the Live Earth concert. The green-focused Web site, which is unique in its ability to calculate the environmental footprint and carbon output from each individual and compare scores across regions or zip codes, has attracted 38,000 users from the Bay Area in less than two months, said site founder Duane Dahl. Read more »

By Asmb. Lloyd E. Levine
Chairman of the Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee

Yesterday in the Assembly’s Utilities and Commerce Committee, legislation that I’ve authored to phase out the sale of incandescent light bulbs in California by 2012 – Assembly Bill 722 – was passed by the Committee on a bipartisan 9-3 vote. It was the first hearing for the bill, which was first announced on January 30, and since that time has garnered an amazing amount of attention around the world – and really, for quite a simple idea.  It takes 18 seconds to change a light bulb – but that 18 seconds can make all the difference to our environment, as well as California’s energy future. The goal of the legislation is to reduce power use while simultaneously cutting carbon dioxide emissions from power plants by 1.8 million metric tons per year, which is the equivalent of taking 400,000 cars off the roads and highways. Read more »