News USA 2009

2009
*USA pledged to contribute $275m to a forest protection fund in 2010, 19 November Greenpeace, 19 November 2009 topic
*California Energy Commission approves the nation's first energy efficiency standards for televisions. November 18 California Energy Commission, November 18, 2009 place, topic
*Big power companies can now be sued in federal courts for their pollution following an historic ruling by a New York appeal court, September 25 off-grid.net, September 25, 2009 topic, topic
*California decree requires electricity companies to generate a third of their power from renewable sources by 2020, September 12 off-grid.net, September 12, 2009 topic
*Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar launches the Department of the Interior’s first-ever coordinated strategy to address current and future impacts of climate change on America’s land, , ocean, fish, wildlife, and cultural resources, September 14 U.S. Department of the Interior, September 14, 2009 Under the framework, A new Climate Change Response Council, will amongst other things, work to improve the sharing and communication of climate change impact science, including through www.data.gov. topic, topic
*Milestone at world's largest cleanup site: Hanford nuclear basin removed, September 13 wikinews, September 13, 2009 topic
*San Francisco opens the city’s data, August 19 TechCrunch, August 19, 2009 topic
*Government shuts off water to California farms in controversial effort to help threatened species, August 13, 2009 wikinews, August 13, 2009 
*Obama administration okays major mountaintop removal coal project in West Virginia, August 12 Yale Environment 360, August 12, 2009 
*Draft California Climate Adaptation Strategy now available for public comment, August 3, 2009 California Resources Agency, August 3, 2009 topic, topic
*Dr. James Hansen and Daryl Hannah arrested in protest on mountaintop removal, June 23 Rainforest Action Network, June 23, 2009 topic
*Mayor Newsom announces innovative new tool to access San Francisco city services with a 'Tweet', June 2 Mayor's Home Page, June 2, 2009 topic
*Drop in in USA and power use in China - for now, May 21 Dot Earth blog, May 21, 2009 topic
*White House announces Open Government Website, Initiative, May 21 The White House, May 21, 2009 topic
*60 percent of Americans live in areas where air is dirty enough to endanger lives, April 29 New American Lung Association, April 29, 2009 
*Maria Gunnoe, a tireless voice in the movement against mountaintop-removal coal mining, awarded Goldman Environmental Prize 2009, April 20 Worldwatch Institute, April 20, 2009 
*USA Environmental Protection Agency finds greenhouse gases pose threat to public health or welfare, April 17 Environmental Protection Agency , April 17, 2009 Additional impacts of climate change include, but are not limited to:
:* increased drought;
:* more heavy downpours and flooding;
:* more frequent and intense heat waves and wildfires;
:* greater sea level rise;
:* more intense storms; and
:* harm to water resources, agriculture, wildlife and ecosystems. / topic
*USA overall emissions during 2007 increased by 1.4 percent from the previous year, April 15 Environmental Protection Agency, April 15, 2009 Overall emissions have grown by 17.2 percent from 1990 to 2007. topic
*Greenwashing affects 98% of products, April 15 TerraChoice, April 15, 2009 
*World's largest urban farm planned for the city of Detroit, April 2 Hantz Farms, April 2, 2009 topic
*California in drought emergency, February 28 BBC News, February 28 2009 
*Droughts 'may lay waste' to parts of the USA, February 26 The Guardian, February 26 topic
*A solar deal to put mirrors in the Mojave, February 11 Dot Earth Blog NYTimes.com, February 11 place
*IPCC chairman challenges Obama to further cut USA emission targets, January 16 Worldwatch Institute, January 16, 2009 Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: "President-elect Obama's goal of reducing emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 falls short of the response needed by world leaders to meet the challenge of reducing emissions to levels that will actually spare us the worst effects of climate change." topic
*White House plans open government, January 22 BBC news, technology, January 22 topic
=== Local news USA ===
*News New York City
*News California
References