The PS20 and PS10 solar towers in Spain, with combined peak power of 30 megawatts. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons user Koza1983, CC BY 3.0.
Here are some of the stories we’ve been following this week.
- In Bank of America v. Caulkett, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that homeowners who declare bankruptcy can’t void a second mortgage.
- A local fisherman has filed a class action lawsuit against Plains All American Pipeline for the company’s negligence in causing the recent Santa Barbara oil spill that has damaged the local economy and many residents’ sources of income.
- Neverland Ranch, the trophy property formerly owned by Michael Jackson, has been listed for sale at $100 million.
- Starting July 1, up to 5,000 drivers in Oregon can volunteer to pay a mileage tax instead of a gas tax in a new pilot program to increase highway fund revenue.
- Governor Mary Fallin signed Senate Bill 809 preventing Oklahoma cities from enacting local oil and gas drilling bans. A second bill mentioned in our recent post on states limiting local regulation of fracking, SB 468, which would make any interference with oil and gas production a “taking,” is held up in a joint House-Senate conference committee.
- Duke Energy has been approved to build a 5-megawatt mouse-shaped solar facility to provide power to Walt Disney World. Duke Energy has been increasingly focusing on solar power, and the project will support Disney’s commitment to sustainability.
- Two teachers filed a class action lawsuit against the Washington State pension system, arguing that the State wrongly withheld interest when retirement savings were transferred across plans. A similar lawsuit on behalf of another group of Washington teachers settled for $5.5 million.
- Two environmental groups are threatening to sue if the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection permits FirstEnergy to reactivate a Greene County coal ash landfill, but the company can’t continue to operate its largest coal plant without locating a new place to dispose of the resulting ash.
- The U.S. and world economies are beginning to slow down, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Chinese economic growth is declining, a strong U.S. dollar has hurt exports, and Europe’s economy continues to struggle.
- The biggest companies in the United States are overall good for the environment and society, according to one set of rankings, although impacts varied by industry.
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