Free Republic

In legal papers filed with the state Supreme Court, environmentalists have accused California energy regulators of violating state law by approving an expansion of the El Segundo power plant without requiring operators to study the potential harm to marine life. Santa Monica Baykeeper and Heal the Bay alleged in the filing last week that the California Energy Commission went against state recommendations to study the effects of large water pipes that suck in and destroy trillions of marine organisms every year. El Segundo plant operators plan to increase the amount of Santa Monica Bay seawater pulled in by 25%, for...

From Pool Guy to the Halls of Power Terry Tamminen, actor, author and tree-hugger, has held many jobs. His next: Cabinet secretary. Thirteen years ago, Terry Tamminen was a Malibu pool cleaner and part-time actor with a gift for charming influential people and a resume that chronicled more rambling than a Jack Kerouac novel. Tamminen had sold condos in Florida, managed a sheep ranch in the Midwest, helped start a bottle recycling program in Nigeria, dabbled in Shakespearean acting and measured chlorine levels for such celebrities as Madonna and Johnny Carson. His peripatetic career had taken him from California to...

SAN DIEGO – Environmental groups asked a federal court Tuesday to halt construction of a second border fence in the southwestern corner of the continental United States. The Sierra Club, San Diego Audubon Society, San Diego Baykeeper and other groups allege the Department of Homeland Security violated the National Environmental Policy Act by failing to fully consider potential harm to the environment. The Bush administration contends the second fence and a patrol road are needed to improve security on the westernmost 3.5-mile leg of the U.S.-Mexico border. Environmentalists say the project would erode soil just south of a 2,531-acre federally...