Legislation introduced by Asm. Ira Ruskin will require manufacturers of thermostats to develop and collection and recycling porgram for the old devices, that contain mercury and are currently being replaced. Currently, mercury containing thermostats are banned from landfills as they are classified as a universal waste. AB 2347, introduced February 21, would require collection bins to be placed at locations where thermostats are sold. Shaun Bishop of the San Mateo County Times reports.

Ruskin said the current laws need "teeth." His bill would mandate that manufacturers participate in a recycling program if they want to sell thermostats to Californians. A violation would be a crime, though no specific penalties are written into the bill's current language.

"It will place responsibility on those companies that have profited and continue to profit from selling thermostats in California," Ruskin said.

Read Complete Article

What You Can Do

• Find a place near you to recycle your household hazardous waste.

Summary.
The bill will prevent human and environmental exposure to toxins, as well as encourage the recycling of consumer packaging, by phasing out the use of toxic, nonrecyclable PVC packaging.

Position and Status.
CAW Supports. AB 2505 passed out of the Asm. ESTM committee on April 15 with a 5-2 vote.

Governor Schwarzenegger released the following press release this morning regarding his signing of a packaging of energy efficiency bills, including CAW-sponsored AB 1109 (Huffman), which will reduce California's energy use for lighting and encourage the use of compact fluorescent bulbs:

"Governor Schwarzenegger today signed a package of legislation furthering his commitment to energy efficiency, conservation and pollution reduction.

'California is a world leader in improving technologies and promoting conservation while protecting our environment,' said Governor Schwarzenegger. 'That is why I am pleased to sign this legislation that will protect our precious resources and continue to keep California at the forefront of energy and water efficiency.'

The Governor signed the following seven bills:

• AB 662 by Assemblymember Ira Ruskin (D-Redwood City) expands the authority of the California Energy Commission to set water efficiency standards for appliances.

• AB 1103 by Assemblymember Lori Saldaña (D-San Diego) requires electric utilities to maintain records of energy consumption data for all nonresidential buildings to which they provide service and requires building owners or operators to provide benchmarking data to prospective buyers, lessees or lenders beginning January 1, 2010.

• AB 1109 by Assemblymember Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) enacts the California Lighting Efficiency and Toxics Reduction Act which prohibits the manufacturing for sale or the sale of certain general purpose lights that contain hazardous substances. In addition, the bill requires the California Energy Commission to adopt energy efficiency standards for all general purpose lights.

• AB 1406 by Assemblymember Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) adds condominiums to the meaning of “structure” with respect to the use of recycled water for toilet and urinal flushing.

• AB 1470 by Assemblymember Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) creates the Solar Water Heating and Efficiency Act of 2007 which provides incentives to attain the goal of installing 200,000 solar water heating systems in the state by 2017.

• AB 1481 by Assemblymember Hector De La Torre (D-South Gate) creates a uniform, statewide permitting process for landscape irrigation uses of recycled water, such as parks, playgrounds and golf courses, by requiring the State Water Resources Control Board to adopt a statewide general water quality permit.

• AB 1560 by Assemblymember Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) requires the California Energy Commission to incorporate standards for water efficiency and conservation into the existing building standards governing energy efficiency."

See the Complete Press Release>>

A wide range of energy-saving light bulbs are available on the market today. The most common and most widely known is compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs).

While California leads the nation in the use of CFL's, CFL market share—after peaking at about 9% during the height of the energy crisis in 2001—average about 5% to 6% for the last 2 years (compared to just 1% to 2% for the country).

If advanced lighting technologies were fully applied in California, the resulting electricity savings would negate the need for 15 1,000-megawatt power plants. Doing this would save ratepayers $4 billion a year just on the cost of operating those plants (never mind the cost of building them).

In addition to ratepayer savings, the reduced energy demand will eliminate the pollution associated with this energy generation, including and annual reduction of:

• NOx emissions by 2,800 tons
• SOx emissions by 9,400 tons
• CO2 (GHG) emissions by more than 6,000,000 tons

By transitioning to currently available efficient lighting technologies, California can reduce electric demand for the same level of lighting by 50 percent in 10 years.

Net Reduction in Mercury emissions

Roughly 20 percent of California's annual energy capacity is provided by coal fired power plants. Coal-fired power plants are the single largest source of mercury air pollution, accounting for roughly 40 percent of all mercury emissions nationwide.

Mercury is a highly toxic metal that, once released into the atmosphere, settles in lakes and rivers, where it moves up the food chain to humans. An extremely potent neurotoxin, one tablespoon of mercury is enough to pollute a 20 acre lake beyond acceptable health standards. The Centers for Disease Control has found that roughly 10 percent of American women carry mercury concentrations at levels considered to put a fetus at risk to neurological damage.

California coal-fired energy providers are responsible for more than 1600 lbs of mercury emissions annually. Reducing California's lighting energy demand by 50 percent can reduce these emissions by 175-200 lbs annually.

Another source of mercury emissions in the environment is the illegal disposal of mercury containing fluorescent lamps. Mercury levels vary significantly by lamp manufacturer, and range from a low of 2.2 mgs to as much as 15 mgs in 12 foot tubes. But the amount in CFLs is gradually decreasing as manufacturers work on lowering levels of mercury in their products. Also, using CFLs instead of incandescents actually reduces the amount of mercury as we will not need to mine coal for electricity. Because incandescents use much more electricity, using CFLs actually reduces mercury pollution because they use less electricity.