"Dr. Mark" is hero to students, planet - Stemen was acknowledged during this summer's sustainability conference in San Luis Obispo as "Sustainability Champion," an award given to one person from the state university system who has helped make sustainability the goal in California's higher education. Chico Enterprise Record article

Financial Focus: Going green? Do some research - There's talk that the "green" movement could be a major economic power in the coming years. What advice do you have for people who want to invest in that area? Redding Record Searchlight article

Green Gadget: A trade-up guarantee for electronics - In 2004, TechForward Inc. introduced its Guaranteed Buyback Plan. This two-year plan locks in the value of a variety of consumer electronic devices, guaranteeing owners a check, gift card or store credit when the product's returned. Redding Record Searchlight article

Physicist group urges U.S. to maximize energy efficiency - The United States can reduce its dependence on foreign oil and greenhouse-gas emissions by making cars and buildings much more energy-efficient, according to a study released Tuesday by a large national association of physicists. Sacramento Bee article

Old-growth Sierra junipers felled amid warming debate -Moments after he saw the centuries-old junipers on the ground, Glenn Fair felt sick to his stomach. A 60-year-old fishing guide from rural Lassen County, Fair has nothing against thinning forests to protect them from fire and disease. But the barren, dusty swath of stumps and downed junipers logged from public land last year and the adjacent house-high pile of wood chips was not that kind of cut. Sacramento Bee article

The Conversation: How do we become less dependent? - With a peak oil conference in Sacramento this week and the 100th anniversary of the first mass-market automobile coming up, it's a perfect time to re-visit our relationship with that most ubiquitous icon of the American (and California) Dream: The Car. Sacramento Bee editorial

Green dominates the list of fastest-growing companies - Renewable energy companies took half of the top 10 spots on the Business Journal’s list of fastest-growing companies from 2005 to 2007. Industry experts say the expiration of federal tax credits for renewable energy at the end of this year could crush the demand for large solar-power systems in the United States. Sacramento Business Journal article

California PUC says no to renewable energy measure - The California Public Utilities Commission voted unanimously Thursday to oppose Proposition 7, the ballot measure that would, among other things, order California utilities to procure half of their power from renewable resources by 2025. Sacramento Business Journal article

Everyone is an expert on saving energy these days - Energy is all the rage. It seems we don't have enough of it and will have to spend through the nose to get more. Where we once monitored the price of milk for morning cereal, we now eagerly check the price per barrel for oil to see if we can afford to fill up the family car. Woodland Daily Democrat editorial

Solar saviors?: Panels would spare about $1 million over time - Solano County will dedicate a 746-kilowatt solar panel near Claybank Jail in Fairfield on Tuesday, a move that is expected to save around $1 million over the next 20 years. Woodland Daily Democrat article

Challenge to California wind farm dismissed - A lawsuit contending the whirling blades on the hundreds of windmills in the Altamont Pass area are killing birds has been rejected by the First District Court of Appeal. Central Valley Business Times article