Gov. Jerry Brown will head to the UN climate talks in Paris, how the drought is affecting Christmas trees, Tom Jones talks about his new album.
Gov. Brown: nations should 'go beyond' Paris deal on climate
California Gov. Jerry Brown departs for Paris this week to take part in the COP 21 climate change talks, and his focus will be on green technology and even more ambitious targets for emission cuts in the state.
"If we don't reduce our carbon footprint, there will be devastating consequences," said Brown. "I'm looking to get others to join California in what it's doing on renewable energy, on building standards, on auto emissions."
The governor is scheduled to kick-off the Paris trip with an event Friday on the role that state and regional governments can play in climate action. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is also expected to attend that meeting.
Highlights from the interview with Take Two:
Q: Senate President pro Tem Kevin de Leon, who will be joining you in Paris, has said one of the goals at the summit is to bring back investment capital to California to fund green tech projects. What are your goals for the visit?
I'm looking to get others to join California in what it's doing on renewable energy, on building standards, on auto emissions, zero-emission vehicles and all that...about half of the venture capital investment in America comes to California because of Silicon Valley and the [biotechnology] in San Diego and Orange County, so we're very well placed to receive and earn these investments and that will push our whole program forward of reducing our carbon footprint.
Q: This year one of the key parts of the climate bill you backed, known as SB 350, would have set the goal of cutting oil consumption by 50 percent over the next 15 years. But that part was dropped after heavy lobbying from the oil industry. How big a defeat was that and how can California make the cuts necessary without tough measures like this?
Well, I would have loved to have had the law embodied in our statutory framework, but I still have set the goal by executive order: 50 percent less oil and diesel in California vehicles, that's our goal. And we're going to meet it by working with the California utilities and the automobile companies to promote zero-emission vehicles. We want to make the combustion engine obsolete – and certainly in the short term, a smaller and smaller share of the market.
Q: We've talked about climate-related concerns in the state, whether its sea-level rise or more extreme drought. What do you see as a top priority in the state in terms of getting ready for climate change?
The threat I see is fire and more negative effects from the historic drought. What I think we have to do [is] we have to get more electric vehicles, we need more efficient buildings, we need better land-use so people live close to where they work, and we have to reduce the dependency on fossil fuels, on oil and gas. And we have to make all our industrial processes – from cement to everything else – more efficient and, therefore, more compatible with a benign weather climate.
Q: One of the important pieces of the state's climate plan is the cap and trade program, but it's been controversial. And not just from the energy sector. This year, Pope Francis criticized the strategy of buying and selling 'carbon credits,' saying it leads to a new form of speculation that won't reduce pollution. Is California relying too much on this strategy?
No. In fact, cap and trade is about 17 percent of our goal – in fact, probably even less than that. We have regulatory efforts, what the critics call 'command and control.' We say, you must have 50 percent renewable energy in 15 years, that's a rule. We say the level of emissions coming out of your automobile, the standards of your buildings, homes and commercial buildings have to meet. That's an order. Thou shalt do it. Now in addition to that, we have this flexible, what they call market-based system, where if you can't do it in your own building, you can go pay someone else who has done even more than is required. And through cap and trade, you find you can bring down emissions in a very efficient way. I think the Pope was talking about some kind of system that relied totally on a market and not on specifically mandatory goals, which California has.
Tom Steyer, prominent California businesspeople push for clean energy
Green technology and energy just got a big boost from some of the biggest names in business.
Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Meg Whitman are just some of the billionaires who are part of the new group Breakthrough Energy Coalition, which is dedicated to funding and investing new clean technologies.
Former hedge fund manager Tom Steyer is also a key member of the effort. He's the founder and president of the environmental advocacy organization NextGen Climate, and is a powerful force for environmental reforms in California.
Steyer joins Take Two to explain why everyone, not just billionaires, should be invested in encouraging this industry in the state.
LA City Council to vote on faster plan to house homeless veterans
Los Angeles has one of the largest populations of homeless people in the country, and many of them are veterans.
One of the ways L.A. wants to tackle the problem is by creating homes on land owned by the Veterans Administration in West L.A. Sounds simple, right? Not so much.
Now, the L.A. City Council is set to vote on a plan that could help house homeless vets faster.
John Ismay covers veterans affairs for Southern California Public Radio. He says at the heart of the matter is the land the VA occupies.
'Guardian' investigation: Police in Kern County kill residents at highest rate in U.S.
The use of lethal force by police has gotten a lot of attention lately in the media, but it's a tough topic for Americans to truly get a handle on.
That's in large part because the federal government keeps no nationwide record on police shootings. But the news site "The Guardian" has been working to build a database of officer involved deaths across the country. Their work is similar to reporting at KPCC which found 375 people were shot by police in L.A. County over the past five years.
And yet, L.A. is not the California county currently holding the title of most people killed per capita this year. That dubious honor goes to Kern County, where 13 people have been killed in 2015.
Reporter Jon Swaine joined Take Two to discuss Part 1 of The Guardian's five-part series, "The County: the story of America's deadliest police."
To hear the full interview with Jon Swaine, click the link above.
Tom Jones gets his 'rock and roll rocks off' in new album
He might be 75 years old, but Tom Jones has still got it.
In his new album, "Long Lost Suitcase," Jones bears a side of himself seldom heard. It's blues, it's country, it's rock, but above all, perhaps, it's a crooner telling the tale of his six-decade career in song. Jones recently sat down with Take Two's Alex Cohen to talk about the album that he's "always wanted to make."
It all started with radio
Tom Jones contracted tuberculosis at a young age, which left him bedridden for two years. The singer passed much of this time listening to the radio.
"That's where I got my influences from, I think," Jones says. "The BBC — in those days — they had to play everything because they had two stations. Then there was Radio Luxembourg as well, which was coming out of Luxembourg, Germany, and they would play a lot of American roots music, which I was very much interested in. So much so that I was in school and I sang the Lord's Prayer and the music teacher said to me, 'why are you singing this like a negro spiritual?'"
Getting his 'rock and roll rocks off'
After nearly five decades of being widely known as Tom Jones of "It's Not Unusual" fame, Jones says that his new album has been a long time coming. With the help of longtime producer and multi-instrumentalist Ethan Johns, Jones selected some of his favorite songs to remake in his own style. When asked if he saw this album as a chance to get his rock and roll "ya-yas" out. Jones quickly replied, "yes."
"The songs, especially on this album now, are songs that I've always wanted to do," Jones says. "'The Green Grass of Home' and 'It's Not Unusual,' they were all great records … but I never got a chance in those days to record some of the roots music that I listen to, that I grew up listening to. I still do 'It's Not Unusual,' but we do it more in keeping with the stuff I'm doing now ... But you're right, I'm getting my rock and roll rocks off if you'd like." Jones says.
Press the blue play button above to hear Take Two's interview with Tom Jones.
For the full, uncut interview, click the link below the blue play button.
Week's top sports stories: Kobe Bryant launches farewell tour, Dodgers' Dave Roberts talks 'grit'
After announcing retirement, Lakers star Kobe Bryant puts on a show (at least in terms of launching missed shots) in his team's loss against the Philadelphia 76rs, the Dodgers new manager Dave Roberts talks stats and 'grit' on the field, and USC makes it official: their new permanent coach will be Clay Helton.
We're joined by
Correction: An earlier version of this post had the wrong last name for Dave Roberts. We regret this error.
Chan and Zuckerberg donate Facebook shares for charity
Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan made two announcements Tuesday.
The first was the birth of their daughter Max. The second was that they were selling off their Facebook stocks to start a new company, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.
The shares, valued at $45 billion, will go towards the company's new charity efforts, making the couple two of the largest names in tech getting in on philanthropy.
Rebecca Koenig, reporter for the Chronicle of Philanthropy, expalined why so many young wealthy techies are gaining an interest in altruism.
To hear the full interview, click on the blue player above.
The Styled Side: give better gifts through science
'Tis the season to be giving gifts, but you also want to make sure people don't think your presents are worse than coal.
"It seems like it should be so fun, but it can actually be stressful," says Michelle Dalton Tyree from Fashion Trends Daily. "Do you get them something that you like? What if it’s a significant other?"
Just like in fashion, there are trends in gift giving.
Gift baskets are gaining popularity, but not the kinds from Harry & David or Omaha Steaks.
"There’s a trend toward more 'curated' baskets that feel simple and earthy but are actually quite luxe," says Tyree. "Here in L.A., Simone LeBlanc has made a big business out of these baskets and she’s become a bit of a sensation."
Subscription services are also trendy. Companies like Birchbox and Dollar Shave Club will ship out packages filled with artisan-made products every month, making your gift a year-round treat.
Take a listen to the interview for more gift-giving advice from Michelle Dalton Tyree.