El Dorado County Environment Digest

Key moisture measurements are only 2% to 5% of average, leaving dusty soils. And the recent swing from wet to dry is among the most extreme on record. This combination of climatic conditions crossed into a danger zone, priming much of Southern California for wind-whipped fires.

In a striking setback to reduce California’s air pollution but a win for trucking companies, state regulators have walked away from their ambitious plan to phase out diesel trucks less than a week before President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House.

Read on to learn more about what happens in the aftermath of a wildfire, using the 2021 220,000-acre Caldor Fire as an example.

Read on to learn about the two new California National Monuments to be declared by outgoing President Biden.

Use this explainer by the National Science Foundation-sponsored National Center for Atmospheric Research to understand atmospheric rivers and how they'll change as the climate warms.

The US EPA granted California’s waiver, which the incoming Trump administration is likely to try to overturn in the courts. The state’s zero-emission vehicle mandates have been the driving force behind California’s progress in cleaning up dangerous air pollutants.

Some rural California communities are resisting efforts to streamline permitting for wind and solar farms and battery storage for environmental or safety reasons.

The Supreme Court justices agreed to review whether oil companies have standing to try to overturn a federal waiver for a California clean-car rule that ramped up electric car sales. The standards are the cornerstone of California’s efforts to clean its air and combat climate change.

When disaster strikes, California gets federal funding to hire temporary workers to clean debris. But the jobs are tough, and some agencies struggle to manage the grants.

The Biden administration is awarding Inflation Reduction Act money to help clean the air before President-elect Trump takes over.

California has an aggressive mandate for zero-emission trucks, which are powered by electricity or hydrogen. But trucking companies face big obstacles — and people are still breathing dangerous diesel exhaust.

Most ships discharging ballast water into California waters are inspected, but state officials have tested the water of only 16 ships. Experts say invaders like mussels are inevitable under current rules and enforcement.

Read on for information about the local businesses working with the League to Save Lake Tahoe.

Learn more about the clearing of three homeless camps and the thousands of pounds of rubbish removed before being covered by coming winter snows.

Work is underway to remove thousands of tons of abandoned telecommunications cable from Lake Tahoe. Read on to learn more about how it got there in the first place, and the local champions who fought to get it removed.

Experts don’t know how much gas prices may rise from the revised California climate program, which tightens standards and gives incentives for low-carbon fuels. The board ordered an annual review of the cost impacts.

A lot is at stake with the new Trump administration: California’s water projects, its unique authority to clean its air, federal support for offshore wind and disaster aid for wildfires.

Learn more about how the just-passed $10 billion climate bond measure will fund resiliency projects across the state.

Sixty years ago, I was a reporter for the Klamath Falls (Oregon) Herald and News and with my family lived in a small house on the Link River, which flows out of Upper Klamath Lake, draining a large portion of the Cascade mountain range.

Growers support a federal and state proposal for operating California’s massive systems that send river water south. But it could harm more salmon and other endangered fish.

Capturing and storing carbon underground is a big part of California’s efforts to tackle climate change but community members and environmentalists say it prolongs the life of fossil fuels.

How to apply rebate as part of the recent $80 million state program to electrify homes.

Congress has reauthorized the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act through 2034, appropriating $300 million for the Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Program.

Answers to questions about the rollout of new blue and green recycling barrels underway in South Lake Tahoe and other areas of the county.

The Tahoe Beach Club sponsored Alpenglow Festival raised over $50,000 to be granted to local artists and nonprofit Clean Up The Lake.

The California state goal to conserve 30% of its land and coastal waters has advanced, with conserved lands reaching 25% and coastal waters 16%.

Over several days of dives at the end of June and the first days of July over 1.76 miles of underwater surveys, only low levels of litter from the shore were observed.

American Beverage has awarded a grant of $300,000 to South Tahoe Refuse to help fund the rollout of new recycling carts to over 19,000 residents of South Lake Tahoe.

To comply with state law, the City of South Lake Tahoe is moving to a three-cart curbside refuse and recycling program.

With almost 95,000 acres of forest treated, work continues to thin forests and reduce fire hazard in the Lake Tahoe basin.

Efforts to bring back the native Lahontan cutthroat trout to Lake Tahoe are making progress.

Enrollment is open for youth ages 5-18 to join the El Dorado County 4-H.