Monterey County Local Environment News Articles and Digest

Environment Government

California Unlikely to Meet Landmark Goals for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions

03/15/2024
California will miss its goals unless it can increase emission reductions threefold, according to a new study.

From Monterey County Weekly...

Public Safety Environment City of Seaside

Seaside City Council Votes to Put 'Safe and Sane' Fireworks on the Ballot.

03/08/2024
Image for display with article titled Seaside City Council Votes to Put 'Safe and Sane' Fireworks on the Ballot.

Fireworks have long been a polarizing issue in Seaside—some people love them, some people loathe them.

From Monterey Herald...

Environment Sustainability

Fishing Closures Considered to Protect Deep-sea Habitats

03/03/2024
The Pacific Fishery Management Council is considering closure of deep-sea coral restoration and research sites to fishing to protect habitats from bottom fishing gear in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

From CapPublicRadio...

Environment Sustainability

Wildfires Are Killing California’s Ancient Giants. Can Seedlings Save the Species?

02/26/2024
Ecologists estimate that up to 14,000 sequoias have been killed in recent wildfires. The National Park Service for the first time has begun replanting some severely burned areas.

From CalMatters...

Environment Sustainability Government

California’s Polluted Communities Could Miss Out on Billions Under Flawed System

02/22/2024
The state’s environmental tool skews which communities are designated as disadvantaged, researchers say. Some immigrant neighborhoods could be left out, while other groups are overrepresented.

From Los Angeles Times...

Environment Water

After Heavy Storms, Death Valley Is Now Open to Kayakers

02/20/2024
A temporary lake in Death Valley National Park doubled after recent rains and is now deep enough to launch a kayak. Prior to August, ghostly Lake Manly hadn’t appeared in 19 years.

From SF Gate...

Environment Animals Sustainability

Eager Crowds Are Threatening a Bay Area Beach Ecosystem, Scientists Warn

02/14/2024
Foragers at the beaches in Half Moon Bay might be damaging the area’s reef.

From Monterey Herald...

Environment Community Service & Support Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History

New PG Museum Director Chosen for Community Engagement Background

02/12/2024
Changes are coming to the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History, starting with the arrival of its new executive director, Dr. Rachel Miller, in early March.

From Monterey Herald...

Environment Animals Sustainability

The Wild Pig Problem in Monterey County

02/09/2024
Pigs running down the streets of Salinas? “It’s not too far-fetched,” says one trapper. After incessant rain, Monterey County is experiencing a big pig problem.

From Los Angeles Times...

Public Safety Environment Water Resilience

The Terrifying Forces That Created a California Monster Storm

02/05/2024
The storm fed off of unusually warm waters as it grew. It also reached “bomb cyclone” status as it neared California.

From Daily Democrat...

Public Safety Environment

Some Experts Are Proposing a Category 6 Storm Rating

02/05/2024
A handful of super powerful tropical storms in the last decade and the prospect of more to come has a couple of experts proposing a new category of whopper hurricanes: Category 6.

From SF Gate...

Environment Animals

Imperiled Monarch Butterflies Cling to Survival in California

01/30/2024
Monarch butterflies have a long way to go before reaching stable population numbers.

From SF Gate...

Environment Water

Scientists Debunk California Biblical-Storm Hysteria Swirling on Internet

01/29/2024
What is an ARkStorm and why is everyone talking about it on social media right now?

From Los Angeles Times...

Environment Sustainability

A Fire Burning Inside an L.A. County Landfill is Raising Alarms Over Toxic Air

01/29/2024
As an underground fire burns deep within Chiquita Canyon Landfill, air regulators are raising alarms over the possible spread of toxic vapors.

California Local Pin Marker From California Local...

Business, Economy & Jobs Environment Land Use & Development Agriculture, Food & Gardening Housing

Silicon Valley Billionaires vs. Bay Area’s Housing Crisis?

01/28/2024
Image for display with article titled Can a Handful of Silicon Valley Billionaires Fix the Bay Area’s Housing Crisis?

In NYT’s “The Farmers Had What the Billionaires Wanted,” we meet a man who wants to build a city in the middle of nowhere, and folks who are slowing him down. For now.

From CapPublicRadio...

Environment Water Sustainability

‘Hot Droughts’ Are Becoming More Common in the Arid West, New Study Finds

01/28/2024
Take a period of limited rainfall. Add heat. And you have what scientists call a “hot drought”—dry conditions made more intense by the evaporative power of hotter temperatures.

From Edible Monterey Bay...

Environment Agriculture, Food & Gardening

Winners and Wonder From a Wild Big Sur Fungus Face-Off

01/23/2024
Rain romped. Mushrooms rose. Delirium descended. So it went for the first in-person edition of the Fungus Face-Off in several years, as part of Big Sur Foragers Fest.

From Santa Cruz Sentinel...

Environment Water Sustainability Community Service & Support

Students Make Waves to Protect Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary

01/19/2024
Students throughout the nation have been engaging in environmental stewardship projects, as part of NOAA’s Ocean Guardian School program.

California Local Pin Marker From California Local...

Business, Economy & Jobs Environment Water Agriculture, Food & Gardening Government

California’s New Water-Saving Regs Lack 'Compelling Justifications'

01/05/2024
Image for display with article titled California’s New Water-Saving Regs Lack 'Compelling Justifications' in Many Cases, Say Legislative Analysts

Benefits of the state's new, strict water conservation rules may not outweigh the costs, analysts say.

From SFGate...

Public Safety Environment Transportation

Snow Shortage Followed by Potential Whiteout in Sierras

01/05/2024
Heavy snow is projected in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Previously, warmer storms had been bringing precipitation mainly to higher elevations in the Sierras.

Monterey County Local News: Environment