Monterey County Sustainability Articles

As concerns about whale entanglements caused by standard crab fishing gear continue to be at the top of mind for environmental watchdogs and state and federal regulators, Charlton Bonham, director of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, announced Friday,…

Tim Thomas is the recipient of the Ed Ricketts Award from NOAA's Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary along with Rumsen-Ohlone Tribal member Linda Yamane. In this interview, Tim Thomas discusses the sardine and abalone fishery in the Monterey Bay, and …

California grants climate credits for fuel made from cow manure, but there’s a paradox: The state’s program encourages collection of methane yet promotes natural gas.

In a stunning win, construction students from Rancho Cielo in Salinas won the top prize at the Orange County Sustainability Decathlon on Saturday, Oct. 14, beating out students from top universities in the U.S. and England. Out of 10 categories,…

Ocean wind farms are essential to electrify California’s grid with 100% clean energy. But they’re a giant, costly experiment—no one knows how hundreds of towering turbines will transform the remote North Coast.

The conservation director of Land Trust of Santa Cruz talks about the highlights of his work, and some of the issues he sees in maintaining California’s parks.

While they have no way of knowing it, southern sea otters – a threatened species once thought to be extinct – scored a big win last week.

CENTRAL COAST — Located in California’s Central Coast, the 160-acre Church Creek property overlooks the wild, sharp-crested ridges and steep valleys of the interior coastal range. The private property is in the heart of the Ventana Wilderness, west of the …

California has used reclamation districts to turn millions of acres of unusable swamps into fertile agricultural land, starting in the earliest days of the Gold Rush. Here’s how it happened.

A conversation with Stacy Caldwell, CEO of Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation

It’s a pleasant 67 degrees in Seaside as I write this, slightly warmer than the usual high of 65. Such moderate temperatures are so normal for Seaside that it’s easy, for those who haven’t traveled further inland this summer, to…

A new, Soledad-based startup has launched a pilot program testing its carbon removal technology: a pyrolysis machine that converts wood waste and other organic byproducts into biochar, a carbon-rich soil supplement that it aims to provide to farmers.

Santa Cruz County has withdrawn from an agreement with Pajaro Valley Regional Flood Management Agency (PRFMA) after the two disagreed on how to spend roughly $1 million in funds meant to address flood risk in South County. PRFMA is made …

Zoning laws that restrict new housing development cause environmental damage, racial and class segregation, and force people into cars creating traffic. Now, a new movement wants to abolish zoning in the United States.

SOLEDAD — The cause of a wildfire near Astoria Shooting Range in Soledad is still under investigation, according to Cal Fire officials. The wildfire, named the Range Fire, started June 4 at about 5:38 p.m. near the gun range on …

Renewable energy sources provided 37 percent of California electricity in 2021, a new record for the state as it moves toward its 2045 goal of 100 percent clean energy. Battery storage will play a huge role in reaching that goal.

The future of farming in California is changing as the planet warms, altering the rain and heat patterns that guide which crops are grown where. “We’re adjusting for survival,” one grower said.

Within Carmel’s one-square-mile city, volunteers with the nonprofit group Carmel Cares picked up 70 pounds of cigarette butts – representing approximately 250,000 cigarettes – in 2022 alone. That staggering number is just a drop in the bucket nationally; the Keep…

I’d like to start this piece with a quote: “In 2023, we must come together again in partnership for the planet. Businesses, governments and civil society are equally responsible for taking action against the climate crisis and lighting the spark …

A sizeable coalition has called for California's water regulator to take emergency measures to protect Mono Lake and suspend diversions to Los Angeles.