Nevada County Sustainability Digest

The California Air Resources Board is going to spend $100 million to track greenhouse gas emissions with satellites.

A new conservancy will oversee work to improve vegetation, water quality and natural habitat in the Salton Sea. Will nearly half a billion dollars in projects be enough?

State and federal water managers have announced significant increases to water allocations across California thanks to early February storms and healthy reservoir levels.

The governor vowed to clear the way for more groundwater recharge. Has it worked? “We’re still tinkering around with small numbers,” one expert says.

For the past three years, more than 200,000 western monarch butterflies spent their winters along the California coast — huddling together in tall tree groves, finding respite from the wind from November to February.

Read on to learn more about community choice aggregator Pioneer Community Energy and their presentation at the recent Nevada County Board of Supervisors workshop.

The number of monarch butterflies overwintering in California are at a near-record low, and the wiping out of the Topanga butterfly habitat by the LA fires has made matters worse. Read on to learn more.

Energy demands from big tech, including for AI, has elected officials giving an old power source a second look.

The president’s order has no immediate effect on offshore wind leases already authorized, including two large areas off California’s coast. But it sends a current of uncertainty through the fledgling renewable energy industry, which relies on federal and state support.

It would be impossible to overstate the complexity of water supply management in California.

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.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s decree that by 2035 all new cars sold in California must be powered by batteries or other zero-emission systems has received a double dose of legal and political support.

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

Get the details about the new green carts being delivered in Grass Valley and Nevada County to be used in the new food waste collection service which begins December 16.

Read on to learn more about the Nevada Irrigation District projects to restore vital watershed feeding its water supply system.

Trump’s promise to “end” the offshore wind industry could threaten CA’s renewable energy goals, potentially cutting off federal funding.

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.

Low counts of spawning salmon could mean another year without fishing. Experts say the outlook still has time to turn around.

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.

Most of us operate on the calendar year — the 12 months that begin on January 1 and end on December 31.

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.

Learn more about the upcoming Sierra Nevada Alliance Conservation Conference to be held November 7-8 at outh Lake Tahoe at Lake Tahoe Community College.

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

A California Strategic Growth Council grant of $500,000 to the County of Nevada and the Nevada County Resource Conservation District will fund a 3-year planning local conservation planning cycle.

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

California Air Resources Board staff will be on hand for a listening session co-hosted by local nonprofit Sierra Energy Reimagined in Nevada County seeking input toward the development of emission standards for space and water heaters.

Following a two-year process exploring the future water needs of the region, the Nevada Irrigation District released its "Plan for Water Final Technical Memorandum."

A new delay is pushing repairs to Spaulding Powerhouse #2 beyond the previously expected mid-September completion date.

Legislators and Gov. Newsom are working behind the scenes to draft energy legislation before the end-of-the-month deadline.

Public chargers must be built at an unprecedented pace to meet the target in less than 7 years, and then doubled to 2 million in 2035. The high cost — $120,000 or more for one fast charger— is just one obstacle.

PG&E reported progress in repairs to the Spaulding Powerhouse and South Yuba Pipe.

Harnessing clean energy is a venture of unprecedented scope in California, bringing big changes to Humboldt and the Central Coast, and requiring 26 ports along the coast.