Placer County Environment Digest

A new bill in Congress proposes banning new offshore fossil fuel drilling along the coast from Monterey to Mendocino County, U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Carmel Valley, said this week. The Central Coast of California Conservation Act would prohibit new exploration, development or production leases for natural gas or oil along the Central Coast, and a portion of the North Coast.

A huge algae bloom is responsible for the deaths of sea lions, pelicans and whales off the California coast.

A new online urban tree canopy mapping tool for California has been released by CalFire.

While it’s an unprecedented third year in a row for no commercially caught salmon, brief windows will be allowed for sportsfishing in California.

The Senate Judiciary Committee spiked a bill to let wildfire victims sue oil companies over climate change. Labor unions, not Big Oil, led the opposition.

The pipeline caused a major oil spill a decade ago, fouling the ocean off Santa Barbara County. The new owners say they don’t need new permits for repairs. The fine is the Coastal Commission’s largest.

Trump ordered his attorney general to move against state climate programs that clash with his energy agenda. Legal experts say his claims about the laws being unconstitutional are an overreach.

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

In the recurring legislative fight between YIMBY legislators and defenders of California’s signature environmental law, one bill could be a final legislative showdown.

The ports of LA and Long Beach are the biggest sources of air pollution in the LA basin. Air quality officials have drafted new rules to help electrify the ports. But community groups representing 400,000 residents say they don’t go far enough or fast enough to clean up their dirty air.

Evacuating the Tahoe basin in summer could take 14 hours, and 99% of properties are at risk — yet new resorts are being built in high-danger fire areas.

Billions of state and federal dollars are spent on Lake Tahoe. But is all this attention actually protecting this unique treasure? Pollutants pour in, while development continues. Funding has shifted in focus to tourism and traffic projects, while money spent directly on fixing the lake has declined.

A new bill by a Bay Area state senator aims to create a special fund to help clean up so-called forever chemicals in California’s water supply. Senate Bill 454 was introduced by Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, on February 18 and, if passed by the state Legislature and signed by the governor, would create the PFAS Mitigation Fund.

AS HOST TO the largest battery storage facility in the world, on a site that just had its fourth fire in four years, the people of Monterey County have grown to realize that Moss Landing is a learning laboratory for California’s green energy transition.

In their February 4 meeting, the Placer County Board of Supervisors approved the acquisition of 279 acres of land to add to the Placer County Conservation Program. Read on to learn more.

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.

The statewide count of overwintering monarch butterflies shows a sharp drop in number. Read on to learn more.

CHRIS BENNER AND MANUEL PASTOR have had front row seats to the changes taking place in the so-called Lithium Valley, the region around the Salton Sea, where a network of companies have hatched a plan for local and state government entities to mine vast quantities of lithium to use in the batteries that power electric vehicles.

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 LA fires have left domestic workers and day laborers jobless. They may soon be hired for wildfire cleanup work, where they can be exposed to ash and other toxins.

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 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.