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Sacramento County Sustainability Articles



Sacramento News and Review logo LOCAL NEWS
Sacramento’s First Passive House Sets the Standard for Green Building

By Krista Minard In East Sacramento, on a narrow avenue of small, single-story homes, a transformation is underway. An 82-year-old bungalow is becoming the new...

Sacramento News and Review logo LOCAL NEWS
CleanStart’s Thomas Hall and Christina Granados on the Importance of Community Outreach in Clean-Tech Development

By Hannah Ross As Sacramento looks to build a more sustainable and inclusive economy, in part thanks to an influx of state funding set to...

Sacramento News and Review logo LOCAL NEWS
Notes From Under Ground: The Future of the Sacramento Valley’s Water Below the Surface

By Judith Redmond The region is blessed with bountiful fresh water within its boundaries. Big Chico Creek, Butte Creek, Feather River and the Sacramento River...

American River Messenger logo LOCAL NEWS
Big Day of Service 2024 Triumphs in the Rain

1,000 Volunteers Rally Together for Big Day of Service in Fair Oaks

San Jose Inside logo LOCAL NEWS
California Climate Programs Would Lose Billions in Newsom’s Budget

As funds for climate change programs are cut, Democrats and environmentalists are pushing for a bond measure on the ballot to restore some funding.

Image caption: This 6,000 square foot structure, a two-boiler system, will help dispose of dangerous biomass by burning wood chips to boil water, providing heat to buildings in Northstar Village.
Transforming Waste Wood from Wildfire Hazard to Energy

For the good of Tahoe Truckee forests and communities, funders & local leaders rally to support Northstar Community Services District wood energy facility.

Image caption: California has a goal of 6 million heat pumps cooling and heating buildings by 2030.
6 Million New Heat Pumps: Essential to California's Climate Future

Heat pumps, an energy-efficient way to both heat and cool homes, are a necessary element of California's climate goal of net zero carbon emissions. Here's what they are, how they work, and how to get one.

Sacramento News and Review logo LOCAL NEWS
Wood Pellet Mills in California: A Blessing or a Boondoggle?

Supporters say harvesting trees would thin out the state’s overgrown forests; critics say the wood pellets for heating produce more carbon than coal. By John...

CalMatters logo STATE NEWS
Californians Face Higher Costs for Goods and Services Than Before the Pandemic Despite Inflation Slowing

The consumer price index shows services are mostly responsible for persistent inflation, but prices for food and other goods in California remain high.

Orangevale Sun logo LOCAL NEWS
County Charts Its Green Journey with New Dashboard

Sacramento County Launches a New Sustainability DashboardOriginal article published at Orangevale Sun

Sacramento News and Review logo LOCAL NEWS
Regional Tribal Environmental Coalition challenges State Water Board on Bay-Delta Plan

By Dan Bacher As the Delta Smelt has become virtually extinct in the wild – and as spring-run, winter-run and fall-run Chinook salmon populations on the...

Carmichael Times logo LOCAL NEWS
Meet Gabby Garbage

Sacramento County Asks that You Rethink Waste and your GarbageOriginal article published at Carmichael Times

Image caption: Long-duration energy storage, such as this thermal energy storage facility, allows renewable energy sources to operate at full capacity without overloading the power grid.
How California Leads the Race For Long Duration Energy Storage

Long-duration energy storage is essential if renewables are to become the basis for a future, carbon-neutral power grid. Here's how California is leading the race to store energy from solar, wind, and other clean sources for use whenever it's needed.

Image caption: Ocean waves may be good for more than surfing. They may play a role in reducing California's greenhouse gas emissions.
California Looks to Ocean Waves For New Clean Energy Source

Only a few small demonstration projects off the West Coast have harnessed the power of waves and tides. Costs are high and hurdles are challenging.

Sacramento News and Review logo LOCAL NEWS
Without tree cover, urban Californians are hit harder by heat, air pollution

California cities have the least urban tree canopy in the U.S. A Los Angeles housing project shows how residents can transform their environment — if...

Image caption: Even as the state has set ambitious clean energy goals, California is once again slashing incentives for rooftop solar power.
California Slashes Rooftop Solar Incentives—Again

The utilities commission reduced payments to apartments, schools and businesses selling solar power to the grid despite a barrage of criticism. Commissioners say it reverses unfair subsidies.

Image caption: A definitive federal report says California’s economy suffers more than almost all states from the effects of climate change.
California Among Top 5 Worst Climate Change States, Report Says

California ranks among the top states suffering economic damage from climate-related disasters. The report describes food shortages, floods, droughts, wildfires, pollution, disease—all linked to climate change.

Image caption: California is considering an end to a program that gives tax credits for cow poop–based biofuels.
Climate Credits for Cow Manure: Program May End Soon

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.

Featured

Water is a human right under California law, but it doesn’t always work out that way.
Agriculture and Water Shortages in the State’s Breadbasket, Explained
There are many causes contributing to this crisis. And as you may already know, this situation really is nuts.
RCDs look after the land, whether it’s used for grazing, growing, or getting out into nature.
California Dirt
RCDs were created to avoid a repeat of the Dust Bowl. Now they work with landowners to preserve the air, water and natural habitats that sustain us all.
Moss Landing in Monterey Bay is the world’s largest battery storage facility for solar and other renewable energy.
Solar Power and California’s Clean Energy Goals
How the sun is helping push the state toward 100 percent renewable energy.
Dairy products are California’s top agricultural commodity, but the industry is often criticized for its impact on the environment.
Sustainable Sustenance
Greener ways to feed the world’s growing population
How California reclamation districts turned millions of acres of wetlands into fertile agricultural land, starting in the earliest days of the Gold Rush.
Reclamation Districts: Turning ‘Swamps’ Into Farmland
From its earliest days as a state, California has been trying to turn marshes into productive land.
Long-duration energy storage, such as this thermal energy storage facility, allows renewable energy sources to operate at full capacity without overloading the power grid.
How California Leads the Race For Long Duration Energy Storage
For renewable energy sources such as solar and wind to be viable, ways to store the power they create are essential.
California has a goal of 6 million heat pumps cooling and heating buildings by 2030.
6 Million New Heat Pumps: Essential to California's Climate Future
Installing 6 million heat pumps by 2030 is essential if California is to reach its goal of net zero carbon emissions.
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