Sustainability Image

Sacramento County Sustainability Articles



Sacramento News and Review logo LOCAL NEWS
Bumps in the air: What’s climate change got to do with It?

Add shaky planes, weather delays and cancellations to our new reality under unfriendly warming skies. By Mark Schapiro, Capital & Main This story is produced...

Image caption: Zoning for single family homes is at the heart of numerous urban and social problems.
Should Zoning Laws Be Abolished?

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.

Image caption: California ranks seventh in wind power, with 3.5 percent of all U.S. wind energy produced here.
California Inches Toward Renewable Energy Goal

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.

Image caption: The $1.7 billion EchoWater Project overhauled the Sacramento Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant, which serves some 1.6 million people.
Regional San and the Life Aquatic

The Sacramento region is home to one of the West’s largest inland wastewater plants. Now, a new treatment system makes its discharge into the Delta dramatically cleaner.

Image caption: The Harvest Water Project, a recycled water initiative newly launched by Regional San, will take in tertiary-treated water from the EchoWater Project (seen above) for landscape and agricultural irrigation.
Managing Liquid Assets

After launching an advanced wastewater treatment system, Regional San will focus on an initiative to produce water for landscape and agricultural irrigation.

Image caption: Gary Gragg examines buds on one of the mango plants he's growing in the Sacramento Valley.
Mangoes and Agave in the Central Valley?

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.

Image caption: Withholding a mere 1% of LA's water would protect Mono Lake and millions of birds.
Save Mono Lake Again

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

Image caption: The snow-lined South Fork of the American River on March 3, 2023.
Too Much, Too Early

When warm storms melt snowpack early, reservoir managers must release water to prevent flooding—which sends this precious resource into the ocean.

Image caption: Ever little bit helps in the fight against climate change.
Small Steps in the Right Direction

Don’t just be a spectator in the fight against climate change. Here are some small steps you can take to reduce your carbon footprint.

Image caption: Dairy products are California’s top agricultural commodity, but the industry is often criticized for its impact on the environment.
Sustainable Sustenance

California is a leading producer of agricultural crops. So it’s not surprising to find cutting-edge ideas taking root here.

Image caption: 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

Solar power, and a network of giant battery storage facilities, are playing an essential role in moving California toward its goal of exclusive reliance on renewable energy sources.

Image caption: Action Heroes: EA promotes alternative transportation year round, not just during Bike Month.
Ecology Action’s Plan for a Greener Future

For half a century, this group has reduced waste, reimagined local transportation and redesigned buildings. It’s all part of Ecology Action’s quest for sustainability.

Image caption: Tahoe Weekly offers advice on how to help protect the beloved region.
The 5 Greatest Threats to Lake Tahoe

Tahoe is majestic and awe inspiring with its jagged mountain peaks, thick forests, swift-running rivers and hundreds of glacial and alpine lakes.

Image caption: Artist's rendering of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, which will be the largest in the world.
The Bridge to Coexistence

The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, which will help pumas in the Santa Monica Mountains cross 10 lanes of Highway 101, will be the largest in the world.

Image caption: Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in San Luis Obispo County, California.
Nuclear Power in California: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

California may soon shut down its last nuclear power plant, but Gov. Gavin Newsom who once championed the closure has had a change of heart. Federal funds may now keep the plant running.

Image caption:
A Modern-Day Noah’s Ark

LA Times staff writer Louis Sahagun reports from the front lines of the battle to preserve California’s most endangered species.

Image caption: RCDs look after the land, whether it’s used for grazing, growing, or getting out into nature.
California Dirt

What do resource conservation districts protect? Pretty much everything that’s worth saving.

Image caption: 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

Residential wells are drying up in the state’s main agricultural region at the same time that agricultural businesses consume almost 90 percent of the water there.

Image caption: Some small composting facilities, made necessary by a methane-reduction law,  have been set up in or near community gardens.
Compost Belongs in the Garden

Californians Against Waste was one of the main advocates behind SB 1383, which requires California to divert 75 percent of its organic waste from landfills. California Local talked to CAW’s Nick Lapis to learn more about what it does and …

Image caption: At the dump, food waste is methane-producing garbage. At a farm, it's a valuable part of the food web.
Back to the Land, Not the Landfill

In 2022, California trash haulers will begin turning millions of tons of methane-emitting organic waste into a new cash crop: compost.

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.