San Benito County Local Environment News Articles and Digest

Public Safety Environment Water Resilience

The Terrifying Forces That Created a California Monster Storm

02/05/2024
The storm fed off of unusually warm waters as it grew. It also reached “bomb cyclone” status as it neared California.

From Daily Democrat...

Public Safety Environment

Some Experts Are Proposing a Category 6 Storm Rating

02/05/2024
A handful of super powerful tropical storms in the last decade and the prospect of more to come has a couple of experts proposing a new category of whopper hurricanes: Category 6.

From SF Gate...

Environment Animals

Imperiled Monarch Butterflies Cling to Survival in California

01/30/2024
Monarch butterflies have a long way to go before reaching stable population numbers.

From SF Gate...

Environment Water

Scientists Debunk California Biblical-Storm Hysteria Swirling on Internet

01/29/2024
What is an ARkStorm and why is everyone talking about it on social media right now?

From Los Angeles Times...

Environment Sustainability

A Fire Burning Inside an L.A. County Landfill is Raising Alarms Over Toxic Air

01/29/2024
As an underground fire burns deep within Chiquita Canyon Landfill, air regulators are raising alarms over the possible spread of toxic vapors.

California Local Pin Marker From California Local...

Business, Economy & Jobs Environment Land Use & Development Agriculture, Food & Gardening Housing

Silicon Valley Billionaires vs. Bay Area’s Housing Crisis?

01/28/2024
Image for display with article titled Can a Handful of Silicon Valley Billionaires Fix the Bay Area’s Housing Crisis?

In NYT’s “The Farmers Had What the Billionaires Wanted,” we meet a man who wants to build a city in the middle of nowhere, and folks who are slowing him down. For now.

From CapPublicRadio...

Environment Water Sustainability

‘Hot Droughts’ Are Becoming More Common in the Arid West, New Study Finds

01/28/2024
Take a period of limited rainfall. Add heat. And you have what scientists call a “hot drought”—dry conditions made more intense by the evaporative power of hotter temperatures.

From Edible Monterey Bay...

Environment Agriculture, Food & Gardening

Winners and Wonder From a Wild Big Sur Fungus Face-Off

01/23/2024
Rain romped. Mushrooms rose. Delirium descended. So it went for the first in-person edition of the Fungus Face-Off in several years, as part of Big Sur Foragers Fest.

California Local Pin Marker From California Local...

Business, Economy & Jobs Environment Water Agriculture, Food & Gardening Government

California’s New Water-Saving Regs Lack 'Compelling Justifications'

01/05/2024
Image for display with article titled California’s New Water-Saving Regs Lack 'Compelling Justifications' in Many Cases, Say Legislative Analysts

Benefits of the state's new, strict water conservation rules may not outweigh the costs, analysts say.

From SFGate...

Public Safety Environment Transportation

Snow Shortage Followed by Potential Whiteout in Sierras

01/05/2024
Heavy snow is projected in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Previously, warmer storms had been bringing precipitation mainly to higher elevations in the Sierras.

From Los Angeles Times...

Public Safety Environment Water

WWII-Era Dump Site Found Off LA Coast

01/05/2024
Munition boxes, depth charges and smoke floats have been found 3,000 feet underwater off the coast of Los Angeles. More than 100 square miles of ocean might be contaminated.

From KQED...

Environment Water

Climate Change Might Lessen Bay Area Fog

01/05/2024
The Bay Area’s fog is iconic. But the latest episode of KQED podcast “Bay Curious” looks at how climate change could reduce the number of foggy days in the area.

From YubaNet...

Environment Animals

The Chickadee in the Snowbank

01/04/2024
Research shows that a mountain chickadee facing deep snow is like a canary in a coal mine—its survivability tells us about the challenges ahead.

From LAist...

Environment Water Agriculture, Food & Gardening

Bright Blue Waves Return to Southern California

01/03/2024
Bright blue waves have been spotted in Long Beach, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach and Seal Beach. The bioluminescence is caused by organisms known as dinoflagellates and can impact fish populations.

From Sacramento Bee...

Environment Water

Sierra Snowpack at 25% of Usual Levels

01/02/2024
The California Department of Water Resources has found that the snowpack in the Sierra Nevada mountains is at just 25% of normal levels for this time of year. This could potentially impact water supply and wildfire protection.

From The Mercury News...

Environment Animals Sustainability

Collisions With Buildings Are Killing Millions of Birds Nationwide

12/26/2023
A dark-sky movement to save birds from window strikes is sweeping the San Francisco Bay Area. Several cities have passed or are drafting laws restricting light pollution while making windows easier for birds to see.

From Monterey Herald...

Environment Animals

How Gruesome Seal Deaths on the California Coast Revealed a Surprise Predator

12/22/2023
Sarah Grimes investigates reports of dead marine mammals up and down the coast. So when she began finding the decapitated bodies of harbor seal pups just a few miles north of Fort Bragg in 2016, she was on the case. Grimes wasn’t able to pin down the culprit until last year, with the help of a UCSC student.

From Sacramento Bee...

Environment Water Government

Single Delta Tunnel Wins Approval from State

12/21/2023
The California Department of Water Resources has approved building a tunnel between the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The approval could signal a new wave of legal challenges to the long-running and controversial project.

From SFGate...

Environment Land Use & Development Water History

Tribe Acquires Vast Land in Northern California, Will Remove Dams

12/21/2023
The Hoopa Valley Tribe announced it is acquiring about 10,000 acres of land in Northern California for $14.1 million. As part of this, the tribe will remove dams along the Klamath River and restore salmon runs.

California Local Pin Marker From California Local...

Business, Economy & Jobs Environment Health Government

How California Dumps Hazardous Waste on a Mexican Town

12/20/2023
Image for display with article titled How California Industry Dodges Environmental Laws by Dumping Waste On a Small Mexican Town

Both private industry and state government have sent toxic waste to a plant across the border from San Diego.

San Benito County Local News: Environment