San Benito County Local Sustainability News Articles and Digest

Land Use & Development Agriculture, Food & Gardening Sustainability

Family Secures 140-Year Legacy by Conserving Silacci Ranch

12/12/2023
Image for display with article titled Family Secures 140-year Legacy by Conserving Silacci Ranch

The 9,400-acre Silacci Ranch, which stretches from the Salinas Valley floor to the peaks of the Gabilan Range, will be protected forever from suburban sprawl following an agreement between the property owner and a California land trust.

From Capital & Main...

Environment Sustainability Government

Kern County Looks to Make Renewable Energy with Carbon Dioxide

12/12/2023
Officials in Kern County are proposing to build a carbon management facility that would be twice the size of Manhattan. By doing this, they would leverage federal tax credits to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

From SFGate...

Environment Parks & Recreation Sustainability

Yosemite Trying New Strategies to Reduce Food Packaging Waste

12/11/2023
An estimated 100,000 pizza boxes have been removed from Yosemite’s waste stream. This is because the famed park now serves pizza on trays and puts to-go portions in compostable bags, part of a move to reduce food-related waste.

From YubaNet...

Education Environment Sustainability

Research Explores Capacity of Biochar to Combat Climate Change, Improve Forest Soils

12/08/2023
A Cal Poly Humboldt professor is partnering with USDA researchers to study biochar, which results from heating dry plant-based materials at high temperatures without oxygen. The CO2 in the charcoal then stays in the soil for hundreds of years, rather than in the atmosphere.

From Monterey Herald...

Business, Economy & Jobs Land Use & Development Animals Sustainability

Silacci Ranch Gains Conservation Easement

12/08/2023
The California Rangeland Trust announced the 9,400-acre Silacci Ranch's conservation was finalized, preserving the family's 140-year ranching legacy on land in Monterey and San Benito counties.

From Los Angeles Times...

Environment Transportation Sustainability

High-Speed Rail Project Connecting SoCal to Las Vegas Wins Grant

12/05/2023
Private company Brightline secured a $3 billion grant through the U.S. Department of Transportation toward a 218-mile high-speed rail line from Rancho Cucamonga to Las Vegas. The line would allow people to make the trip to Sin City in a little over two hours.

From SanBenitocom...

Agriculture, Food & Gardening Sustainability

Organic Growers See New Role in Age of Climate Change

12/04/2023
Image for display with article titled Organic Growers See New Role in Age of Climate Change

Food systems account for 20% to 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The reinvention of farming could impact the future as much as the electric car.

From SFGate...

Business, Economy & Jobs Environment Sustainability

Imperial County Might Have Enough Lithium for 375 Million Batteries

12/04/2023
A new study by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has found that approximately 3,400 kilotons of lithium are located below Imperial County in Southern California. This could produce more than $7 billion in lithium carbonate annually, helping power significant numbers of electric vehicles.

From KQED...

Business, Economy & Jobs Environment Transportation Sustainability Government

Oakland Might Have to Pay Developers Millions Over Coal Terminal

12/04/2023
An Alameda County judge ruled on Nov. 22 that the city of Oakland thwarted a proposed coal export terminal. The judge will rule if the developer who sued is entitled to $159 million in damages or moving forward with the project.

From YubaNet...

Environment Sustainability

Science Points to ‘Climate Collapse’ as UN Chief Calls for Action

11/30/2023
The world is heating up at an unprecedented pace, new climate data shows, and leaders gathered for the COP28 conference in Dubai must get us out of “deep trouble,” UN chief António Guterres said.

California Local Pin Marker From California Local...

Business, Economy & Jobs Environment Water Sustainability Government

California Looks to Ocean Waves for New Clean Energy Source

11/29/2023
Image for display with article titled Surf's Up! California May Look to Ocean Waves as Possible New Clean Energy Source

Costs to turn waves into energy are high, but so's the payoff for California's clean energy future.

From YubaNet...

Sustainability Resilience

2023 Shatters Records

11/29/2023
2023 has broken climate records, accompanied by extreme weather which has left a trail of devastation, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

From YubaNet...

Environment Sustainability

DOE Analysis Confirms Salton Sea Is a Rich Domestic Lithium Resource

11/28/2023
An analysis by the U.S. Department of Energy found that with expected technology advances, the Salton Sea region’s total lithium resources could produce more than 3,400 kilotons of lithium, enough to support over 375 million batteries for electric vehicles—more than the total number currently on U.S. roads.

From Sacramento Bee...

Animals Sustainability

White House Allocates Millions for Burps from California Cows

11/24/2023
Livestock are responsible for half of all methane emissions in California. The White House is giving $21.4 million to California Dairies and $22.8 million to Dairy Farmers of America to help change this.

From Inside Climate News...

Business, Economy & Jobs Sustainability

Senators Urge IRS to Withhold Fed Funds from California Bioenergy Firm

11/20/2023
Fulcrum Bioenergy, a California-based firm that seeks to turn plastics into jet fuel, has defaulted on $289 million in bond funding and put a major project on hold. This comes as several U.S. Senators wrote to the IRS urging that similar companies not receive federal tax credits.

California Local Pin Marker From California Local...

Business, Economy & Jobs Environment Sustainability Government

California Slashes Rooftop Solar Incentives—Again

11/17/2023
Image for display with article titled California Slashes Rooftop Solar Incentives for Building Owners—Again

California's Public Utilities Commission cut payments to building owners who sell solar power to the grid.

California Local Pin Marker From California Local...

Business, Economy & Jobs Water Sustainability Government

California Among Top 5 Worst Climate Change States, Report Says

11/15/2023
Image for display with article titled Climate Change Hits California Hard: Among Top 5 States for Worst Effects, New Report Says

New scientific advances show that climate change impacts “no longer theoretical.”

From YubaNet...

Parks & Recreation Sustainability

Natural Resources Agency Launches Plan to Increase Outdoor Access in California

11/15/2023
State and local leaders gathered in Los Angeles to celebrate a new plan that will increase access to the outdoors for all Californians, regardless of who they are or where they live.

From YubaNet...

Agriculture, Food & Gardening Sustainability Crime & Justice

Groups Urge Court to Strike Down Decision Greenlighting Ocean Fish Farming

11/13/2023
Center for Food Safety has filed arguments seeking to revoke the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ approval of nationwide permit 56, which authorizes industrial finfish aquaculture structures in ocean waters around the country. CFS represents a coalition of conservation, tribal, and fishing organizations.

From Sacramento Bee...

Sustainability Resilience

Tree Climbers Are Helping Replant California’s Forests

11/09/2023
More than 1.5 million acres of forest have been burned or scarred in California. Climbers go high in trees to grab pine cones that could help in reforestation.

San Benito County Local News: Sustainability