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Santa Clara County Environment Articles



Image caption: A beaver dam and pond in the eastern Sierra.
Beavers Can Help Stop Wildfires

Beavers create unburned islands where plants and animals can shelter from megafires, research has confirmed. A movement is afoot to reintroduce the rodents to the state's waterways.

Image caption: Does California’s signature environmental law protect the state’s scenic beauty, or cause more problems than it solves?
CEQA: The Surprising Story of CA’s Key Environmental Law

The California Environmental Quality Act, CEQA, is both the state’s signature environmental legislation, and is also often named as the villain in the state’s housing shortage. But the story may not be that simple.

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Silicon Valley Billionaires vs. 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.

Image caption: The Baldwin Hills area in South Los Angeles is one region where a state conservancy would keep open land accessible to the public.
California’s 10 State Conservancies: How They Protect Parks and Open Land

How California’s 10 state conservancies buy up open land and shield it from developers to preserve the natural environment for public use.

Image caption: The roundabout joining Highway 12 and State Route 113 in Rio Vista, just south of the site for a proposed new city of 400,000 people.
Solano County May Get to Vote on New City in November

California Forever, the company behind a proposed new city in Solano County, will submit a ballot measure seeking an exemption from local laws to allow development on the massive project to proceed.

Image caption: The legislature's own analysts blasted new state water conservation rules as too strict and largely unjustified.
California’s New Water-Saving Regs Lack 'Compelling Justifications'

Even though California faces serious water shortages, the Legislature’s analysts recommend weaker outdoor conservation requirements and longer deadlines for urban water agencies.

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.

San Jose Inside logo LOCAL NEWS
How Big Oil Wins in Green California

Two-thirds of the bills opposed by the oil industry this year were killed, thanks in part to an alliance with the building trades union, forcing Democrats to sometimes choose between jobs and the environment.

Image caption: The town of Temarry, Mexico, is home to a processing plant that receives toxic waste from north of the border.
How California Dumps Hazardous Waste on a Mexican Town

An investigative report shows how California companies and governments avoid the Golden State’s strict environmental regulations by shipping toxic waste across state borders. New reporting shows how California exports the risk to Mexico.

Image caption: California is a nationwide leader in the transition to clean energy, but Big Oil still wins most its battles in the legislature.
Big Oil is Still a Big Winner Even in 'Green' California

Two-thirds of the bills opposed by the oil industry this year were killed, thanks in part to an alliance with the building trades union, forcing Democrats to sometimes choose between jobs and the environment.

Image caption: Funding for California's roads and highways could be a casualty of the transition to electric vehicles.
EV Transition Threatens Roads With Drastic Gas Tax Revenue Cut

As the state battles climate change and Californians drive fewer gas-powered cars, tax revenue will drop substantially, according to a new state analysis. EV fees will make up only part of the transportation shortfall so lawmakers need new funding options.

Image caption: Mike Kahn, Hilltromper's managing director, doing volunteer trail work with Santa Cruz Mountains Trail Stewardship at San Vicente Redwoods.
Hilltromper Reboots

The online resource currently serves Santa Cruz County as well as Silicon Valley, which is surrounded by dozens of parks and recreational opportunities.

Hilltromper Santa Cruz logo LOCAL NEWS
What is Audubon's Christmas Bird Count and How Do I Participate?

Find out what the National Audubon Society's Christmas Bird Count is all about and learn how to participate in Santa Cruz, Monterey, and Silicon Valley.

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.

San Jose Inside logo LOCAL NEWS
Climate Change Disasters Hit CA Especially Hard

A new reports ranks California among the top states suffering economic damage from climate-related disasters: food shortages, floods, droughts, wildfires, pollution and disease. A new national climate assessment paints a dismal picture of the nationwide impacts of climate change, driving …

Image caption: Almost half of all low-income Black adults in California experience food insecurity.
Hunger and Food Insecurity in California: What It Is, What to Do About It

Hunger and food insecurity have become persistent problems in California. With the world’s fifth-largest economy, what steps can we take to make sure that everyone has enough to eat?

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.

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