Santa Clara County Sustainability Articles

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.

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.

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.

The new law also will support rural recycling options for consumers to redeem their deposit and improve recycling rates.

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.

The Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority teamed up with the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area to raise awareness of the importance of irreplaceable landscapes at a community celebration in Morgan Hill this past weekend. The …

Ocean wind farms are essential to electrify California’s grid with 100% clean energy. But they’re a giant, costly experiment—no one knows how hundreds of towering turbines will transform the remote North Coast.

The conservation director of Land Trust of Santa Cruz talks about the highlights of his work, and some of the issues he sees in maintaining California’s parks.

Julie Hutcheson, a longtime Morgan Hill resident and environmental advocate for the South Bay, is the new executive director for Green Foothills. Hutcheson has been on Green Foothills’ staff for more than 12 years and has taken an active role …

Water providers say rebates for residential areas are costly and many people refuse to remove their lawns. The rules aim to save enough water for more than a million households a year.

A climate-friendly water packaging pilot program has been implemented at St. Louise Regional Hospital (SLRH) in Gilroy. Starting this month, all packaged water at SLRH will be distributed in environmentally friendly cardboard containers which are absent of microplastics or BPAs, …

The Board of the State Coastal Conservancy recently authorized funding totaling $84 million for projects throughout California to protect and restore coastal lands, increase coastal resilience to climate change, improve public access to the coast and reduce the impact of …

The more moderate weather this year broke a streak of three straight scorching summers, each ranking among the state’s 10 hottest ever recorded.

Sept. 1 marked the beginning of Coastal Cleanup Month in California, featuring numerous cleanup events throughout the state through the end of the month. The highlight of the cleanup efforts will be the 39th annual California Coastal Cleanup Day on …

On Aug. 22, the Valley Water Board of Directors allocated additional resources to support greater service and coordination toward cleaning up trash, debris and hazardous pollutants produced by encampments along waterways in Santa Clara County. The board approved two new …

Gilroy is planning on raising its water and wastewater rates for the first time since 2019. The city, which owns and operates its water and wastewater utilities, serves more than 15,000 customers, according to Finance Director Harjot Sangha. But with …

California has used reclamation districts to turn millions of acres of unusable swamps into fertile agricultural land, starting in the earliest days of the Gold Rush. Here’s how it happened.

A conversation with Stacy Caldwell, CEO of Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation

The 40-acre piece of land was purchased by Google in 2019 with the goal of growing trees in an environmentally sound way for its future and current campuses.