Santa Clara County Sustainability Digest

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law in October, SB 272 by Sen. John Laird, that requires local governments to plan for rising sea levels. It's already factoring into planning in places like Marin County.

China modeled some of its climate programs on policies first adopted by California. Now, California depends on the world’s most populous country for essential materials in its electric vehicle ambitions.

When Palo Alto adopted a law to shield more trees from destruction, city leaders lauded it as an overdue way to protect a treasured community asset. Now, the city is preparing to prune the law back.

San Jose places in the top-10 overall “greenest” cities in the country. The city ranked sixth out of the country's 100 most populous cities based on a combination of four factors — environment, transportation, energy sources and lifestyle and policy.

When Stanford University received permission in 2011 to construct of new hospitals and medical buildings, it pledged to steer its workers away from cars and toward buses, trains and shuttles—but the pandemic has disrupted these plans.

Seeking to persuade more residents to transition from gas to electric appliances, Palo Alto approved a series of rule changes aimed at making it easier for residents to install equipment in their yards.

In an effort to reduce the risk of wildfire, Cal Poly Humboldt faculty and students have embarked on a three-year study to investigate tree health.

A long-awaited, controversial report weighs updates to standards that state officials say have failed to protect fish and wildlife. But environmentalists, Native tribes and others already are furious about how long this has taken—and the state is years away from taking action.

After grappling with years of people dumping trash in the recycling, San Jose is doubling the number of larger trash bins across the city at no extra cost. It's part of a pilot program launched in July 2022 to provide bigger trash cans to nearly 4,200 residents in key areas with high recycling contamination rates.

Maintaining certain interactions so that they remain similar to those that have controlled Earth conditions over the past 12,000 years is critical for ensuring human activities do not trigger dramatic changes that likely would decrease the Earth’s ability to support modern civilizations.

Using intricate infrared images captured by airplane over California's Central Valley, researchers were able to distinguish Cabernet Sauvignon grape vines that were infected but not showing symptoms.

Satellite data from across California’s landscapes reveal an increase in nitrogen dioxide levels in remote forest areas, and wildfire and soil emissions are likely the reasons why, according to a paper from UC Davis published in the journal Environmental Research Letters.

With Coyote Valley shielded from urban development through 2040, it’s now being eyed for tourism. But environmental advocates are concerned about the effects of development on wildlife and open space.

Valley Water is introducing two new approaches to combating pollution created by homeless encampments near creeks—portable toilets and debit cards.

A young beaver was spotted in the Palo Alto Baylands this week, marking perhaps the beginning of the return of the aquatic herbivores after more than 160 years.

Office parks, corporate campuses, strip malls would have to remove grass, or face fines of up to $500 a day.

Caltrain will test an electric train that can charge its battery when running on tracks with overhead power and then use that battery power in non-electrified stretches, the transit agency's leaders announced.

Eager to rebuild and expand the wastewater treatment plant on Embarcadero Way, Palo Alto leaders are preparing to buy two properties next to the aged facility.

California’s only native sunfish, the Sacramento perch, was once abundant before invasive species decimated it. As the planet heats up and threatens cold-water game fish, the Sacramento perch may be on the cusp of a comeback, thanks to its ability to tolerate warm water.

Alarmed by recent floods, heat waves and wildfires, a coalition of climate activists is pushing Palo Alto to speed up its plan to set a sunset date for its gas utility.

California’s leading air regulator acknowledged major roadblocks to meeting its ambitious carbon emissions target for 2030. The hurdles revolve around the feasibility of carbon capture technologies and the state’s flagship climate program, known as cap-and-trade.

The total number of climate change court cases has more than doubled since 2017 and is growing worldwide. These findings, published by the UN Environment Programme and the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University, show that climate litigation is becoming an integral part of securing climate action and justice.

As sea levels rise, many countries are considering a controversial strategy: relocation of communities. A Stanford analysis of planned relocations around the world reveals a blueprint for positive outcomes from an approach often considered a last resort.

A Maryland-based legal group is suing the Mountain View Los Altos Union High School District to obtain records related to its ethnic studies program.

San Francisco has become the prime example of what downtowns shouldn’t look like: vacant, crime-ridden and in various stages of decay. But in truth, it’s just one of many cities across the U.S. whose downtowns are reckoning with a post-pandemic wake-up call.

Clarrissa Cabansagan began riding a bicycle at seven years old. Fast forward 30 years and not only is biking part of her daily life, she has also spent her adult years finding ways for bike transit to be safer across the Bay Area.

Raising Shasta Dam to increase its capacity would provide 634,000 more acre-feet of water per year, legislators say. But that assumes there will always be enough precipitation, and the move risks flooding sacred Native American lands and harming local habitats.

In the magazine Nature, a team of scientists reports that they have detected changes in ocean color that cannot be explained by natural, year-to-year variability alone. These color shifts have occurred over 56 percent of the world’s oceans.

BeeHero, a startup founded in Israel, has developed technology that is helping beekeepers, farmers and researchers understand colony collapse disorder by using hive sensors that provide real-time data.

San Mateo and Santa Clara counties will receive millions in grants from the Environmental Protection Agency as part of a nearly $52 million allocation to protect San Francisco Bay.

California lawmakers passed the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act, permanently protecting the iconic and imperiled species.

The Salt & Straw ice cream chain is part of the upcycling movement, creating high-quality products from leftover food with flavors like Cacao Pulp & Chocolate Stracciatella Gelato, made from leftover cacao pulp from chocolate production.