Santa Cruz County Local Environment News Articles and Digest

From Good Times...

Environment Animals

Mastodon Tooth Discovered in Santa Cruz

06/01/2023
Image for display with article titled Mastodon Tooth Discovered in Santa Cruz

The centuries old mastodon tooth will be displayed at Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History through June 4.

California Local Pin Marker From California Local...

Economy & Jobs Environment Sustainability Government

California Inches Toward Renewable Energy Goal

05/31/2023
Image for display with article titled California Inches Toward Renewable Energy Goal, But Still 13th Nationwide

In 2021, California drew 37 percent of its electricity from clean, renewable sources.

From CalMatters...

Economy & Jobs Environment

California to Send $95 Million to Undocumented Flood Victims Months After Promising ‘Rapid Response’

05/31/2023
Gov. Gavin Newsom in March said state relief would soon help flood victims who don’t qualify for federal emergency relief. The state has yet to name nonprofits that will dole out the aid.

From Lookout Santa Cruz...

Environment Land Use & Development

Parking Battle Leaves Santa Cruz County’s Lone National Monument Gated From the Public

05/30/2023
More than six years after Cotoni-Coast Dairies on Santa Cruz County’s northern coast became a California Coastal National Monument, a dispute over parking has pushed back the opening date.

From Santa Cruz Sentinel...

Environment Water Sustainability

State Asked to Stop Diverting Iconic Mono Lake’s Water to Los Angeles

05/30/2023
Environmentalists say it's past time for California water officials to halt Los Angeles' diversion of Mono Lake's tributaries. But L.A. officials insist that water is a tiny but vital part of the city's water supply.

From CalMatters...

Economy & Jobs Environment Housing

State Farm Pulls Out of CA Home Insurance Market

05/30/2023
Wildfires and expensive rebuilding wiped out their profits, California home insurers say. State Farm isn’t the first insurer to retreat from the state, and may not be the last.

From Santa Cruz Sentinel...

Art & Culture Environment Animals Sustainability

Film About CZU Lightning Complex Fire, Salmon Airs Friday

05/30/2023
A documentary by a UC Santa Cruz alum about endangered coho salmon and their struggle to survive the CZU Lightning Complex fire will air on PBS this Friday.

From CalMatters...

Environment Water

Mono Lake Advocates Demand State Stop Sending Lake’s Water to L.A.

05/29/2023
Environmentalists say it’s past time for California water officials to halt Los Angeles’ diversion of Mono Lake’s tributaries. But L.A. officials insist that water is a tiny but vital part of the city’s water supply.

From East Bay Times...

Public Safety Environment

FBI, EPA Investigating Hazardous Chemical Release from Martinez Refinery

05/27/2023
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Justice started assisting the Environmental Protection Agency’s investigation this week.

From Monterey Herald...

Environment

Supreme Court Rules on Wetlands. How Will It Affect California?

05/26/2023
Wetlands in California will stay largely protected despite a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that limited the authority of federal regulators.

From CalMatters...

Economy & Jobs Environment State of California

CA Dems Scotch Newsom’s Infrastructure, Environment Plans

05/25/2023
Gov. Gavin Newsom rolled out a plan to speed construction of major public infrastructure and demanded quick votes from lawmakers. His Democratic allies put the proposals on ice.

From CalMatters...

Economy & Jobs Environment Health State of California

California Now First State to Phase Out Toxic Hexavalent Chromium

05/25/2023
The state Air Resources Board voted today to ban the substance known as chromium 6, giving platers several years to switch to an alternative the platers say won’t produce the same chrome shine.

From Press Banner...

Environment Sustainability

Felton a Testing Ground for New Wildfire Prevention Philosophy

05/19/2023
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Foresters are being tapped by government to manicure, at-scale, millions of acres of dense, sprawling forest across California to ward off wildfire.

From Monterey Herald...

Economy & Jobs Environment Health Sustainability

California Lawmakers Block Bill Allowing People to Sue Oil Companies Over Health Problems

05/19/2023
California legislative committees in the Assembly and Senate blocked two big climate bills. One would have made the state’s greenhouse gas emission reduction targets more ambitious. Another would have allowed people to sue oil companies over health problems if they meet certain criteria.

From Good Times...

Environment Sustainability State of California

California Forest Resilience Task Force Holds Forum on Wildfire Management

05/16/2023
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The all-day seminar featured California Natural Resources Agency Secretary Wade Crowfoot and other experts.

From Santa Cruz Sentinel...

Environment

Fossil Fuel Companies are to Blame for Big Share of California Wildfires, Scientists Say

05/16/2023
Californians are well acquainted with wildfire. Whether they have lost a home, evacuated one, witnessed the day in 2020 when the sun never came out, or simply had to cancel plans. Who is to blame?

From Santa Cruz Sentinel...

Environment Sustainability

Sempervirens Fund Expands Big Basin Conservation Area

05/16/2023
The Sempervirens Fund announced that the land trust recently purchased a 16.5 acre patch of forest adjacent to Big Basin Redwoods State Park known as the Sterrenzee Ridgetop.

From Good Times...

Environment

Santa Cruz County and UCSC Launch Trash Talkers

05/03/2023
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The future of environmental stewardship banks on incentives and an app that crowdsources urban cleanup.

From Santa Cruz Sentinel...

Environment

NOAA Approves $2.2M to Restore Elkhorn Slough

04/29/2023
The funding aims to bring back species across an entire coastal landscape – from coastal grasslands to tidal salt marsh, eelgrass beds to native oysters.

From Santa Cruz Sentinel...

Economy & Jobs Environment Transportation

California Bans Sale of Diesel Big Rig Trucks Starting in 2036 in Landmark Air Pollution Rule

04/28/2023
Supporters say the rules are key to reducing smog, truckers say they are unrealistic and will cause disruptions.

Santa Cruz County Local News: Environment