Santa Cruz County Local Environment News Articles and Digest

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 New York Times...

Environment

NY Times Meteorologist Talks California’s Big Year of Weather for 2023

12/11/2023
Judson Jones, a meteorologist and reporter for The New York Times, gave a Q&A about California’s year of intense weather. This included the state’s largest snowpack in 40 years and a “pretty astonishing” amount of precipitation.

From YubaNet...

Environment Animals

Millions of Birds Lose Precious Energy Due to New Year’s Eve Fireworks

12/11/2023
Birds are affected by the mass use of fireworks on New Year’s Eve up to a distance of 10 km away, reports an international team of researchers.

From KSQD...

Environment Elections & Politics County of Santa Cruz

New Ballot Initiative Would Support Land Restoration in Santa Cruz County

12/09/2023
Image for display with article titled New Ballot Initiative Would Support Land Restoration in Santa Cruz County

Efforts are underway to qualify a new citizen's ballot initiative that would raise over $7 million a year for environmental restoration efforts, from wildfire and flood recovery to clean water and beaches.

From Sacramento Bee...

Environment Water Agriculture, Food & Gardening Government

State Releases EIR for Delta Tunnel

12/08/2023
The California Department of Water Resources released an environmental impact report for a tunnel that the state would like to build through the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The report identifies potential impacts to farmland, tribal remains and endangered species of fish.

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 New York Times...

Environment Animals

Plan to Eliminate Catalina’s Deer Infuriates Locals

12/07/2023
Conservationists intend to shoot all of the deer on Santa Catalina Island by helicopter. Some people are opposed, either for not wanting to eliminate the deer or for missing out on future chances to hunt them.

From Capital & Main...

Environment Government

CA Air Resources Board Staff Barred from Talking to Retired Staffer

12/06/2023
Staff at the state’s air regulatory agency have been restricted from communicating with Jim Duffy, a scientist who retired from the agency in 2022. Duffy had criticized gas lobbyists and an agency director.

From Sacramento Bee...

Environment Land Use & Development Housing

State Might Soon Require Replacing Broken A/C Units

12/06/2023
California energy regulators are considering requiring homeowners to replace broken air-conditioning systems with heat pumps or HVAC systems that are more energy efficient. The change would go into effect in 2026.

From Santa Cruz Sentinel...

Environment Sustainability

Study Finds Redwoods Store Buds, Carbon for Fire Events

12/06/2023
A recently published, multiyear study about the recovery of redwood trees in Big Basin Redwoods State Park after the CZU Lightning Complex fires shows that carbon reserves and ancient, dormant buds within redwood trees allow the plants to recover quickly after a catastrophic fire.

From Hilltromper Santa Cruz...

Environment Parks & Recreation Animals

What Is Audubon's Christmas Bird Count and How Do I Participate?

12/05/2023
Image for display with article titled 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.

From Good Times...

Environment Community Service & Support

Environmental Nonprofits Working to Educate Residents

12/05/2023
Image for display with article titled Environmental Nonprofits Working to Educate Residents

These nonprofits are fighting climate change at a time when it’s more important than ever to do so, as warming temperatures and acidification in the world’s oceans break records.

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 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 SFGate...

Public Safety Environment Health

Sewage Spill Closes Southern California Beach

11/29/2023
Two miles of public beach were closed in Laguna Beach following a spill of 94,500 gallons of sewage. Orange County is testing water to determine when the beach will be safe to reopen.

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.

Santa Cruz County Local News: Environment