Santa Cruz County Sustainability Articles

Coastal armoring, retreat strategies, goals to be considered.

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.

Animal Rescues Struggling with Climate Change It might be a hot August day outside, but Royal Oaks resident Helbard Alkhassadeh has been preparing for the end-of-year rains for the last several months. For the past nine years—and the last seven …

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

Santa Cruz County has withdrawn from an agreement with Pajaro Valley Regional Flood Management Agency (PRFMA) after the two disagreed on how to spend roughly $1 million in funds meant to address flood risk in South County. PRFMA is made …

Prescribed Burn Associations could be the future of mitigating wildfires in Santa Cruz County

Can Green Manure Cover Crops End Drought in Africa? With Roland Bunch   On Sustainability Now! Sunday, June 25th, 5-6 PM on KSQD 90.7 FM and KSQD.org   Join Host Ronnie Lipschutz for a conversation with Roland Bunch, who has worked in …

Zoning laws that restrict new housing development cause environmental damage, racial and class segregation, and force people into cars creating traffic. Now, a new movement wants to abolish zoning in the United States.

Three years ago, red electric bikes zoomed across the city and were left in piles at Santa Cruz city limits.  In less than a week, the city will once again try out a new electric bike sharing. This time, local …

Inside the Dimeo Lane Resource Recovery Center, on the ramp of the Food Scrap Pre-Processor, a team of three works to back up a trash truck. It’s a tight fit. The truck deposits its load into the processor: giant corkscrew-shaped …

From their perch in their home atop the mountain in Bonny Doon, partners Tonje Wold-Switzer and Sebastian Little took in a panorama of lightning strikes that would go on to devour more than 900 homes in the region, including theirs. …

Renewable energy sources provided 37 percent of California electricity in 2021, a new record for the state as it moves toward its 2045 goal of 100 percent clean energy. Battery storage will play a huge role in reaching that goal.

Ecology Action’s many programs make Central Coast communities greener. But it takes money to keep them running—and that’s where Jeanne LePage comes in.

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

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

The future of farming in California is changing as the planet warms, altering the rain and heat patterns that guide which crops are grown where. “We’re adjusting for survival,” one grower said.

Cooks, builders discuss changes.

By M.C. Dwyer The Santa Cruz Association of REALTORS recently held an educational event about point-of-sale septic regulations taking effect in Santa Cruz County in July 2023. Mark Kinder of Affordable Septic, who’s installed thousands of systems, explained everything we …

A sizeable coalition has called for California's water regulator to take emergency measures to protect Mono Lake and suspend diversions to Los Angeles.

When warm storms melt snowpack early, reservoir managers must release water to prevent flooding—which sends this precious resource into the ocean.