Santa Cruz County Sustainability Digest

California Democrats are backing a legislative proposal that would allow gig workers to form unions. Expect big pushback from companies like Uber, Lyft and Doordash.

Applications are open to residents 24 years old or younger to serve the new City of Santa Cruz Sustainability and Resiliency Committee and advise the city on climate, sustainability and resilience issues.

The California Air Resources Board is going to spend $100 million to track greenhouse gas emissions with satellites.

Read on for details about the upcoming Santa Cruz County Commission on the Environment hosted presentation on the Santa Cruz County Climate Action and Adaptation Plan.

A new conservancy will oversee work to improve vegetation, water quality and natural habitat in the Salton Sea. Will nearly half a billion dollars in projects be enough?

State and federal water managers have announced significant increases to water allocations across California thanks to early February storms and healthy reservoir levels.

The governor vowed to clear the way for more groundwater recharge. Has it worked? “We’re still tinkering around with small numbers,” one expert says.

Read on to learn more about the "perfect storm" of issues confronting the local fishing industry.

For the past three years, more than 200,000 western monarch butterflies spent their winters along the California coast — huddling together in tall tree groves, finding respite from the wind from November to February.

The number of monarch butterflies overwintering in California are at a near-record low, and the wiping out of the Topanga butterfly habitat by the LA fires has made matters worse. Read on to learn more.

Energy demands from big tech, including for AI, has elected officials giving an old power source a second look.

The president’s order has no immediate effect on offshore wind leases already authorized, including two large areas off California’s coast. But it sends a current of uncertainty through the fledgling renewable energy industry, which relies on federal and state support.

It would be impossible to overstate the complexity of water supply management in California.

In a striking setback to reduce California’s air pollution but a win for trucking companies, state regulators have walked away from their ambitious plan to phase out diesel trucks less than a week before President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House.

Following the collapse of a 150 foot section of the Santa Cruz Wharf, questions about contributing factors are raised. Who or what is to blame? Read on to learn more.

Learn about the bill introduced by Rep. Jimmy Panetta which would initiate the process to designate the communities neighboring the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary as a National Heritage Area, and what that would entail.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s decree that by 2035 all new cars sold in California must be powered by batteries or other zero-emission systems has received a double dose of legal and political support.

The Biden administration is awarding Inflation Reduction Act money to help clean the air before President-elect Trump takes over.

Learn more about federal plans to extend protection to 289 acres across multiple sites in Santa Cruz for overwintering monarch butterflies.

Trump’s promise to “end” the offshore wind industry could threaten CA’s renewable energy goals, potentially cutting off federal funding.

Sixty years ago, I was a reporter for the Klamath Falls (Oregon) Herald and News and with my family lived in a small house on the Link River, which flows out of Upper Klamath Lake, draining a large portion of the Cascade mountain range.

Low counts of spawning salmon could mean another year without fishing. Experts say the outlook still has time to turn around.

Growers support a federal and state proposal for operating California’s massive systems that send river water south. But it could harm more salmon and other endangered fish.

Most of us operate on the calendar year — the 12 months that begin on January 1 and end on December 31.

Capturing and storing carbon underground is a big part of California’s efforts to tackle climate change but community members and environmentalists say it prolongs the life of fossil fuels.

How to apply rebate as part of the recent $80 million state program to electrify homes.

A summary of the September 26 virtual meeting about the City of Santa Cruz West Cliff Five Year Roadmap.

The California state goal to conserve 30% of its land and coastal waters has advanced, with conserved lands reaching 25% and coastal waters 16%.

Legislators and Gov. Newsom are working behind the scenes to draft energy legislation before the end-of-the-month deadline.

Public chargers must be built at an unprecedented pace to meet the target in less than 7 years, and then doubled to 2 million in 2035. The high cost — $120,000 or more for one fast charger— is just one obstacle.

Researchers at UC Santa Cruz won a prestigious award for their paper outlining new techniques to greatly reduce power consumption by AI models.

The Santa Cruz County Climate Action Plan will be the focus of a public meeting scheduled for July 31.