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May 1 â 7, 2024
Highlights this week: Bratton... is back!...Greensite ...Gillian will soon return with her regular weekly piece... Steinbruner...Charter cities and counties, Soquel Creek Water.... Hayes... Advoca...
Santa Cruz Mountains Trail Stewardship
Listed under: Environment Parks & Recreation
From Santa Cruz Sentinel...
The Worldâs Next Big Carbon Capture Challenge? Figuring Out How to Use It
Carbon capture is having a moment. Companies such as Chevron Corp. are building technology to capture carbon dioxide from smokestacks while others are working to yank the greenhouse gas out of the air.
From Sacramento Bee...
Newsom Pitches Spending $22M to Fight Fruit Flies
California farmers face challenges posed by multiple types of fruit flies. Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed spending just over $22 million to combat the spread of these flies.
Rooftop-Solar Industry Blames PG&E, Newsom as Bay Area Businesses Struggle
Bay Area rooftop-solar businesses are reeling from a statewide change that gutted compensation for homeowners returning surplus power to the electrical grid, causing applications for new solar to plunge to a 10-year low.
From YubaNet...
New Year Brings Protections for Deep-Sea Corals and Ocean Fishing Opportunities
New rules took effect Jan. 1 permanently protecting the most fragile deep sea corals off Southern California. Simultaneously, more than 4,500 square miles of ocean waters are now reopened to fishing after more than 20 years of closures.
From Monterey Herald...
Homeowners Who Sued to Build a Seawall Could Reshape Californiaâs Coast
Raging storms brought major damage to Californiaâs coastline last winter. But in Half Moon Bay, a different kind of coastal upheaval is gaining momentumâone that could decide the fate of billions of dollars of property and affect hundreds of public beaches.
Fundraiser to Protect Iconic Redwood Set for Saturday
With the fate of the twin-trunked redwood tree on Walnut Avenue to be decided by the Santa Cruz City Council, the appellant of the heritage tree's removal will hold a fundraiser Jan. 6 to help protect it.
From San Joaquin Valley Sun...
San Diego Zoo Displays Worldâs Rarest Insect
Visitors can see the critically endangered Lord How Island stick insect, on display for the first time in North America, in a special habitat at the zooâs Wildlife Explorers Basecamp.
From Benito Link...
Monterey Bay Areaâs Elusive, Inclusive Economy
The Monterey Bay region, which includes Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties, is undergoing a major demographic shift with a younger generation that is more diverse, according to Chris Benner, director of the Institute for Social Transformation at UC Santa Cruz.
From The Mercury News...
Collisions With Buildings Are Killing Millions of Birds Nationwide
A dark-sky movement to save birds from window strikes is sweeping the San Francisco Bay Area. Several cities have passed or are drafting laws restricting light pollution while making windows easier for birds to see.
From The New Yorker...
A Deeper Look at âNo Killâ Animal Control in Los Angeles
Novelist Jonathan Franzen looks at how trap-neuter-release policies in feral cat colonies have troubling consequences for city residents, local wildlife and even the felines themselves.
Free App Helps Track, Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
Oakland entrepreneur Sanchali Palâs new app, Commons, helps people track and reduce their carbon footprint by tracking how they spend money on food, utilities, clothes, furniture or travel.
California Awards $116.8 Million to Conserve Agricultural Lands
The California Strategic Growth Council approved over $116 million in Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program grants to permanently protect 50,500 acres of croplands and rangelands, as well as lands utilized by Indigenous tribes for the cultivation of traditional resources.
From CalMatters...
California Takes Big Step Toward New Source of Drinking WaterâSewage
Suppliers now have detailed steps to create a new source of drinking water. But itâs not really âtoilet-to-tap.â Due to the cost, itâll likely be only large suppliers.
From The New York Times...
Who Gets the Water in California? Whoever Gets There First.
Water fights have shaped California since its infancy as a state, when its abundance seemed limitless. Now, Californians are being forced to confront limitations, and the state that prides itself on creating the future is now reckoning with its past.
From Capital & Main...
Kern County Looks to Make Renewable Energy with Carbon Dioxide
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...
Yosemite Trying New Strategies to Reduce Food Packaging Waste
An estimated 100,000 pizza boxes have been removed from Yosemiteâs 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.
Research Explores Capacity of Biochar to Combat Climate Change, Improve Forest Soils
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.
Study Finds Redwoods Store Buds, Carbon for Fire Events
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 Los Angeles Times...
High-Speed Rail Project Connecting SoCal to Las Vegas Wins Grant
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 KQED...
Oakland Might Have to Pay Developers Millions Over Coal Terminal
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.
Imperial County Might Have Enough Lithium for 375 Million Batteries
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.
Science Points to âClimate Collapseâ as UN Chief Calls for Action
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 âdeep trouble,â UN chief AntĂłnio Guterres said.
2023 Shatters Records
2023 has broken climate records, accompanied by extreme weather which has left a trail of devastation, according to the World Meteorological Organization.
DOE Analysis Confirms Salton Sea Is a Rich Domestic Lithium Resource
An analysis by the U.S. Department of Energy found that with expected technology advances, the Salton Sea regionâs total lithium resources could produce more than 3,400 kilotons of lithium, enough to support over 375 million batteries for electric vehiclesâmore than the total number currently on U.S. roads.
White House Allocates Millions for Burps from California Cows
Livestock are responsible for half of all methane emissions in California. The White House is giving $21.4 million to California Dairies and $22.8 million to Dairy Farmers of America to help change this.
From Inside Climate News...
Senators Urge IRS to Withhold Fed Funds from California Bioenergy Firm
Fulcrum Bioenergy, a California-based firm that seeks to turn plastics into jet fuel, has defaulted on $289 million in bond funding and put a major project on hold. This comes as several U.S. Senators wrote to the IRS urging that similar companies not receive federal tax credits.
Big Basin: Redwood Treesâ Recovery Is âRemarkable,â While Some Species Still Struggle
More than three years after a wildfire devastated Big Basin Redwoods State Park, the massive redwood trees continue to recover. But some wildlife species, particularly salmon, steelhead and some types of birds, could take many years to bounce back.
Natural Resources Agency Launches Plan to Increase Outdoor Access in California
State and local leaders gathered in Los Angeles to celebrate a new plan that will increase access to the outdoors for all Californians, regardless of who they are or where they live.
Groups Urge Court to Strike Down Decision Greenlighting Ocean Fish Farming
Center for Food Safety has filed arguments seeking to revoke the U.S. Army Corps of Engineersâ approval of nationwide permit 56, which authorizes industrial finfish aquaculture structures in ocean waters around the country. CFS represents a coalition of conservation, tribal, and fishing organizations.
Tree Climbers Are Helping Replant Californiaâs Forests
More than 1.5 million acres of forest have been burned or scarred in California. Climbers go high in trees to grab pine cones that could help in reforestation.
Californiaâs Drought Is Overâat Least for Now
Intense rains have California out of a drought less than a year after most of the state faced water shortages. A climatologist is urging wise water usage ahead of Californiaâs next drought.
NOAA: New Funding to Help Bring California Salmon Back from the Brink
The Office of Habitat Conservationâs Restoration Center has awarded $27.8 million to bring Central California Coast coho salmon back to California rivers, funding projects by Trout Unlimited, the San Mateo and Gold Ridge Resource Conservation Districts, and the Nature Conservancy.
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