From Los Angeles Times...
Chuckwalla National Monument Would Protect Swath of California Desert and Preserve a Sacred Land
04/27/2024Indigenous Californians want President Biden to establish a national monument in a stretch of desert that is both an ecological wonder and a window into their cultures.
From CalMatters...
Who Killed CA Utility Bill Legislation?
04/26/2024A bill to rein in a proposed monthly fee on California electric bills would let California’s largest for-profit utility companies charge customers $24 per month — with fees as low as $6 for lower-income customers — as a kind of membership fee for the power grid.
From Los Angeles Times...
As Salmon Are Released Into the Klamath River, Tribal Leaders See a 'Symbol of Hope'
04/20/2024California has released 500,000 salmon into the Klamath River. As dams are removed, the fish will be some of the first to return to a free-flowing river.
From CalMatters...
A Plan to Change Your Utility Rates Is Dividing California Environmentalists. Here’s Why
04/18/2024The California Public Utilities Commission will consider on May 9 a new proposal that would change how Californians pay for electricity.
From CalMatters...
California Sets Nation’s First Water Standard for Cancer-Causing Contaminant
04/17/2024Water suppliers say the costs will be massive, with rates increasing for many consumers. Known as the “Erin Brockovich” chemical, hexavalent chromium is found statewide.
From Los Angeles Times...
PG&E Hit With $225-Million Lawsuit for 2021 Dixie Fire Damages
04/14/2024A coalition of timber businesses filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against the embattled Pacific Gas & Electric Co., alleging $225 million in damages caused by the 2021 Dixie Fire.
From CalMatters...
California Requires New Homes to Have Solar Panels. Should Wildfire Victims Get a Break?
04/11/2024A California Republican’s bill would exempt low and middle income wildfire victims from solar panels requirements on rebuilt homes that didn’t have them when they burned down.
From SF Gate...
California's Largest Reservoir Is Close to Full
04/11/2024California's reservoirs are brimming with water, and even Shasta Lake could fill up.
From Los Angeles Times...
Part of Highway 1 Near Big Sur Crumbles as New Landslide Closes More of Historic Roadway
03/30/2024Highway 1 is closed indefinitely from Palo Colorado Road to Rocky Creek Bridge, the California Department of Transportation said on social media after a new landslide eroded part of the roadway.
From Los Angeles Times...
Salmon Populations Are Struggling, Bringing Economic Woes for California's Fishing Fleet
03/30/2024Captains of fishing boats on the California coast are bracing for salmon fishing to be severely restricted — or possibly canceled for a second year.
From SF Gate...
Feds Propose Killing Nearly 500,000 'Invasive' Owls to Save Calif. Native Owls
03/27/2024The goal is to eliminate habitat competition between "invasive" owls and native owls.
From Los Angeles Times...
Alan G. Sieroty, Former State Senator Who Helped Create the Coastal Commission, Dies at 93
03/17/2024Sieroty, of Beverly Hills, served as a state Assembly member and senator, championing disability rights and efforts to protect California's coast.
From Los Angeles Times...
California Unlikely to Meet Landmark Goals for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions
03/15/2024California will miss its goals unless it can increase emission reductions threefold, according to a new study.
From CapPublicRadio...
Wildfires Are Killing California’s Ancient Giants. Can Seedlings Save the Species?
02/26/2024Ecologists estimate that up to 14,000 sequoias have been killed in recent wildfires. The National Park Service for the first time has begun replanting some severely burned areas.
From SF Gate...
Endangered Coho Salmon Make a Major Comeback in Marin County Creek
02/22/2024One biologist called it “the highest single-day count that we have recorded.”
From CalMatters...
California’s Polluted Communities Could Miss Out on Billions Under Flawed System
02/22/2024The state’s environmental tool skews which communities are designated as disadvantaged, researchers say. Some immigrant neighborhoods could be left out, while other groups are overrepresented.
From Los Angeles Times...
After Heavy Storms, Death Valley Is Now Open to Kayakers
02/20/2024A temporary lake in Death Valley National Park doubled after recent rains and is now deep enough to launch a kayak. Prior to August, ghostly Lake Manly hadn’t appeared in 19 years.
From Los Angeles Times...
Opinion: Is the Restoration of California’s Cutest Keystone Species Worth It?
02/16/2024Since the 1960s, a remnant population of sea otters has revived Monterey Bay. But they can’t migrate north throughout their historic range without human help.
From Los Angeles Times...
California’s Wild Weather Year Could Get Even Weirder
02/09/2024There’s a 55% chance La Niña could develop between June and August, and a 77% chance it could develop between September and November, NOAA said.
From Los Angeles Times...
King Tides Are Arriving in California. Here’s What They Show About Rising Seas
02/09/2024What are king tides and will they get worse with climate change?
From Los Angeles Times...
How California’s Storms Are Projected to Become More Extreme With Climate Change
02/08/2024Human-caused climate is projected to bring wetter, more intense storms. Scientists explain what these shifts mean for California and the West.
From Los Angeles Times...
Before-After Images Show the Scale of Flooding Across SoCal
02/07/2024Public satellites haven’t yet flown over the areas hit by the storm. These images are “simulating what the satellites would have seen.”
From Daily Democrat...
Some Experts Are Proposing a Category 6 Storm Rating
02/05/2024A handful of super powerful tropical storms in the last decade and the prospect of more to come has a couple of experts proposing a new category of whopper hurricanes: Category 6.
From Los Angeles Times...
The Terrifying Forces That Created a California Monster Storm
02/05/2024The storm fed off of unusually warm waters as it grew. It also reached “bomb cyclone” status as it neared California.
From Los Angeles Times...
A Fire Burning Inside an L.A. County Landfill is Raising Alarms Over Toxic Air
01/29/2024As an underground fire burns deep within Chiquita Canyon Landfill, air regulators are raising alarms over the possible spread of toxic vapors.
From SF Gate...
Scientists Debunk California Biblical-Storm Hysteria Swirling on Internet
01/29/2024What is an ARkStorm and why is everyone talking about it on social media right now?
From CapPublicRadio...
‘Hot Droughts’ Are Becoming More Common in the Arid West, New Study Finds
01/28/2024Take a period of limited rainfall. Add heat. And you have what scientists call a “hot drought”—dry conditions made more intense by the evaporative power of hotter temperatures.
From Los Angeles Times...
Sludge Compost Is an Increasing Source of Microplastics, Researchers Say
01/18/2024California winds spread microplastics from natural fertilizers at higher concentrations than previously known, a team of UCLA researchers has found.
From Los Angeles Times...
Harmful Chemicals in Plastics cost U.S. Healthcare $250 Billion a Year
01/17/2024The chemicals added to plastics are likely contributing more than $250 billion to annual healthcare costs in the United States, researchers say.
From Los Angeles Times...
Were California’s Grizzlies Really Ravenous Meat Eaters?
01/11/2024California’s perception of the grizzly bear is wrong, according to new research. The grizzly bear was, for the most part, a vegetarian.
From KQED...
Climate Change Might Lessen Bay Area Fog
01/05/2024The Bay Area’s fog is iconic. But the latest episode of KQED podcast “Bay Curious” looks at how climate change could reduce the number of foggy days in the area.
From Los Angeles Times...
WWII-Era Dump Site Found Off LA Coast
01/05/2024Munition boxes, depth charges and smoke floats have been found 3,000 feet underwater off the coast of Los Angeles. More than 100 square miles of ocean might be contaminated.