Yolo County Local Environment News Articles and Digest

Public Safety Environment

First-of-Its-Kind Fund Provides Support to Reduce Wildfire Risks

06/19/2023
The State of California will provide new protections for prescribed fire and cultural burning practitioners. The $20 million allocated for the Prescribed Fire Liability Claims Fund Pilot will cover losses in the rare instance that a prescribed or cultural burn escapes control.

From Tahoe Daily Tribune...

Public Safety Environment Water

Judge Allows Use of Fire Retardant While Permit Pends

06/06/2023
The U.S. District Court for the District of Montana ruled the U.S. Forest Service can continue to use aerial fire retardant to fight wildfires while waiting on a Clean Water Act permit.

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Economy & Jobs Environment Sustainability Government

California Inches Toward Renewable Energy Goal

05/31/2023
Image for display with article titled California Inches Toward Renewable Energy Goal, But Still 13th Nationwide

In 2021, California drew 37 percent of its electricity from clean, renewable sources.

From Monterey Herald...

Economy & Jobs Environment Health Sustainability

California Lawmakers Block Bill Allowing People to Sue Oil Companies Over Health Problems

05/19/2023
California legislative committees in the Assembly and Senate blocked two big climate bills. One would have made the state’s greenhouse gas emission reduction targets more ambitious. Another would have allowed people to sue oil companies over health problems if they meet certain criteria.

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Environment Land Use & Development Housing

CEQA Must Be Changed

04/26/2023
Image for display with article titled Future Of California at Risk While Landmark CEQA Law Remains Unchanged

By almost any measure, the balance between advancing projects critical to California's future and environmental protection under the California Environmental Quality Act has been lost. The failure to reform CEQA is not for a lack of knowing what the solutions are.

From The Mercury News...

Environment Water Sustainability

California Snowpack Data Debunked: 2023 Was No Record Year

04/23/2023
And neither was 1952. The top honor should really go to 1983, which clinched first at 231% of normal, an analysis by the Bay Area News Group found.

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Economy & Jobs Government Environment

Storms Could Make Newsom’s Budget Problems Worse

03/03/2023
Image for display with article titled Climate Change-Driven Storms Could Make Newsom’s Climate Spending Problems Worse

Extended tax deadlines for storm-hit counties could create a cash-flow issue.

From CalMatters...

Environment Water Sustainability State of California

Why Is Sites Reservoir Still on the Drawing Board?

02/26/2023
A $4.4 billion project on the Sacramento River to add dams and store more water that will be sent south, the Sites Reservoir is still years away from completion. The final environmental report is expected this year.

From YubaNet...

Environment Sustainability

Study Reveals Climate-Related Crisis for Conifer Forests

02/22/2023
A new Stanford-led study shows that about a fifth of all Sierra Nevada conifer forests are a “mismatch” for their regions’ warming weather. These “zombie forests” are likely to be replaced other tree species after one of California’s increasingly frequent catastrophic wildfires.

From YubaNet...

Animals Environment

Climate Change Study Predicts Threats to Songbirds’ Breeding Season

01/16/2023
Climate change models indicate that California’s Central Valley will experience conditions that could threaten the reproductive success of songbirds, according to a study from UC Davis.

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Environment Water

Is California’s Drought Over?

01/12/2023
Image for display with article titled Is California’s Drought Over? Here’s What You Need To Know About Rain, Snow, Reservoirs and Drought.

A dozen days of wet and wild weather haven’t ended the drought, and won't cure the driest period in the West in the past 1,200 years.

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Environment Government

As Storm Batters California, Newsom Calls for Climate Cuts

01/11/2023
Image for display with article titled As Historic Storm Batters California, Newsom Calls for Cuts in Climate Spending

Coming budget shortfall may claim some climate change programs as victims.

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Animals Crime & Justice Economy & Jobs Environment Government Health History Homelessness Housing Public Safety

Explaining California in 2022: Our 10 Best Explainers of the Year

12/30/2022
Image for display with article titled Explaining California in 2022: Our 10 Most Important Explanatory Journalism Pieces of the Year

From immigration to crypto, 2022 was a year that took a lot of explaining and 'California Local' was there.

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Water Environment

Is California’s Drought Over? Water Providers Predict Shortages

12/14/2022
Image for display with article titled Is California’s Drought Over? Water Providers Still Predict Shortages Next Year

Despite December storms, water supplies remain low in many areas. Some managers expect to impose severe restrictions on their customers.

From Santa Cruz Sentinel...

Environment History

A Look Back at California’s Most Recent Volcanic Eruption

11/29/2022
Californians are accustomed to being battered by many of nature's whims. Less familiar are volcanic eruptions like the one currently taking place at Hawaii's Mauna Loa. But California's own volcanoes are capable of violent fury.

From Santa Cruz Sentinel...

Environment Water Animals Agriculture & Gardening Sustainability

Ecosystems and Rural Communities Will Bear the Brunt of Intensifying Drought

11/24/2022
Drought, human-caused climate change, invasive species and a “legacy” of environmental issues are permanently altering California’s landscape and placing some communities and ecosystems at increasing risk.

From Santa Cruz Sentinel...

Environment Water

Latest Winter Forecast Suggests No Relief From Drought

10/20/2022
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a warm, dry winter is in store for much of California as La Niña conditions are expected to persist through at least January.

From YubaNet...

Animals Environment

Bird Population Shrinking...Except in Wetlands

10/20/2022
2022 State of the Birds Report shows decline in more than half of the bird population, with grassland bird species shrinking the fastest. On the bright side, waterfowl are thriving in the nation’s wetlands.

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Environment Government History Economy & Jobs

Why California Uses Less Coal Than Most Other States

10/18/2022
Image for display with article titled California and Coal: State Uses Little of Dirtiest Fossil Fuel. Can the Country Kick the Habit?

This is part of California Local's series on the energy sources that power the state, and what our energy future could be.

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Economy & Jobs Environment Government History

Can We Break Oil’s Grip on the World Energy Economy?

10/17/2022
Image for display with article titled How Oil Dominates the World’s Energy Economy, and What We Can Do to Break its Grip

This is part of an 8-article package of California Local stories about the energy sources that power California.

Yolo County Local News: Environment