Yolo County Sustainability Digest

A 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.

The Yolo County Administrator's office announced strategic appointments to enhance operations in several areas including climate action and sustainability and emergency services.

The City of Davis will receive $24M in federal funding for roadway upgrades utilizing cool pavement technology and other roadway rehabilitation projects.

The California Department of Water Resources announced the water content of the Sierra Nevada snowpack at 110% of the April 1 average.

The Mikuni Charitable Organization donation of $5,000 to Make It Happen for Yolo County is in support of local, under-resourced youth making the transition to independent living.

The consumer price index shows services are mostly responsible for persistent inflation, but prices for food and other goods in California remain high.

Ecologists 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.

New research warns of a possible collapse in Atlantic Ocean currents due to climate change. That could fundamentally alter global weather patterns.

There was a time not so long ago when trained observers were overwhelmed by the number of whales migrating through Monterey Bay.

The Wildlife Conservation Board voted to award $10.3 million to the Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County to preserve the 27,000-acre Camatta Ranch in Santa Margarita.

The center is a collaboration between multiple departments and institutions that will lead innovation and research in sustainably producing alternative proteins.

California electric vehicle sales dropped significantly in the last half of 2023, raising questions about the state’s ability to phase out gas-powered cars.

The city of Davis along with local nonprofit organization Tree Davis is seeking community feedback on plans to transform parts of Robert Arneson Park into climate-ready landscapes.

Sacramento, known for its tree-filled landscape, faces unique challenges in intense weather. The convergence of high winds with large trees poses significant risks to people and urban infrastructure.

When wildfire smoke and extreme heat combine, they create “a synergistic effect” or an “additional burden” on people’s health, researchers say.

During the Davis City Council meeting, the council approved a motion to create a progression plan that will eventually ban gas-powered leaf blowers and small off-road engines.

As Californians increasingly feel the health effects of climate change, state leaders are adopting sweeping policies they hope will fend off the worst impacts.

Chinook and other salmon runs are collapsing. Conservation groups call it too little, too late. Plan includes dam removals and restoring river flows.

As an underground fire burns deep within Chiquita Canyon Landfill, air regulators are raising alarms over the possible spread of toxic vapors.

Take 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.

A new solar energy project designed to reduce costs and promote sustainability was unveiled in a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Bayer's Global Vegetable Research and Development site in Woodland.

Experts worry that the steep decline could stall the state’s battle against climate change. Solar power is critical to meeting California’s ambitious requirement to switch to carbon-free electricity.

The issues facing Putah Creek are part of a complicated management system. Growers are allowed riparian rights, but the creek is a shared resource serving environmental and recreational purposes.

According to the UC Davis Sustainability Office, this ranking is determined through a variety of criteria and their analysis to determine the ranking of UC Davis in comparison to other schools.

A final report for 2023 at the Cache Creek Nature Preserve shows that more wood duck eggs are being laid and more of those eggs are hatching.

The removal entered a critical phase with the lowering of dammed reservoirs on the Klamath River. “This is historic and life-changing,” tribal attorney Amy Cordalis said. “And it means that the Yurok people have a future.”

Climate-ready landscapes are spaces that are visually vibrant, drought tolerant, and support local nature. At Robert Arneson Park, these spaces will be pollinator gardens and mini-forests.

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.

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.

Raging storms brought major damage to California’s coastline last winter. But in Half Moon Bay, a different kind of coastal upheaval is gaining momentum—one that could decide the fate of billions of dollars of property and affect hundreds of public beaches.

Here are 50 ways to improve your life in 2024.

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 zoo’s Wildlife Explorers Basecamp.