A new study finds that last year’s snow deluge in California, which quickly erased a two decade long megadrought, was essentially a once-in-a-lifetime rescue from above. Don’t get used to it.
https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2024/04/29/californias-2023-snow-deluge-was-a-freak-event-study-says/
A new state bill aims to step up enforcement of rules that prohibit investor-owned utilities from using customer money to pay for things like advertising and lobbying.
How the first Earth Day, in 1970, led to some of America's most sweeping environmental reforms.
https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2024/04/22/when-rivers-caught-fire-a-brief-history-of-earth-day/
A 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.
Depending on whom you ask, eucalyptus trees are either an icon in California or a fire-prone scourge.
https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2024/04/11/eucalyptus-how-californias-most-hated-tree-took-root-2/
An agreement air regulators made with Chevron earlier this year includes settling dozens of violations tied to some of the largest accidents at the company’s Richmond refinery over the last fiv...
Northern California beachcombers in places like Pescadero and Mendocino find abalone shells much less often than they used to. Climate change is threatening the red abalone population.
The California-based energy giant agreed to pay the California Department of Conservation a $5.6 million fine associated with a 2019 oil spill in Kern County.
A new analysis concludes that unless California almost triples its rate of cutting greenhouse gases, the state won’t meet its 2030 climate change target. Some emissions were rising.
The revised proposal grants water providers an extra five years to reduce outdoor irrigation. Cities and water agencies that have lobbied for the extension are relieved, while critics say Califor...
Chinook counts are less dire than last year, but fishery managers are still opting to heavily reduce or ban commercial and recreational fishing this year because 'caution is warranted.' The salmo...
As the Bay Area receives yet another storm, here's a guide on whom to call if you find your vehicle or property under a fallen tree.
https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2024/03/02/a-tree-fell-on-my-car-in-the-bay-area-what-do-i-do/
Researchers say if California could collect and treat more stormwater in cities, it could provide enough water to supply a quarter of the state’s urban population.
After the recent winter storms, what can tenants do if their rental home or belongings have been damaged? Here's our guide to communicating about your rights with your landlord.
A powerful storm fueled by an atmospheric river pounded California.
https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2024/02/05/california-storm-brings-flooding-mudslides-and-power-outages/
State officials said the cannabis operation took water from streams and damaged wetlands for years without permission. The owner called the fines extreme and unfair but agreed to pay and restore ...
More powerful storms are hitting the Bay Area this week. Here's how you can find free sandbags, prepare homes and receive emergency information ahead of more heavy rain, high-speed winds and pote...
Researchers found that the return of the crab-eating sea otters to a tidal estuary near Monterey since the 1980s has helped curb erosion.
The governor backed proposals to remove or bypass seven barriers to salmon in the state's rivers. The plan comes as the largest dam removal project in U.S. history is underway along the Californi...
Researchers found that the world’s most rapidly declining basins are in farm regions, especially drier areas like the San Joaquin Valley. Wells are drying out, and land is sinking.
A group of residents in Salinas whose groundwater has been contaminated are suing the state to demand stricter rules about how much fertilizer farmers can use.
California regulators have approved new rules to let water agencies recycle wastewater and put it right back into the pipes that carry drinking water to homes, schools and businesses.
The tunnel would be another way to get water from Northern California, where most of the state's water is, to Southern California, where most of the people live.
The two major blazes in November, including one that left a worker with life-threatening injuries, come months after Marathon began converting the facility into a biofuel refinery.
California leased 600 square miles of ocean off its coast for floating wind farms. Now, the state is exploring ‘blue power,’ electricity from waves and tides for additional sea-based renewabl...
https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2023/12/04/californias-blue-power-drive-wave-tidal-energy-renewable-grid/
Efforts to boost climate financing have moved beyond national pledges. Now, the focus is on overhauling organizations like the World Bank and providing countries with debt relief.
Unlike a year ago, water storage is above average. Whether the year is wet or dry, though, remains uncertain despite El Niño conditions.
Leo Ortega started growing spiky blue agave plants on the arid hillsides around his Southern California home because his wife liked the way they looked. A decade later, his property is now dotted...
Everyone agrees it’s time to change the Clean Air Act's exceptional events rule, but has different solutions.
Across the US, local governments, lobbyists and industry have spent millions to get wildfire pollution excluded from the record. People like Robert Shobe pay the price.