Napa Valley Struck by 4.1 Magnitude Quake
A 4.1 magnitude earthquake struck Napa Valley on Thursday night, the largest rattler to hit the region since the 6.0 magnitude quake that hit the world-famous vintner town last August.
Environment
Volunteers Chased Away from Oil Spill in Santa Barbara
On Thursday, volunteers who had joined professional environmental cleanup contractors to remove the detritus from a Wednesday oil spill that washed up on Refugio State Beach were asked to go home and leave the job to the experts.
Drought: Farmers Offer 25% of Water in Exchange for No Future Cuts
Select farmers in the Sacramento and San Joaquin River Delta have offered to give up one quarter of their allotted water supply this year to help California combat its devastating four-year-long drought. The farmers, who hold senior water rights to
Jeb Bush: It’s ‘Intellectual Arrogance’ to Say Science Is Decided on Climate Change
Wednesday at an event in Bedford, NH, potential 2016 Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush said the climate of Earth is changing but the science is not clear on “what percentage is man-made and what percentage is natural,” so it is “intellectual arrogance”
El Niño: Insurers Prepare for Flood Damage Losses
With temperatures dropping into the high teens, and about 7 inches of snow falling for the next three days, Mammoth Mountain is on track to get its most snow since December 2014. The unseasonal snowfall in the Sierras will not break the drought, but the National Climate Prediction Center’s decision to raise the probability of El Niño to 90 percent has insurance companies scrambling to model losses they expect to suffer from El Niño flood damage.
Fresno Must Choose: Drinkable Water, or Clean Air
California’s four-year-long drought is forcing cities across the state to make tough choices about water conservation. Now, one city will be forced to make its toughest choice yet: cleaner air, or more drinkable water?
Sewage Spills from Tijuana to Coronado
On Sunday, the pristine, golden mica-flecked beaches of Coronado were hit with contamination warnings as sewage from the Tijuana River, swollen by recent rains, flowed north.
Oil Spill in Santa Barbara, Site of 1969 Disaster
21,000 gallons of crude oil—- the equivalent of 500 barrels –poured onto the Santa Barbara County coast on Tuesday when an 11-mile-long underground pipe owned by Houston-based Plains All American Pipeline ruptured. The leak and its cause are under investigation.
Oregon to Test Pay-per-Mile Idea as Replacement for Gas Tax
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon is about to embark on a first-in-the-nation program that aims to charge car owners not for the fuel they use, but for the miles they drive.
Governor Brown Signs Multinational Climate Change Pact
On Tuesday, California Governor Jerry Brown signed onto a pact between 12 regions in seven countries, including four U.S. states, binding each to reduce greenhouse gas emissions drastically. The goal of the cuts is to keep the rise in global average surface temperatures below 2º Celsius. However, recent revisions by the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change suggest global temperatures are projected to rise by less than 1º C over 30 years–and perhaps by less than 0.5º C.
With 2016 Looming, Jerry Brown to Sign ‘Landmark’ Climate Change Deal
California Gov. Jerry Brown is to sign a “landmark climate change agreement” in Sacramento Tuesday, his office announced Monday. The surprise move comes just days after potential Democratic presidential contender Sen. Elizabeth Warren delivered a stirring address to the California Democrats Convention.
‘Super El Niño’ Wouldn’t Be Enough to End California Drought
With all the upbeat predictions, it might be easy for Californians to think the four-year-long drought is finally coming to an end. But Bob Yamada, water resources manager at the San Diego County Water Authority, says Californians should keep the champagne corked, at least in the short term.
CA Legislature to Vote to Ban Microbeads
Scores of cosmetic, shampoo, toothpaste and personal care products containing microbeads will be forced to find new exfoliating ingredients should California State Assemblyman Richard Bloom’s (D-Santa Monica) reprised bill to ban microbeads pass the state legislature and become law. An
What if We Lose?
In the United States, and most of the western world, there is an ideological war with dire physical consequences. It is the war on fossil fuels. But, even if you understand that energy is central to everything in modern society, the war is much bigger than energy. It is about freedom. It is about control. It is about global governance.
Cal Dems Spend Cap-and-Trade’s Billions on Voting Base
With cap-and-trade cash flow doubling this year and growing rapidly into the future, a newly approved “Scoping Plan” requires “maximizing” investments in “disadvantaged communities” that just happen to vote overwhelmingly for Democrats.
Pope Allegedly Halts Publication of Eco-Encyclical amid Controversy
A Vatican insider asserts that Pope Francis has scrapped the draft of his encyclical letter on the environment and sent it back for major revision. The letter was slated for publication in early summer, but now may not be ready until much later, he suggests.
Drought? Pool Construction Soars in California
Despite the drought, Californians built the most backyard swimming pools since 2007 last year–and this year, the pace is outstripping 2014, according to industry tracking firm Construction Monitor. In 2014, over 11,000 residential swimming pools were built or rebuilt; this year’s pace will carry that number over 13,000.
Top Papal Aide Blasts US Critics of Pope’s Upcoming Letter on Ecology
Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga lambasted “movements in the United States” that have expressed criticism of the Pope’s upcoming encyclical letter on the environment, calling it “absurd” to disparage a document that has not yet been released.
2015 Hurricane Season Limited by El Niño
The highly respected Colorado State University forecast for the coming season looks for only 7 named tropical storms and only 3 hurricanes, about 40% less than average. Coupled with the expectations of global cooler weather and more precipitation from El Niño, climate change “scientific experts” may need to develop more new models.
We Were Wrong About Climate Refugees
It’s a difficult thing to admit when you are wrong. Several years ago, the United Nations suggested we would soon have to deal with refugees fleeing the impact of climate change. Many of us, myself included, scoffed at the idea.
Environmentalist Protesters Plan to Stop Oil Drilling Ship by Blocking It with Kayaks
Royal Dutch Shell’s Arctic drilling program has taken one step closer to gaining approval to begin drilling off the northwestern coast of Alaska, but furious environmentalists are planning to stop the oil rigs with a kayak flotilla.
Black Goo Washing Ashore on Carlsbad Beaches
Sticky, black gobs of tar goo are washing up on southern California beaches–but before climate change activists sound the alarm, experts are saying the phenomenon is completely natural.
Cap-and-trade Billions a Honey Pot for California Politicians
California’s cap-and-trade tax is creating a luscious honey-pot of cash to sooth state politicians’ spending fantasies. In expectation of the cash available from the “May Revised Budget” to be released this week, lawmakers and their interest-group fellow travelers are outlining ambitious proposals that include funding port improvements, paying for heavy-duty trucks and ferries, nurturing urban rivers, sponging up carbon in soil and increasing subsidies for bus riders.
Drought? Parched California City Re-opens Water Slide
On Saturday, the drought-stricken, water-restricted rural community of King City, California celebrated the restoration of a huge water slide, paid for by money raised by the community. The slide was retrofitted without using any city funds.
Drought: Starbucks to Stop Bottling Water in California
In an official statement, Starbucks has announced that it will stop bottling water in drought-stricken California and will move production–and jobs–to Pennsylvania to produce the Ethos brand of water that it sells in thousands of coffee shops.
