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Paradise Residents Urged Not To Use Water After Tests Found High Levels Of Cancer Causing Contaminants

/in , /by /ABC 10by Ananda Rochita

Robin Giusti expects to live through wildfires. It’s something that comes with living in a heavily forested area like Paradise, Calif. What she did not expect is the conditions in which she would be living six months after her house was left untouched by the Camp Fire. Giusti and the hundreds of people still living in Paradise (around 26,000 people lived there before the Camp Fire, according to census data), are now dealing with a clean water issue after contaminants were found in testing.

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Drought Left California With ‘Zombie Trees.’ Here’s How To Spot Them ­­And Help Them

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Mila Jasper

Zombie trees” sound straight out of science fiction, but don’t worry: Your trees aren’t going to bite you. They’re just thirsty. Although seven years of drought in California finally relented this March, high heat and lack of water have caused a severe decline in the health of some trees, with many now essentially suspended between life and death, Sacramento-area arborist Matt Morgan said. “The whole zombie tree issue came about after years of drought stress,” Morgan, assistant district manager with The Davey Tree Expert Co., said. “They structurally declined and the health decreased to a point where the trees are just there right now.”

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Cooler Into California And The Southwest Into Early Next Week Thanks To A Slow Upper Low

/in , /by /AccuWeatherby Brian Thompson

Cooler weather and spotty showers will move into California while the Pacific Northwest has sunny, warm days ahead. An upper-level low moving into California this weekend will not bring much rain, but it will cool things off a little bit, especially heading into Sunday and Monday. The marine layer this morning does not appear to be as solid as some recent days. As this upper-level low approaches, it will likely beef up the marine layer some across Southern California Thursday and Friday nights.

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Check Please! Californians Can Fight Global Warming With Restaurant Surcharge

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Andrew Sheeler

A new state program gives Californians a way to fight climate change, one restaurant meal at a time. “Restore California” is a public-private partnership between the California Department of Food and Agriculture, the California Air Resources Board, and farms, ranches and restaurants across the state, according to a news release from the government agencies. Participating restaurants will add a 1 percent surcharge to their bills, with that money going into a fund aimed at helping farmers remove carbon from the atmosphere and adopt climate-friendly practices.

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‘Lot of History.’ Fire Destroys Sierra Nevada Cabin Where California Measures Snowpack

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Dale Kasler

Carol Pearson’s backyard in the Sierra Nevada has witnessed more than its share of California history: It’s been a cattle ranch, stagecoach stop and post office. The property, a peaceful meadow sitting at 6,820 feet elevation near Echo Summit, is also home to the state Department of Water Resources’ closely watched Sierra Nevada snowpack survey a monthly event that attracts hordes of reporters and photographers who tromp through the property on snowshoes.

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OPINION: Power Companies Want To Dodge Clean Energy Goals By Counting In Old Dams.

/in , /by /The San Francisco Chronicle

California power companies have an appealing but flawed argument with the state’s goal of 100% clean energy by 2045. They want existing dams that churn out carbon free electricity to count toward that mark, making it easier and cheaper to meet their climate friendly obligations. A pending bill, SB386, sounds narrow and focused, but it’s not. It would allow the Modesto irrigation district that operates Don Pedro Dam astride the Tuolumne River to total the cranked out electricity toward its renewable energy quota. That exemption would mean less need to buy juice from solar, wind and other green sources and save money for ratepayers.

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California’s Population Growth Is The Slowest In Recorded History

/in , /by /The Los Angeles Timesby Javier Panzar and Sarah Parvini

California’s 2018 population growth was the slowest in state history, new demographic data show underscoring shifting immigration patterns, declining birthrates and economic strains that are making it harder for some to afford living here. The state added 186,807 residents last year, bringing the estimated total population to 39,927,315 as of Jan. 1, according to estimates released by the state Department of Finance on Wednesday. The overall growth rate slipped to 0.47% last year from 0.78% in 2017, the slowest since data collection started in 1900, department spokesman H.D. Palmer said.

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Calif. Drainage Deal Sinks Into Doldrums

/in , /by /E&E News by Michael Doyle and Jeremy P. Jacobs

An ambitious California irrigation drainage deal is now mired deeper than ever in legislative and legal limbo, alarming farmers, spinning government wheels and costing taxpayers money with no relief in sight. Though nearly four years have passed since the Obama administration and the Westlands Water District agreed to settle their high-stakes drainage differences, the deal remains incomplete. Progress, if there is any, can be measured in inches. The author of a prior bill necessary to implement the settlement is out of office. His successor is still weighing action. Opponents hold the upper hand in the Democratic-controlled House, the Senate appears simply disengaged and negotiations aren’t happening

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California Water Board Faces Lawsuit Over New Wetlands Rules

/in , /by /The Court News Serviceby Nick Cahill

With the Trump administration trudging ahead and re-writing another Obama era environmental law, wary California regulators last month approved new protections for wetlands in the Golden State. The decision by the State Water Resources Control Board came after 11 years of debate between the board, cities, farmers and environmentalists over how to best define and protect the state’s nearly vanished wetlands streams from being paved into extinction. Supporters said the move was a major step toward shielding California streams from Trump’s weakened Clean Water Act. Opponents argued that the rules will create new regulatory hurdles for farmers and businesses.

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Lifetime Of Drinking California Water Could Raise Cancer Risk, Study Finds

/in , /by /The Guardianby Vivian Ho

Drinking California tap water over the course of a lifetime could increase the risk of cancer, according to a study published on Tuesday. Researchers with the Environmental Working Group, an advocacy non-profit, studied the combined health impacts of contaminants found in 2,737 community water systems throughout California and calculated that prolonged consumption of the contaminated water could cause almost 15,500 new cases of cancer. The study found traces of arsenic, hexavalent chromium, and disinfection byproducts in the water systems. All of these contaminants are regulated federally and on a state level. Trace amounts of some arelegally allowed in the water.

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