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May Smashes Temperature Records In U.S.

/in , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Seth Borenstein

Record heat returned to the United States with a vengeance in May. May warmed to a record average 65.4 degrees in the Lower 48 states, breaking the high of 64.7 set in 1934, according to federal weather figures released Wednesday. May was 5.2 degrees above the 20th century’s average for the month. Weather stations in the nation broke or tied nearly 8,600 daily heat records in May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported. It hit 100 in Minneapolis on May 28, the earliest the city has seen triple digits. “The warmth was coast-to-coast,” said climate scientist Jake Crouch at NOAA’s Centers for Environmental Information.

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House Backs $3 Billion Bill To Boost Ports, Dams, Harbors

/in , /by /Associated Pressby Matthew Daly

The House on Wednesday night approved a nearly $3 billion bill to improve the nation’s ports, dams and harbors, protect against floods, restore shorelines and support other water-related projects. The Water Resources Development Act would authorize a host of projects nationwide, including nearly $1 billion for a massive project to stem coastal erosion in Galveston, Texas, and restore wetlands and marshes damaged by Hurricane Harvey.

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No, Californians, You Won’t Be Fined $1,000 If You Shower And Do Laundry The Same Day

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Ryan Sabalow and Dale Kasler

No, Californians, it’s not against the law to shower and do laundry on the same day — even though loud voices in the conservative blogosphere are claiming it is. Taking aim at two water-conservation laws signed last week by Gov. Jerry Brown, a conspiratorial far-right financial blog called Zero Hedge reported Sunday that Californians could be fined $1,000 a day if they bathe and wash their clothes on the same day. “If you don’t plan to comply it’s going to be way cheaper to move,” the blog post stated.

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Californians Approve Measure To Fund Parks, Conservation

/in , /by /Associated Pressby Amy Taxin

California voters have approved a ballot measure allowing the state borrow $4 billion for parks and conservation projects that proponents say will help ensure access to clean drinking water. Proposition 68 — one of five statewide measures on the ballot — passed Tuesday with 56 percent of the vote. The measure lets California issue general obligation bonds to fund parks in underserved neighborhoods and provide money for flood-prevention and clean drinking water projects. It also includes $200 million to help preserve the state’s largest lake, the Salton Sea, which has been evaporating since San Diego’s regional water agency stopped sending it water.

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“Trump And Pruitt Are Waging An All-Out Attack”: Inside The Battle To Save California’s Water

/in , /by /Vanity Fairby Bruno Navasky

The Tijuana River is a temporary river, which is to say that at times it runs dry. But when the rains come, it runs near bursting. After a healthy spring storm, tires and bottles litter the muddy banks. A refrigerator door reclines, half submerged in gray sediment. What looks like an old bathrobe hangs from the trees amid varicolored shreds of plastic bags, uninvited markers of high water. A bright yellow boom, broken free from a network of battens intended to snag larger flotsam, lies idle at the side of a catch basin in Goat Canyon.

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OPINION: California’s New Water Restrictions Send Residents Fleeing To Saner States

/in , /by /The Washington Times (Washington, DC)by Tammy Bruce

“Please sir, I want some more,” is no longer a sentiment just for Oliver Twist in the orphanage. A new law in California limits how much water can be used by each household. Now their showers, how many flushes, and how often they can do their laundry will be under the watchful eye of the state government. This from politicians who have pushed policies creating homeless and drug abuse crises throughout the state. They have now decided to clamp down on the use of the most basic needs of civilized living.

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California WaterFix Developments Continue

/in , /by /The Press (Brentwood)by Tony Kukulich

Over the last few weeks, several significant developments related to the California WaterFix project have occurred, not the least of which was the formal creation of the Delta Conveyance and Design Construction Authority (DCA). A joint exercise of powers agreement between the Department of Water Resources (DWR) and the DCA gives the the DCA responsibility to staff, design, contract, construct and finance the California WaterFix project.

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California State Officials Voice Concerns Over A Federal Plant To Raise The Shasta Dam

/in , /by /Pacific Standard Magazine (Santa Barbara)by Alastair Bland

In a March of 2018 letter, John Laird, the secretary for the California Natural Resources Agency, asked members of Congress to “not pursue the Shasta Dam enlargement project,” primarily because heightening the dam would violate the McCloud’s Wild and Scenic protections. But the feds don’t seem to be listening. “Congress hasn’t yet given permission [to the Bureau of Reclamation] to waive the state law, but they did give them 20 million bucks,” said Ron Stork, senior policy advocate with the Sacramento-based group Friends of the River.

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Man-Made Fabrics Have State Lawmakers Vying For Warning Tags

/in , /by /Bloomberg Business (New York City, N.Y.)by Lindsey Rupp

Your polyester shirt may soon come with a warning label. Lawmakers in California and New York have proposed state bills this year to raise awareness of a problem few consumers may have heard of — synthetic fabrics shedding microfibers into the water system. Reminiscent of the plastic microbeads that were banned from cosmetics, garments made with polymer-based cloth can release as many as 1,900 microfibers per wash that eventually end up in waterways, one study shows. But research is still at the early stages, and few are in agreement about what the best response is.

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The Great California Laundry And Shower Meme, Explained

/in , /by /Mother Jones (San Francisco)by Kevin Drum

Last night I received the following peculiar tweet: Off-topic, but do you know if a new California law prohibits taking a shower and doing laundry on the same day? A lot of conservative sites are claiming that, but they’re not known for their factual accuracy. It just so happens that on Monday I took a shower and did a load of laundry. I’m pretty sure this is still legal, even here in the Golden State. But, um, what brought this up?

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