You are now in California and the U.S. category.

Drought Conditions Slow Growth of Douglas Firs in the West

/in /by /The Davis Enterpriseby Kat Kerlin

Whether growing along the rim of the Grand Canyon or living in the mist with California’s coastal redwoods, Douglas fir trees are consistently sensitive to drought conditions that occur throughout the species’ range in the United States, according to a study led by a researcher at UC Davis. The study, published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, provides direct evidence of the negative impact of water stress on forest ecosystems. It also pinpointed which conditions are causing low growth among Douglas fir trees.

Full Story

The Blob That Cooked the Pacific

/in /by /National Geographicby Craig Welch

The first fin whale appeared in Marmot Bay, where the sea curls a crooked finger around Alaska’s Kodiak Island. A biologist spied the calf drifting on its side, as if at play. Seawater flushed in and out of its open jaws. Spray washed over its slack pink tongue. Death, even the gruesome kind, is usually too familiar to spark alarm in the wild north. But late the next morning, the start of Memorial Day weekend, passengers aboard the ferry Kennicott spotted another whale bobbing nearby. Her blubber was thick. She looked healthy. But she was dead too.

Full Story

OPINION: Water Education More Important Than Ever

/in /by /Ventura County Star

With students heading back to classes this month, we want to ask a little favor of teachers, principals and other educators at public and private elementary, middle and high schools alike:

Please spend some time this school year teaching our children about water conservation, if you are not already. Because despite some mixed signals from water regulators lately, a severe drought continues in Southern California, and water education is more important than ever.

 

Full Story

Relaxed Conservation Measures Don’t Mean the Drought is Over

/in /by /KALW (San Francisco)by Angela Johnston Mentioned: Carlsbad Desalination Plant

The California drought is now in it’s fifth year, and a recent study says it won’t be over for years to come. The study analyzed California’s mountain snowpack and found that we’d need almost four and a half more years of winter storms to escape drought conditions.  But just few months ago, after a not-so-impressive El Niño winter season, California’s State Water Resources Control Board ended a year of mandatory water restrictions, that had required urban residents to cut their consumption by 25% statewide.

Full Story

Out-of-Control California Wildfire Grows, Forces Schools to Close

/in /by /Reutersby Dan Whitcomb

A wildfire burning out of control in mountains and foothills east of Los Angeles mushroomed more than 50 percent overnight, forcing authorities to order three school districts to cancel classes due to heavy smoke and dangerous conditions. More than 900 firefighters were battling the so-called Pilot Fire, which has charred some 7,500 acres of bone-dry tinder and brush in the San Bernardino Mountains since it broke out around noon on Sunday.

 

 

Full Story

Study: Public Water Supply is Unsafe for Millions of Americans

/in /by /CNNby Susan Scutti

Millions of Americans may be drinking water with unsafe levels of industrial chemicals, according to a study published Tuesday in the journal Environmental Science & Technology Letters. These chemicals, known as polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl substances or PFASs, have been linked to high cholesterol, obesity, hormone suppression — and even cancer. Introduced more than 60 years ago, PFASs are a category of man-made chemicals that degrade very slowly, if at all, in the environment.

Full Story

Drought, Lower Prices Eat Away at Fresno County 2015 Crop Values

/in /by /The Fresno Beeby Bonhia Lee

Fresno County’s overall crop value fell to $6.61 billion last year from a high of $7 billion in 2014 as the region battled drought, lower commodity prices and production issues.

The drop was a disappointment, but not a surprise, as the 2015 Fresno County Crop Report was presented to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. “Still, with all of that, Fresno County farmers and ranchers come together to do something magical,” said Ryan Jacobsen, chief executive officer of the Fresno County Farm Bureau.

Full Story

Metropolitan Switches to Solar to Help Offset Power Used for Water Deliveries

/in /by /Yahoo

With the dual goals of cutting carbon emissions and reducing operational costs, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California unveiled its latest investment in solar power today. Metropolitan board Chairman Randy Record joined General Manager Jeffrey Kightlinger to flip a ceremonial switch signifying the activation of two separate solar fields with 10,780 large, sun-tracking panels at the district’s F.E. Weymouth Water Treatment Plant in La Verne. The 3-megawatt solar installation covering 15.5 acres will generate about 6.5 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of clean, renewable energy a year, offsetting nearly half of the plant’s energy demands.

Full Story

OPINION: Taxpayers Group Doesn’t Seem to Care About Taxpayers When it Comes to the Desal Plant

/in /by /Voice of San Diegoby Marco Gonzalez Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Earlier this summer, the San Diego County Taxpayers Association gave its Golden Watchdog award to the Carlsbad Desalination Project, reflecting the group’s support “every step of the way” for what many in the environmental community consider the region’s biggest boondoggle in recent memory. While much of the fight against the desalination plant has focused on the devastating environmental harm to marine life and huge output of greenhouse gasses, this recognition from the Taxpayers Association really has environmentalists scratching our collective head.

Full Story

Metropolitan Water District Saving Money Lost During Drought by Investing in Solar

/in /by / San Gabriel Valley Tribune (Monrovia)by Steve Scauzillo

With conservation cutting into demand, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California used nearly 16 acres of land originally set aside for additional water production for a solar farm at its F.E. Weymouth Water Treatment Plant in La Verne. The $10.5 million solar installation produces 3 megawatts of electricity at capacity, or enough to supply one-half of the treatment plant’s power needs. MWD General Manager Jeff Kightlinger flipped the switch on the renewable energy project Tuesday, marking the ceremonial opening of the solar installation situated in two fields adjacent to the plant’s cleaned-water reservoir and only yards away from tract homes.

Full Story