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The U.S. House of Representatives passed an amendment to the Senate energy bill that includes drought relief legislation introduced by California Republican congressman David Valadao.

The House amendment to the Senate Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2016 passed by a 241 to 178 vote May 25. It includes Valadao’s legislation, the Western Water and American Food Security Act. It aims to expand water infrastructure and storage and find less water-intensive ways to protect the endangered delta smelt.

State water regulators are proposing to dismiss a record $1.5-million fine they intended to levy against a Northern California irrigation district accused of ignoring drought-related cuts in water diversions.

The State Water Resources Control Board slapped the fine on the Byron Bethany Irrigation District last summer for continuing to divert supplies after the board ordered senior rights holders to stop river and stream withdrawals.

Clouds need to condense around small particles called aerosols to form, and human aerosol pollution—primarily in the form of sulfuric acid—has made for cloudier skies. That’s why scientists have generally assumed Earth’s ancient skies were much sunnier than they are now. But today, three new studies show how naturally emitted gases from trees can also form the seed particles for clouds. The results not only point to a cloudier past, but they also indicate a potentially cooler future: If Earth’s climate is less sensitive to rising carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels, as the study suggests, future temperatures may not rise as quickly as predicted.

Each day in California an estimated 1.5 billion gallons (5.7 billion liters) of treated water are dumped into the ocean – that’s more than the amount of water needed to fill 2,270 Olympic-sized swimming pools. It’s the water that’s collected from the sinks, bathrooms and laundries in your home and delivered to municipal wastewater treatment facilities. But what if these billions of gallons of wastewater were further purified and put to use to help solve California’s water woes?

Last winter’s rain and snow didn’t come close to solving our water deficit, and we need to think outside the box.