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The American West Went Through Climate Hell in 2021. But There’s Still Hope

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Sammy Roth

To visualize the hellishness of the climate crisis in 2021, look no further than General Sherman, the world’s largest tree, wrapped in fire-resistant foil to protect the legendary giant sequoia from flames burning a path of destruction through the Sierra Nevada.

California’s so-called Ancient Ones evolved with fire. It’s crucial to their reproductive cycle. But they aren’t prepared for blazes like those of the last year, which are burning hotter and more intensely as Earth warms, mostly because of the combustion of fossil fuels. Last year, flames killed roughly 10% of the world’s giant sequoias.

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Downtown L.A. Sees No Rain in November for 1st time in Nearly 30 Years

/in , , /by /KTLA 5 by Tracy Bloom

With just hours left to go in this month — and no precipitation in the forecast for Tuesday — downtown Los Angeles is set to experience its first rainless November in almost 30 years, according to the National Weather Service.

The 11th month of the year is typically not a wet one for the area, with downtown’s average just a hair above three-quarters of an inch on average, NWS said.

However, it’s still unusual for there to be no precipitation at all. In fact, that hasn’t happened since 1992, weather service data showed.

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New San Diego County Water Authority Director Joins Metropolitan Board

/in , , /by /Yahoo! Finance / BusinessWire Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Community leader and Vista Irrigation District board member Marty Miller has been seated as one of four delegates representing the San Diego County Water Authority on the board of directors of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

Miller took his seat during a special board meeting last Tuesday (Nov. 23). He replaced outgoing director Michael Hogan, who served on Metropolitan’s 38-member board since 2013. Elected to the VID board in 2008, Miller represents Vista, a community in northeast San Diego County. He has twice served as VID’s board president, as well as chair of its fiscal policy, public affairs, water sustainability and Warner Ranch committees.

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Giant Ocean Simulator at Scripps Will Help Probe Effects of Climate Change

/in , /by /Times of San Diegoby Chris Jennewein

Scripps Institution of Oceanography dedicated a giant ocean simulator Monday that will help researchers understand the effects of climate change on the world’s oceans.

The 120-foot-long, 36,000-gallon “miniature ocean” housed at Scripps’ Hydraulics Laboratory will enable scientists to preview the oceans and atmospheres of the future in which climate is altered even further by human activities.

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How Drought and Climate Change Will Force Ventura County to Transform Its Water Infrastructure

/in , , /by /KCLUby Michelle Loxton

Augustine Godinez is standing on a walkway that extends over a large water storage basin. Below him, a huge metal arm swirls the water in order to separate the sludge out. What’s happening here is that wastewater is being recycled.

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CWA Vote Entitlement Percentage Up for RMWD, Down for FPUD and Camp Pendleton

/in , , /by /Village Newsby Joe Naiman Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The weighted vote at 2022 San Diego County Water Authority board meetings will increase slightly for the Rainbow Municipal Water District while decreasing slightly for the Fallbrook Public Utility District and Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.

The Nov. 18 SDCWA board meeting approved the 2022 weighted vote allocations for the CWA member agencies. RMWD will have 3.926% of the weighted vote, FPUD will have a weighted vote of 2.238%, and the Camp Pendleton weighted vote will be 0.081%. For the 2021 board meetings, RMWD had a weighted vote of 3.923%, FPUD’s share was 2.256%, and the Camp Pendleton weighted vote was 0.084%.

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Can Lithium Cure What Ails the Salton Sea?

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Louis Sahagún

Studying the complexity of mud on the ocean floor is a life’s work for Timothy Lyons, so when the tall and lean biogeochemist asks you to join an expedition in search of chemical mysteries buried deep beneath the waves, be prepared to get wet and dirty.

On a recent foray onto California’s largest and most troubled lake, Lyons rode a Zodiac skiff with a 15-horsepower engine across the Salton Sea against a backdrop of desolate mountains, dunes and miles of shoreline bristling with the bones of thousands of dead fish and birds.

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Fallbrook CPG Informed of Dec. 6 LAFCO Hearing on MSR Updates

/in , /by /Village Newsby Joe Naiman

San Diego County’s Local Agency Formation Commission will hold a Dec. 6 hearing on municipal service review updates for Fallbrook special districts, and LAFCO analyst Priscilla Allen provided a presentation on LAFCO, municipal service reviews, and the context of the hearing during the Nov. 15 Fallbrook Community Planning Group meeting.

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Miles of Aging Water Lines Remain Under San Diego

/in , /by /ABC 10 News San Diegoby Jonathan Horn

City and Caltrans crews remained at work in downtown Tuesday, cleaning up the mess after two water main breaks on Sunday closed freeway on-ramps and flooded businesses.

The first break came from a 76-year-old cast iron pipe near 11th and A street, which flooded local businesses and snarled traffic. Some time later, a 62-year-old concrete steel cylinder pipe failed near balboa park.

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The Gold Mine that Wants to Save the Salton Sea Reaches for Big Projects

/in , /by /The Desert Reviewby Alexis Soto

The mining company, Imperial Gold, is currently in the process of being approved by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to create a new gold mine by Black Mountain that would see new jobs and health benefits introduced into the Imperial Valley. The project is estimated to produce 1.2 million ounces of gold and has the potential for 20 years of production and economic activity that would include $1.1 billion in investment and more than $241 million in taxes and royalties paid to state, federal, and local governments at current gold prices.

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