The school is disappearing. Westside Elementary opened its doors nearly a century ago here in the San Joaquin Valley, among the most productive agricultural regions on earth. As recently as 1995, nearly 500 students filled its classrooms. Now 160 students attend and enrollment is falling fast. This was where the children of farmworkers learned to […]
Serious drought conditions across California and the West are expected to worsen this spring into early summer, with hotter-than-normal temperatures, reduced chances of rain and increased fire risk likely, federal forecasters said Thursday. The next three months through the end of June show little to no drought relief, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric […]
2022 is another drought year, although we won’t know exactly how dry for about another month. Precipitation and snowpack this year in California are below average. In addition, the prolonged dry and warm months of January through March of this year’s “wet” season will have evaporated more water from watersheds and reduced snowpack, reducing runoff […]
Stretching for 186 miles along the border of Utah and Arizona, Lake Powell serves as one of two major reservoirs that anchor the Colorado River. Last week, the lake reached a disturbing new milestone: water levels fell to their lowest threshold ever, since the lake was created by the damming of the Colorado in 1963. […]
A half century after the passage of the federal Clean Water Act, 50 percent of U.S. river and stream miles are so polluted that they are classified as “impaired,” a new report has found. Not only are 50 percent of these waterways impaired, but so too are 55 percent of lakes, ponds and reservoirs and 25 percent […]
California is in year three of a worsening drought and the situation is growing dire. After a wet and snowy December, California experienced its driest January and February on record. More than 93% of the state is now suffering “severe” or “extreme” drought, compared with 66% last month, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Sierra Nevada snowpack has […]
As It Enters a Third Year, California’s Drought Is Strangling the Farming Industry
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The Washington Postby Scott WilsonThe school is disappearing. Westside Elementary opened its doors nearly a century ago here in the San Joaquin Valley, among the most productive agricultural regions on earth. As recently as 1995, nearly 500 students filled its classrooms. Now 160 students attend and enrollment is falling fast. This was where the children of farmworkers learned to […]
California Drought Conditions Predicted to Worsen in Coming Months, Federal Forecasters Say
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The Mercury Newsby Paul RogersSerious drought conditions across California and the West are expected to worsen this spring into early summer, with hotter-than-normal temperatures, reduced chances of rain and increased fire risk likely, federal forecasters said Thursday. The next three months through the end of June show little to no drought relief, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric […]
Drought Year Three in California, 2022
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /California WaterBlogby Jay Lund2022 is another drought year, although we won’t know exactly how dry for about another month. Precipitation and snowpack this year in California are below average. In addition, the prolonged dry and warm months of January through March of this year’s “wet” season will have evaporated more water from watersheds and reduced snowpack, reducing runoff […]
Lake Powell Water Crisis Is About to Be an Energy Crisis
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Gristby Jake BittleStretching for 186 miles along the border of Utah and Arizona, Lake Powell serves as one of two major reservoirs that anchor the Colorado River. Last week, the lake reached a disturbing new milestone: water levels fell to their lowest threshold ever, since the lake was created by the damming of the Colorado in 1963. […]
Fifty Percent of U.S. Waterways Impaired by Pollution: Report
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The Hillby Sharon UdasinA half century after the passage of the federal Clean Water Act, 50 percent of U.S. river and stream miles are so polluted that they are classified as “impaired,” a new report has found. Not only are 50 percent of these waterways impaired, but so too are 55 percent of lakes, ponds and reservoirs and 25 percent […]
Opinion: California’s Drought Response Isn’t Working. It’s Time to Order Cuts in Water Use.
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Los Angeles TimesCalifornia is in year three of a worsening drought and the situation is growing dire. After a wet and snowy December, California experienced its driest January and February on record. More than 93% of the state is now suffering “severe” or “extreme” drought, compared with 66% last month, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Sierra Nevada snowpack has […]