Defying environmentalists and public health advocates, the Trump administration on Thursday will announce the replacement of Obama-era water protections with a significantly weaker set of regulations that lifts limits on how much pollution can be dumped into small streams and wetlands. The changes to the Clean Water Act’s protections are expected to hit California and […]
Given California’s international leadership in addressing climate change, it isn’t surprising that voters will be asked this November to approve billions of dollars in bonds to help the state become more resilient. But why settle for one ballot proposal when you can have three?
In step with President Trump’s push for more energy development in California’s deserts, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management announced Thursday it wants to transform 22,000 acres of public land in the southern Owens Valley into one of the largest geothermal leasing sites in the state. The agency has determined that the aquifer deep beneath […]
New research recently published in Science Advances found that atmospheric rivers accounted for 84% of flood damages, or $42.6 billion, across the western United States from 1978-2017. Supported by NOAA’s Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (RISA) and co-authored by California-Nevada RISA PI Alexander Gershunov, the study analyzed 40 years of data from the National Flood […]
Folsom Dam has long quietly served as a backstop for Sacramento, offering critical flood protection to one of the most at-risk metropolitan areas in the country. But a few scary winter storms in the 1980s and 1990s proved that the dam and the region’s extensive system of river levees weren’t as fail-safe as thought. That’s […]
Saying he had kept his promise to do everything at his disposal “to protect the American farmer and restore the full strength of American agriculture,” President Donald Trump described actions his administration has taken on trade, regulatory reform and other fronts on behalf of farmers and ranchers. Trump spoke Sunday to the American Farm Bureau […]
California Will be Hit Hard as Trump Administration Weakens Clean Water Protections
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Los Angeles Timesby Anna M. PhillipsDefying environmentalists and public health advocates, the Trump administration on Thursday will announce the replacement of Obama-era water protections with a significantly weaker set of regulations that lifts limits on how much pollution can be dumped into small streams and wetlands. The changes to the Clean Water Act’s protections are expected to hit California and […]
Bonds on the Ballot: Will Billions of Dollars Help California Cope With Climate Change?
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /CalMatters (Sacramento, Calif.)by Julie CartGiven California’s international leadership in addressing climate change, it isn’t surprising that voters will be asked this November to approve billions of dollars in bonds to help the state become more resilient. But why settle for one ballot proposal when you can have three?
Trump Team Proposes Rollback of Desert Protections to Boost Geothermal Energy
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Los Angeles Timesby Louis SahagunIn step with President Trump’s push for more energy development in California’s deserts, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management announced Thursday it wants to transform 22,000 acres of public land in the southern Owens Valley into one of the largest geothermal leasing sites in the state. The agency has determined that the aquifer deep beneath […]
Atmospheric Rivers Drive Western U.S. Flood Damages
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /WeatherNationby Mace MichaelsNew research recently published in Science Advances found that atmospheric rivers accounted for 84% of flood damages, or $42.6 billion, across the western United States from 1978-2017. Supported by NOAA’s Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (RISA) and co-authored by California-Nevada RISA PI Alexander Gershunov, the study analyzed 40 years of data from the National Flood […]
Folsom Dam is Being Raised. What That Means for Droughts, Boating and Your Flood Insurance
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The Sacramento Beeby Tony BizjakFolsom Dam has long quietly served as a backstop for Sacramento, offering critical flood protection to one of the most at-risk metropolitan areas in the country. But a few scary winter storms in the 1980s and 1990s proved that the dam and the region’s extensive system of river levees weren’t as fail-safe as thought. That’s […]
Trump Outlines Administration’s Work on Agriculture
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Ag Alert (Sacramento, Calif.)by Dave KranzSaying he had kept his promise to do everything at his disposal “to protect the American farmer and restore the full strength of American agriculture,” President Donald Trump described actions his administration has taken on trade, regulatory reform and other fronts on behalf of farmers and ranchers. Trump spoke Sunday to the American Farm Bureau […]