Tag Archive for: environment

Worsening Droughts Could Increase Arsenic Exposure for Some Americans

/in , , /by /Popular Scienceby Lauren Leffer

More than half of the continental US is currently experiencing some level of drought, and about a quarter is in severe drought or worse. In recent years, the western and southwestern US has been in a seemingly continual state of reduced rainfall and snowpack. Droughts have many well-known, potentially catastrophic consequences, from crop failures to water shortages to wildfires. Yet they can also have more direct human health impacts by not only affecting how much water there is, but also the quality of that water.

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San Diego East County Water Recycling Project Receives EPA Loan for $388 Million

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Joshua Emerson Smith

A wastewater recycling project in East County will receive a sizable injection of federal funds, officials announced Friday.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded a $388 million, low-interest loan to help finance the East County Advanced Water Purification Program — a partnership between San Diego County, El Cajon, Helix Water District and Padre Dam Municipal Water District.

The water recycling project is estimated to cost about $640 million and create about 2,500 local jobs. It’s expected to come online in 2025, providing up to 30 percent of East County’s drinking water supply, from Santee to La Mesa and El Cajon, as well as unincorporated communities such as Spring Valley, Lakeside and Alpine.

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The Importance Of Planting Drought-Tolerant California Native Plants In Your Garden

/in , , /by /CBS Los Angeles

Nurseries made record sales during the coronavirus pandemic as many people looked to pick up gardening as a new hobby.

However, most plants people grow come from outside of California and can be harmful to nature, especially monarch butterflies. Many people don’t realize that California native plants can bring their yards to life, with butterflies, hummingbirds and more.

The Theodore Payne Foundation in Sun Valley is leading the movement to transform the state’s landscape by promoting drought-friendly plants that will still thrive in people’s yards. It’s a unique nursery in that all its plants are native to California.

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5 Things To Know About The Klamath Water Crisis

/in , /by /JPRby Erik Neumann

Tensions have been building in Klamath Falls in recent weeks over a drought that is devastating farmland, fish deemed sacred to native tribes, and wildlife. The Klamath Basin, along the Oregon-California border, has a complex history. Drought and fights over water aren’t new.

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California’s Snowpack is 0% of June 1 Average. Here’s What That Means.

/in , /by /SF Gateby Amy Graff

It’s another sign that California is in a drought with a historic crisis looming. The state’s snowpack, a crucial source of water for the state, is at 0% of average for June 1 after a historically dry winter, according to the California Department of Water Resources. This doesn’t mean that there isn’t any snow across the Sierra Nevada range. Rather it indicates that snow has entirely melted at the majority of the electronic survey stations used to monitor snow water equivalent.

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As Drought Intensifies, California Seeing More Wildfires

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Don Thompson

As California sinks deeper into drought it already has had more than 900 additional wildfires than at this point in 2020, which was a record-breaking year that saw more than 4% of the state’s land scorched by flames.

The danger prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom to propose spending a record $2 billion on wildfire mitigation. That’s double what he had proposed in January.

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Column: Follow the Warning Signs: California is Facing a Devastating Drought. It’s Time To Take Action

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby George Skelton

When Sierra snow seeps into the ground or evaporates before it can flow downstream into reservoirs, you know California is facing a severe drought. It’s happening this spring up and down the mountain range that is a primary water source for the state. Water from snowmelt that hydrologists had expected only a few weeks ago to replenish foothill reservoirs is vanishing. It’s being absorbed by the parched soil or dissipating into the thin mountain air.

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San Diego County Creates Office for Environmental and Climate Justice

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Deborah Sullivan Brennan

A new county office will focus on areas of San Diego most affected by pollution, health disparities and the effects of climate change, the County Board of Supervisors decided Wednesday.

In a unanimous vote, the board agreed to create an office of climate and environmental justice within its land use and environmental group. It will work with the San Diego Air Pollution Control District and other agencies to address air pollutants, toxics, hazardous waste and other risks to sensitive populations.

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Rep. Ruiz Sends Letters to IID & FWS Regarding the Red Hill Project at the Salton Sea

/in , , /by /News Channel 3by Sarah-Jayne Simon

Congressman Raul Ruiz, M.D. tells News Channel 3 exclusively that his office has sent letters to Fish and Wildlife Service and Imperial Irrigation District in regards to the Red Hill Bay Project at the Salton Sea.

The joint effort between IID and FWS broke ground in 2015, but has yet to be completed.

It was designed to create over 600 acres of shallow saline ponds by mixing water from the Salton Sea and the Alamo River. These new ponds would faciliate a new habitat for birds, while also preventing dust from emerging into the air.

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San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy Gets $10,000 Grant From REI

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Linda Mcintosh

The nonprofit San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy received a $10,000 grant for its Next to Nature program (N2N) from the REI Co-op. The program shows residents how to create sustainable landscapes that are beneficial for the environment. To show people how to develop eco-beneficial areas around their homes or businesses, the conservancy is working with locally based production company Condor Visual Media to put out six free webinars focusing on Landscape Site Design, Sustainable Gardening, Urban Green Infrastructure, Wildfire Risk Reduction, Water Management and Conservation and Landscape Material and Energy Management.

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