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California’s Blackouts Could Make Fighting Climate Change Even Harder

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

The state’s electric grid was experiencing rapid and unprecedented changes even before Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison began shutting off power to millions of people in a desperate scramble to prevent their transmission lines from sparking wildfires.

Solar and wind power were booming. Gas-fired power plants were shutting down. Investor-owned utility companies such as PG&E and Edison were being replaced by city-run alternatives. And the falling cost of lithium-ion batteries was making some households less reliant on the grid than ever before.

The changes will only accelerate in the coming years, as California ramps up efforts to fight climate change by cleaning up its energy supply.

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Here’s What You Can (And Can’t) Do About PFAS Contamination In Your Water

/in , /by /Los Angeles Times by Anna M. Phillips

After The Times reported last week that nearly 300 drinking water wells and other water sources in California had been contaminated with toxic chemicals linked to cancer, readers wanted to know what they could do. For many, it was the first time they had read about this class of chemicals, called perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances — or PFAS. We talked to industry experts, and the following are their best answers to some of the most often-asked questions we received.

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Trump Team Weakens Endangered Species Protections For California Salmon And Delta Smelt

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Times by Bettina Boxall

In a move that would boost water deliveries to San Joaquin Valley agriculture and Southern California cities, federal fishery agencies are weakening decade-old endangered species protections for some of the state’s most imperiled native fish populations.

The rollback — coming a year after President Trump targeted the regulations in a memo — rewards Central Valley agribusiness interests that are some of the president’s strongest California supporters. To critics, it highlights the extent to which the Trump administration has injected politics into federal oversight of the nation’s leading environmental laws.

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Firefighting Foam Leaves Toxic Legacy In Californians’ Drinking Water

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Times by David S. Cloud

It was a Sunday tradition at Bethany Slavic Missionary Church. After morning services, Florin Ciuriuc joined the line of worshipers waiting to fill their jugs with gallons of free drinking water from a well on the property, a practice church leaders had encouraged.

“I take it for my office every week,” said Ciuriuc, a 50-year-old Romanian immigrant and a founding member of the largely Russian-speaking church, which claims 7,000 congregants.

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Wildfires A Massive Threat To California’s Progress In Cutting Greenhouse Gases

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Tony Barboza

The wildfires that raged last year from Paradise to Malibu made for California’s deadliest, most destructive fire season on record.

But the eruption of blazes marked another distinction for California, as one of the worst for the climate. In 2018, fires released more than 45 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere — the most in a decade and trailing only slightly behind 2008, when the state was also stricken by two of the largest wildfires in modern history.

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New Water Year Kicks Off With Surplus: California Has Greater Reservoir Storage Than Last Year

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Times by Hannah Fry

California has more water stored in its reservoirs than it did a year ago after a marathon wet winter that pounded the state with rain and blanketed its mountain ranges with snow.

Statewide reservoir water storage is 128% of average, which amounts to about 29.7 million acre-feet of water for California, the Department of Water Resources announced Tuesday.

One of the largest reservoir increases is at Lake Oroville, which is at 102% of average, compared with 62% of average this time last year. In addition, Shasta Lake is at 126% of average compared with 88% of average in 2018.

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The First Rain of the Season Arrives in LA. But Don’t Get Excited – It’s Just a Drizzle

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Alexandra Reyes-Velarde

Dust off your windshield wipers, L.A. The first rain of the season dripped from the skies Thursday morning, sprinkling morning commuters.

Extreme fire warnings across California have officially expired, thanks to a slight chance of light rain through Saturday, with low clouds and much cooler temperatures than in the last few days, said Tom Fisher, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

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EPA to California: You’re Also ‘Failing’ to Meet Water Pollution Standards

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Alexa Diaz and Anna M. Phillips

The Trump administration warned California officials Thursday that the state is “failing” to meet federal water quality standards, the latest move in the president’s escalating political feud with the state’s liberal leaders.

In a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler threatened possible enforcement action if the state did not improve the way it deals with lead, arsenic and human waste in its water.

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Newsom Will Announce New Plans For A Satellite To Track Climate Change

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Tara Luna

Former Gov. Jerry Brown famously said last year that California would launch its “own damn satellite” to track climate change in defiance of the Trump administration. On Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom will announce a new approach and way to pay for it.

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Major Power Shut-Offs Are New Reality As California Enters Peak Wildfire Season

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Alex Wigglesworth and Joseph Serna

Russ Brown and other emergency officials in Yuba County have been trying to get the word out.

Charge your medical equipment and phone batteries now. Make sure you have enough nonperishable food to last a few days.

Because when the hot winds start blowing, the power to your house may be shut off.

The state is entering the height of fire season, with a dangerous mix of strong winds and temperatures approaching triple digits forecast across its valleys and foothills.

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