San Francisco Chronicle Archives

Disturbing Levels Of Carbon Dioxide Likely To Increase Ocean Acidity Fast, Scientists Say

Unusually high concentrations of carbon dioxide have been blowing out to sea from Bay Area cities and agricultural areas, raising concerns that the previously unknown infusions could increase ocean acidity faster than climate change experts have predicted, Monterey Bay scientists said this week. The greenhouse gases flowing into the sea could add as much as 25 million tons of carbon dioxide into the ocean every year, roughly 1 percent of the total annual amount from all sources that permeates the sea water, according to calculations by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.

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As Trump Tries To Roll Back Clean Water Rules, California Seeks Stronger Protections

March 25, 2019/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /San Francisco Chronicleby Kurtis Alexander

When grower Brad Goehring looks across his rows of grapes, he can’t help but see a pool of murky water that breaks the rhythm of his vines, which otherwise stretch steadily into the Sierra foothills. The pool is relatively small, maybe half an acre, but vital, according to environmental regulators. They say it helps to clean the runoff from Goehring’s fields and provides a home for critters such as marsh birds. And by law, it can’t be disrupted, which is what makes this mini wetland a headache for Goehring.

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New Measurements Show Sierra Snow Levels At Long-Term Average. And That’s A Big Deal

January 31, 2019/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /San Francisco Chronicleby Peter Fimrite

New snow measurements to be taken Thursday are expected to confirm that snow levels in the Sierra Nevada are on par with the long-term average, thanks to a series of storms that thrashed California in January. Those results may sound pretty ho hum, but getting to average is a pretty big thing in today’s topsy turvy world of snow analysis, where the absence of pending disaster due to too little snow is something to celebrate.

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OPINION: Newsom Needs To Make Water Supply, Protections A Priority

January 23, 2019/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /San Francisco Chronicleby George Miller

Water issues are notoriously difficult for California governors. Just look at former Gov. Jerry Brown’s floundering tunnels proposal for the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Yet two factors suggest that Gov. Gavin Newsom must make water a priority. First, California needs more climate-resistant water supplies. Climate change is making California’s weather more extreme. For the past decade, most years have brought drought or the risk of catastrophic floods. And looking forward, scientists warn that climate change will reduce the water we get from our rivers.

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OPINION: Newsom’s Picks For Environmental Protection And Water Chiefs Will Reveal His Priorities

January 15, 2019/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /San Francisco Chronicleby Richard M. Frank

One of the keys to former Gov. Jerry Brown’s success as California’s chief executive over the past eight years was the stellar group of individuals he recruited as his top environmental and water officials. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s initial, senior environmental appointments suggest that he is wisely following in Brown’s footsteps. Californians can only hope his water leadership team turns out to be equally strong. Newsom’s first two environmental appointments are his most important, and his choices are impressive indeed.

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San Francisco Sues State Over Potentially Drastic Water Reductions

January 10, 2019/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /San Francisco Chronicleby Kurtis Alexander

The city of San Francisco is not standing down in California’s latest water war, joining a lawsuit against the state on Thursday to stop it from directing more of the Sierra Nevada’s cool, crisp flows to fish instead of people. City officials contend the State Water Resources Control Board is overreaching with a new, sweeping plan to restore California’s depleted river system by limiting draws on such water supplies as San Francisco’s Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite. The plan, according to city estimates, will force Bay Area households to cut water use by 20 percent or more.

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First Snow Survey Shows Water Content Just ‘Adequate.’ But There’s Hope For Improvement

January 3, 2019/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /San Francisco Chronicleby Peter Fimrite

A lot more snow will have to fall if California is to have enough water this year to fill reservoirs, nourish salmon, help crops flourish and moisten the fire-prone hills long enough to avoid another catastrophic conflagration, state officials said Thursday. California’s top snow surveyors, in the Sierra on Thursday with measuring poles and electronic sensor data, concluded that the state’s frozen water supply is just adequate, at best.

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California’s Droughts Hurt Fight Against Climate Change. Study Tells Us Why

December 29, 2018/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /San Francisco Chronicleby Kurtis Alexander

Recent droughts across the West have belted drinking-water supplies, withered crops and fanned deadly wildfires. They’ve also squeezed hydroelectric facilities, with the less obvious side effect of hampering efforts to reduce greenhouse gas pollution. A new study out of Stanford University finds that 10 percent of the total carbon dioxide spewed from California, Oregon, Washington and Idaho for power generation this century is the result of states turning to fossil fuels when water was too sparse to spin electrical turbines at dams.

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What Caused Nearly 20,000 Quakes At Oroville Dam? Scientists Weigh In On Mystery

December 17, 2018/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /San Francisco Chronicleby Kurtis Alexander

The earthquakes hit just days after last year’s near-catastrophe at Oroville Dam, when the spillway cracked amid heavy rains and 188,000 people fled in fear of flooding. The timing of the two small tremors about 75 miles north of Sacramento was curious, and frightening. Were the quakes part of a seismic hot spot that caused the giant concrete spillway to tear? Was the weight of the water behind the dam triggering the quakes? Could all of Lake Oroville be prone to slipping?

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OPINION: Gov. Brown Working To Save His Tunnels

December 16, 2018/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /San Francisco Chronicle

In the world of water politics, where change occurs at a glacial pace, the past few weeks have seen enormous swings in how our state’s most precious resource is managed and delivered. The discussions behind these changes are not easily known and even less easy to understand what they ultimately will mean for cities, farms and, yes, fish in California as climate change accelerates. What is apparent however is that Gov. Jerry Brown is working hard to put his delta tunnels project on the glide path to the finish line before he leaves office in January.

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