Environment Archives

Nevada-California desert ‘half empty’ of birds after population collapse

Bird populations have collapsed in the desert along the Nevada-California border, according to a new study by scientists at the University of California, Berkeley.

Joint Information Center Fire Update August 16th, 2018

Wednesday will continue to be hot and dry with areas of smoke. Temperatures today will be slightly less than yesterday with highs in the low-90s in the valleys and lower 80s on the ridges, with overnight lows between 55 and 60 degrees.

Land and Water Conservation Fund Expires Next Month

Agency Says Lake Mead Could Drop Below Critical Threshold

Nevada’s Lake Mead, the biggest reservoir in the West, is on track to fall below a critical threshold in 2020, according to a new forecast by the Bureau of Reclamation.

Scientists seek new ways to combat Florida’s growing ‘red tide’

Scientists in Florida are on the cusp of developing promising methods to control toxic algae blooms like the “red tide” that has been killing marine life along a 150-mile (240-km) stretch of the Gulf Coast, the head of a leading marine lab said on Wednesday.

Mysterious manatee deaths in Mexican wetlands spurs quest for answers

In the swampy wetlands of southern Mexico, officials and researchers are struggling to explain the deaths of dozens of manatees, the chubby marine mammals once confused with mermaids by ancient mariners.

Local Weather and Area Happenings

Heading into the stretch run for the weekend. If you click on the “Bay Area Weekly Publication” you’ll get a full local newspaper, and a complete list of all of the activities for this weekend’s “July Jubilee” Celebration.

Children’s Business Fair Comes to Downtown Santa Ana

Could a 10-year-old invent the next best service or product? Find out at the Santa Ana Children’s Business Fair where businesses are created and launched entirely by children.

THE NEW POWER BROKERS What Happens When a Pipeline Runs Afoul of Government Rules? Authorities Change the Rules.

Federal authorities halted work on the massive Mountain Valley Pipeline this month after an appeals court ruled that federal agencies neglected to follow environmental protections.

Illegal fishing, harm to Amazon forest linked to tax havens: study

Scientists called on Monday for greater transparency over the use of tax havens by companies involved in activities that have harmed the world’s oceans and the Amazon rainforest.

USDA-Backed “Factory Farm” Takeover of Organic Milk Production Crushing Family-Scale Farmers and Forcing Them Out of Business

Newly Released Report, and Associated Organic Dairy Brand Scorecard, Enables Defrauded Consumers and Wholesale Buyers to “Vote with Their Pocketbooks”

The stunning, devastating, weekslong journey of an orca and her dead calf

A grieving orca was spotted off the coast of Washington state Thursday, carrying her dead calf through the Pacific Ocean for the 17th day in a journey that has astonished and devastated much of the world.

Judge refuses to delay trail building at Rocky Flats in potential health risks lawsuit

A federal judge has denied a motion by a coalition of environmental groups to put a hold on building trails at the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge.

North Dakota Department of Health

North Dakota Department of Health Warns Residents About Wildfire Smoke

Las Vegas Valley water users reminded about Sunday watering ban

A surge in water use on Sundays has prompted a reminder from the Southern Nevada Water Authority: Give it a rest, people.

U.S. appeals court orders EPA to ban pesticide said to harm children

A divided federal appeals court on Thursday ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to ban a widely-used pesticide that critics say can harm children and farmers.

Red-Winged Blackbird Hitches a Ride on a Bald Eagle – Near Poughkepsie NY

City’s Pumping Air Into Polluted Newtown Creek has Critics Worried

New York City has just begun pumping oxygen into a second section of Newtown Creek in Greenpoint, but critics say the city’s methods to increase oxygen levels may be hazardous to the public’s health.

Flood Thy Neighbor: Who Stays Dry and Who Decides?

One Missouri town’s levee saga captures what’s wrong with America’s approach to controlling rivers.

Hawaii volcano eruption slows to virtual halt after more than three months

The destructive lava eruption at the foot of Kilauea Volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii has slowed to a virtual halt in recent days for the first time in over three months, geologists said on Monday, although it was too soon to tell what might happen next.

Environment Report: San Diego’s in Hot Water

Anyone who has been to the ocean lately knows the water is unusually warm for San Diego.

Tuna Canning Workshop August 11

Drop-In Computer Labs

Trump administration lifts GMO crop ban for U.S. wildlife refuges

The Trump administration has rescinded an Obama-era ban on the use of pesticides linked to declining bee populations and the cultivation of genetically modified crops in dozens of national wildlife refuges where farming is permitted.

EPA Provides $135 million for Innovative Groundwater Replenishment Project Expansion in Orange County

EPA Loan Updates Water Infrastructure, Cuts City Costs, and Adds 700 Local Jobs

Watkins Glen International wins third consecutive USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice ‘Best NASCAR Track’ vote

Forest Service plan would open Ruby Mountains to oil, gas drilling

The U.S. Forest Service is prepared to open almost 54,000 acres in the Ruby Mountains to new oil and gas exploration, according to a document obtained by an environmental group fighting the plan.

Public Policy Institute of California: 60% of Likely Voters Say State’s Water Supply is a “Big Problem”

One week after the Orange County Water District voted to approve a non-binding term sheet to purchase 56,000-acre feet per year from the proposed Huntington Beach Desalination Project, the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) published a new public opinion survey

Reclamation releases final environmental documents for the Bakersfield multi-use trail along Friant-Kern Canal

The Bureau of Reclamation has released final environmental documents analyzing the proposed issuance of a 25 year land use authorization to the city of Bakersfield for the construction and maintenance of a 6-mile long multi-use path along the Friant-Kern Canal, constructed over three phases.

Trophy-hunting foes sue to shut down Trump wildlife board

Environmental advocacy groups filed a lawsuit on Wednesday to shut down U.S. President Donald Trump’s board advising on federal rules for importing big game, saying it is stacked with trophy hunters and politically connected donors and cannot serve the public interest.

Lt. Gov Newsom on the Carr Fire

Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom issued the following statement via Twitter on the Carr Fire in Shasta County

New Report exposes ‘cleanwashing’ in California: state renewables program includes dirty, polluting energy sources

A new evaluation by the advocacy group Food & Water Watch reveals that California counts filthy, polluting energy sources such as paper mill waste and methane from landfills, sewage treatment plants and factory farms as “renewable,” and it includes them in its Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) clean energy initiative. The evaluation is part of a broader study of 29 different state renewables programs that awarded report card grades based on the cleanliness and quality of each RPS package. Grades ranged from B- to F, with California earning only a C. Simply put, the evaluation finds that in California, “renewable” energy does not mean clean energy.

Latest Trump overhaul on public lands would undo endangered species protections in Colorado

If you’ve ever marveled at the sight of a bald eagle or a lynx or a black-footed ferret in Colorado, thank the Endangered Species Act.

Trump dreams about a new energy boom. Oil leases could cover this mountain valley

Ten thousand feet up, it’s possible to see the whole North Fork Valley from Dan Stucker’s plane. As the aircraft glides over sloping mesas with snow-dusted mountains, the land below resembles a vintage pioneer landscape.

Beatty’s burros both an Old West symbol and a problem

Beatty is known for its burros, and a recent roundup by the Bureau of Land Management isn’t likely to change that.

St. Lucie BOCC Leads Fundraising Efforts for the 36th Annual Chili Cook-Off Benefiting the Boys & Girls Club of St. Lucie County

The St. Lucie County Board of County Commissioners led the fundraising efforts at the 36th Annual Chili Cook-Off on July 14 at the Havert L. Fenn Center. Staff from the Board of County Commissioners, coordinated by the Environmental Resources Department, helped raise $72,000 for the Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Lucie County.

Natural sources of the toxic form of chromium appear in wells that provide drinking water to a large population in California

When Erin Brockovich sued a major utility company in the 1990s for contaminating drinking water with hexavalent chromium, a toxic and carcinogenic metal, national attention turned to California. Now researchers have determined that natural sources of the element may be geographically more important when it comes to the state’s groundwater management.

In a study that appeared online June 27 in Environmental Science & Technology, Stanford scientists used a statewide groundwater database and a new means of tracing sources to identify wells containing hexavalent chromium from industry versus those that became contaminated from naturally occurring sources – some of which may also have resulted from human activity.

Environment Category Archive