A group of scientists offered a new, intriguing theory: The quakes are triggered in part by the pumping of groundwater in the Central Valley, which produces crops that feed the nation. "These results suggest that human activity may give rise to a gradual increase in the rate of earthquake occurrence," said the study published in
Enemies of fracking have a new argument: drought. Fracking a single oil well in California last year took 87 percent of the water consumed in a year by a family of four, according to the Western States Petroleum Association, an industry lobbying group. That amount — a modest one by national standards, the oil industry
In just a few years, the political debate over Keystone has exploded into an entire sector of the Washington influence economy. Funded by multibillion-dollar oil companies, labor unions and ultrarich environmentalists, the fight has filtered into every crack and crevice of the nation’s capital — all for a project some advocates on both sides privately
A bill that would place a moratorium on the use of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in oil drilling in California was approved by a state Senate panel this week. The measure was passed by a bare majority of five votes by the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee after some Democrats abstained and Chairwoman Fran
For half a century, the Colorado River’s great dams and the 30 million people who siphon water from the reservoirs behind them have effectively killed the river at Morelos Dam, west of Yuma. Only when the Rocky Mountains have piled up and melted more snow than the dams can contain, as they did in 1998,
But there may be a less-expensive way to increase water flows into the Central Valley: Start thinning out the overgrown Sierra Nevada forests. Cutting down trees may not sound environmentally friendly, but researchers from UC Merced and elsewhere think that may be just what’s needed to restore forest health and increase water runoff. http://www.modbee.com/2014/03/24/3257376/overgrown-sierra-forests-gulping.html?sp=/99/1571/&ihp=1
Even before the drought, the southern San Joaquin Valley was in big trouble. Decades of irrigation have leached salts and toxic minerals from the soil that have nowhere to go, threatening crops and wildlife. Aquifers are being drained at an alarming pace. More than 95 percent of the area's native habitat has been destroyed by
For the party that dominates blue state California, 2014 could be a year of the great divide - one that pits "business Democrats" against "labor Democrats" in key campaigns and at the polls. What about the "environmental Democrats"? http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Democrat-vs-Democrat-races-intensify-divide-in-5301906.php
This influential Washington Post editorial notes how California is the first state to crack down on tailpipe emissions and the first to establish a comprehensive in-state greenhouse gas program. Now it is positioning itself as a national leader on animal rights — if, that is, its move to give hens more cage room survives a
California drives national regulation of natural resources. Vivid example from Washington Post editorial on why you need an advocacy voice: “California was the first state to crack down on tailpipe emissions and the first to establish a comprehensive in-state greenhouse gas program. Now it is positioning itself as a national leader on animal rights —