Tag Archives: California

How dry will it be in California in 2012?

According to NOAA, La Niña is beginning to fade away in the Pacific, but it's probably too late to expect much precip this year. La Niña-like impacts are expected to persist into the upcoming season. For those of us who like rain, snow, and water, this is not great news. So far this year hasContinue reading “How dry will it be in California in 2012?”

To the stars, through the thorns: Gov. Jerry Brown

Jerry Roberts knows more about California than you, and me, and probably most of the people in the state put together. He's edited major newspapers, for decades; written columns, for decades; launched websites, written books, taugth at university — his rap sheet is as long as a cliche. He left teaching a year ago toContinue reading “To the stars, through the thorns: Gov. Jerry Brown”

The problem with America: Too much cake

Vanity Fair puts the entire California chapter of Michael Lewis's new book, Boomerang, on the Web, and boy is it good. Lewis really is all that. Long but highly recommended. Here's the thinky part: The road out of Vallejo passes directly through the office of Dr. Peter Whybrow, a British neuroscientist at U.C.L.A. with aContinue reading “The problem with America: Too much cake”

Weird CA weather linked to Arctic Oscillation, global warming

Forecaster extraordinaire Bill Patzert makes the connection, in a story in the Sac Bee:  This year, the blame [for the weird weather in California] falls on a complex interaction between La Niña and another phenomenon called a negative Arctic oscillation, Patzert and others said. La Niña is marked by a cooling of equatorial waters inContinue reading “Weird CA weather linked to Arctic Oscillation, global warming”

Thinktank: Water management failing in CA

The highly-regarded Public Policy Institute of California makes an important point in a new book: Despite several decades of well-intentioned environmental regulations, more than 80 percent of the state’s 129 native fish species are extinct or imperiled—listed as endangered or threatened, or likely to qualify for listing in the future. Piecemeal efforts to stop theContinue reading “Thinktank: Water management failing in CA”

The lives of the harvesters

Grist features a photographic essay about the immigrant farmworkers who harvest the fruits and vegetables in California, earning little, working hard, feeding the nation.  According to The Migrant Project, California agriculture produces about fifty percent of the nation's food supply, which means that these folks do about half the fieldwork in the country.  The photoContinue reading “The lives of the harvesters”

Good water news for California this La Niña (to date)

As John Fleck reports, it's been an unusually good year for California so far, given that we're in a strong La Niña condition:  The precip map is showing a classic La Niña pattern – dry south, wetter north, though California seems to be doing better than they might have hoped: In fact, for left coasters, this doesn'tContinue reading “Good water news for California this La Niña (to date)”

The truth about Prop 23: get it now!

Before it's too late (latest polls look bad for the prop). My story in the VC Reporter: The money quote, from Fran Pavley, who authored AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act, the legislation signed into law in California in 2006:  “It’s not just that these oil companies are trying to protect their bottom line,”Continue reading “The truth about Prop 23: get it now!”