Tag Archives: California

California spurred to change by Gulf oil spill; Californians, not so much

Fascinating duo of stories in today's papers. In the Los Angeles Times, news that the Governor and the California Legislature are moving into high gear on an ambitious renewable energy standard, supported (yes!) by major utilities. In the words of our Gov: "One needs only to look to the Gulf of Mexico and the tragedyContinue reading “California spurred to change by Gulf oil spill; Californians, not so much”

Rehabilitating — not Restoring — California’s Rivers

From a thoughtful interview posted on the wonderful Earth and Sky site, a look at California rivers yesterday and today with Prof. Jeff Mount of UC Davis. At one point he mentions that when Congress gave the "wild and scenic river" designation to a dozen or so California rivers, "they got half of it rightContinue reading “Rehabilitating — not Restoring — California’s Rivers”

California Drought, As Seen from Space

Via NASA's Terra satellite, which uses a MODIS Spectraradiometer to measure plant growth.   In the Central Valley, the drought is worst in the Westlands water district. Many in the area blame Congress for lack of water, and for the 70,000-80,000 farmworkers reported to be out of work. Interestingly, NASA talks about this in aContinue reading “California Drought, As Seen from Space”

LA Times to SoCal: Climate Change is Here. Deal with It.

Over the past couple of years I have been critical of the paper for its all-or-nothing coverage of global warming (where they will run enormous stories about climate change in, say, the Arctic, but neglect to mention consequences here in California the US when covering other less-sexy environmental stories not specifically about climate change.)

Biggest Storm of the Season? That’s It? C’mon now…

If this weekend's rain, totaling less than two inches in wet Upper Ojai, is the "biggest storm of the season" according to the Los Angeles Times, then we have problems. The prediction was for between one and three inches of rain. Hardly an awesome figure for a weekend. To date in the mountains of VenturaContinue reading “Biggest Storm of the Season? That’s It? C’mon now…”

California: Dry and Getting Drier

Haven’t blogged about the hundreds of fires that have broken out over the last two weeks in California. The good news is that few of them have grown to be large (with the notable exception of the Basin Complex and Indians Wildland fire in the Big Sur area, which total over 100,000 acres). For more,Continue reading “California: Dry and Getting Drier”

Sierra Snowpack Low: Drought Stalks California

According to officials quoted by The Los Angeles Times this weekend (here). "I have not seen a more serious water situation in my career, and I’ve been doing this 30 years," said Timothy Quinn, executive director of the Assn. of California Water Agencies. An outmoded delivery system and court rulings that protect endangered fish areContinue reading “Sierra Snowpack Low: Drought Stalks California”

Temp: Hot! Outlook: Cooler (says soils forecast)

Southern California has been baking in a nasty heat wave for the last five days; it’s expected to last another day. Yet the experimental NOAA temperature outlook says it’s going to be cooler than usual this September, if the blue squares along the California coast can be trusted. In fact, earlier this year NOAA forecasterContinue reading “Temp: Hot! Outlook: Cooler (says soils forecast)”