What it takes to put renewable power on the West’s electrical grids.Continue readingTransmission, transmission, transmission
Author: & the West, Stanford University
Floods driven by winter storms are nothing new in Monterey County, but the early March catastrophe that swelled the Pajaro and Salinas rivers and drowned farmworker communities exposed the extreme inequality built into flood-control systems. Continue readingWinter storms exposed the unfairness of California’s flood protections. Are marginalized areas closing the gap?
Private citizens were first on the scene to document a massive die-off in Oakland’s Lake Merritt. Their contributions were enabled by the crowd-source observation tool iNaturalist. Continue readingWhen red tide smothered an urban lake, citizen scientists sounded the alarm
While expensive solutions like new reservoirs and seawater desalination grab attention, California communities are quietly building up their capacity to clean stormwater and wastewater for reuse for irrigation, industry and, yes, drinking water too. Continue readingIn times of scarcity, California’s best new source of water? Reuse.
Floating wind turbines can produce energy from miles offshore. Some Pacific Coast sites the federal government has chosen for wind-energy projects intersect with important fishing grounds. Can they coexist?Continue readingPlans for deep-sea wind farms face resistance from Northern California’s fishing industry
Four out of five agricultural operations in the state are small farms, but many rules, from labor law to water resource planning, were designed for industrial-size players. Can the state make room for small and diverse businesses to succeed?Continue readingSmall farmers bear an extra burden as California agricultural policies respond to a changing climate
When a historic drought gripped California and the Bay Area, water managers came together to keep drinkable water in the homes of vulnerable areas in Marin and Contra Costa Counties. Two veterans of those efforts describe the dramatic process, and consider lessons it offers for today’s imminent drought.Continue readingHow Ingenuity and Desperate Measures Kept Urban Water Flowing During the ‘77 Drought
Most local authorities, private experts and activists agree that since 1994, when the EPA started to address the issue, cleanup efforts for hundreds of uranium mining sites have been slow. Continue readingCan a New EPA Office Expedite Uranium Cleanup on Navajo Land? Not if Past Is Prologue.
Taking down four dams in Oregon and California would be a coup for advocates of dam removal. It could also mark the moment when their movement rediscovers a more realistic goal: bringing restoration into balance with human needs.Continue readingThe Winners, the Losers, and the Landscape That Might Emerge If the Klamath River Dams Disappear
Once prized as a key ingredient in fire retardant foam, non-stick pans and many everyday items, a synthetic chemical’s appearance in public water supply wells raises questions of how to protect the public from unknown health hazards.Continue readingConcern Over the “Forever Chemical” PFAS Is High, But Remedies Remain Remote
