admin – California River Watch

Burning Forrest - Klamath National Forrest, Yreka, California

The timber industry and the U.S. Forest Service aggressively market the idea that reducing fuels through logging/thinning programs will result in a significant decrease in acreage burned, firefighting costs and the number of high-severity fires. However, it is climate/weather, not fuels, that drive all large wildfires. The factors responsible for all large wildfires are drought, low humidity, high temperatures and, most importantly, wind. If you have those ingredients […]

WATER Institute Co-Directors Kate Lundquist and Brock Dolman are excited to announce the initiation of the California Process-Based Restoration (Cal PBR) Network. The goals of the Cal PBR Network are to promote process-based (aka, beaver-based, ecological, low-tech, nature-based) restoration approaches to increase the capacity of degraded river and stream ecosystems to retain water, support biodiversity, […]

The day after an unseasonal June rain swelled the streams of the northern Sierra Nevada, Marily Woodhouse steered her 2003 Dodge Dakota through 65 miles of winding mountain roads near Mount Lassen. Woodhouse first traversed the area on horseback shortly after moving here 25 years ago. Back then, the land was lush with life, and its towering conifer forests furnished refreshingly cool air on days that were blistering hot beyond the canopy’s shade. Now, acre after acre of land of the Battle Creek Watershed is parched as far as the eye can see. Nonnative plants like […]

There are nearly 33 million acres of forested land in the State of California. Since the early days of European- American settlement, the wholesale destruction of our native, “old-growth” forests, and the overall depletion of the productive capacity of our forests, both public and private, have been the subject of debate and concern. Many may […]

By JET PROPULSION LABORATORY APRIL 9, 2022 Researchers have untangled puzzling patterns of sinking and rising land to pin down the underground locations where water is being pumped for irrigation. Scientists have produced a new method that holds the promise of improving groundwater management – critical to both life and agriculture in dry regions. The method sorts […]

Petaluma River Brims With ‘Fecal Bacteria’

The river winding through downtown Petaluma might be the city’s single most defining feature. The city’s annual rivertown revival festival features views of the river and, farther south, recreationists use the water for entertainment and exercise every day.

Yet, since 1975, the state has designated the water a contaminated water body due to excessive levels of bacteria tied to fecal […]

They think returning beavers to our floodplains should be a part of our climate action plans. When beavers are allowed to do what beavers do, it’s good for us and the climate. That’s the conclusion of northwest researchers who are looking to improve water quality and curb our carbon output. Chris Jordan, biologist with NOAA’s northwest fisheries science center, co-authored a paper on how beavers should be a part of our climate action plan. He says […]

“He should have never been detained for even one day,” said an Amnesty International official, “as it has been clear the whole process against him has been in retaliation for his human rights work that exposed corporate wrongdoings.” Jake Johnson,April 25, 2022 Human rights lawyer Steven Donziger walked free Monday after 993 days of detention […]

On April 6th, the Supreme Court reversed a 9th Circuit decision that limited the ability of states to protect rivers from the harmful effects of hydropower dams under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act. The rules adopted by the prior administration limited information available to the states, the time for review, and the scope of conditions that states can require in the licensing of […]

The fate of one critically endangered natural resource – our precious wetlands – could spell either failure or success for all that we do to protect clean water.

Without healthy wetlands, our clean water goals would be nearly impossible to achieve.

We depend on wetlands to help buffer against […]

Mar 23, 2022 Have you ever wondered where exactly your drinking water comes from? To help land managers and the public understand where their water comes from and what affects it, the USDA Forest Service launched an interactive map called Forests to Faucets 2.0. The map shows that forests are a critical link in providing […]

Image online meeting coffee computer notes

Notice of public workshops and opportunity for public comment on administrative draft of the proposedIn light of CRW’s legal action for high levels of hexavalent chromium in some municipal water, supporters for clean water may want to join the workshops either by Zoom using links below or in watch only mode using the link above Language Access. Tuesday, […]

On Tuesday afternoon, the Federal Court in San Francisco held a status hearing for our lawsuit against the EPA. The hearing was brief, as the Judge reiterated his longstanding desire to wait until the National Toxicology Program (NTP) has published the final version of their review on fluoride’s neurotoxicity before continuing with the trial. The NTP communicated to the […]

Hexavalent chromium, or chromium-6, is the cancer-causing chemical that poisoned the community of Hinkley, Calif., made notorious by the 2000 film “Erin Brockovich.” Chromium-6 is a form of the element chromium that is usually produced by industrial processes but can occur naturally. It is commonly used for anti-corrosion metal coating, wood preservation and textile dyeing. It […]

El Cap, Yosemite National Park. Free te use under the Unsplash License.

February 25, 2022 Panama City, Panama: On February 24, 2022, Laurentino Cortizo, President of Panama, signed http://files.harmonywithnatureun.org/uploads/upload1168.pdf. Panama now joins a number of countries who recognize the Rights of Nature at the national level. The list also includes Bolivia, which passed the Law of the Rights of Mother Earth (071) in 2010 and Law of […]

Water racing down stream. Free to use under the Unsplash License.

Dec. 16, 2021 Harder and other lawyers in the group said they expect to face resistance but hope the unrelenting drought may help build support for changing California’s water laws. The group said in a 43-page report detailing their recommendations that they’re suggesting a “focused approach to updating existing laws, regulations, and funding.” They recently presented their recommendations during a webinar organized by the Planning […]

The U.S. Centers For Disease Control (CDC) has partnered with the chemical industry to target 19 million residents in 32,000 small and medium sized communities across the United States that do not add fluoridation chemicals to the public drinking water. Using your tax dollars, the CDC provided funds to private business to develop a fluoridation delivery product […]

Crescent City, California, United States Published on February 25, 2016 Apple, iPhone 6s Free to use under the Unsplash License

By Ian James, Staff Writer Feb. 13, 2022 California’s mountain snowpack is shrinking, and climate change is intensifying the severe drought. Streams have dwindled and reservoirs have declined as vast quantities of water are diverted for farms and cities. Endangered fish are struggling to survive. And in farming areas in the Central Valley, hundreds of families are […]

With farms, ranches and rural communities facing unprecedented threats, a worrying trend leads to a critical question: Who owns the water? Eli Francovich, Columbia InsightDec. 15, 2021 Ghost cattle — 200,000 made-up heifers. A massive fraud rocking eastern Washington’s arid ranching communities, leading to criminal charges and bankruptcy. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and […]

By Sharon Udasin – 01/10/22 The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must take immediate action to address a class of endocrine-disrupting compounds, called phthalates, that continue to plague American food packaging, the House Oversight and Reform Committee demanded in a letter on Monday. “FDA is tasked with ensuring the safety of our nation’s food supply, but over multiple administrations the […]

Wildlife officials and ecologists say urgent and drastic measures are needed to eradicate mice, a threat to island’s endemic speciesMaanvi Singh in San FranciscoFri 17 Dec 2021 A plan to eradicate a “plague-level infestation” of invasive mice on California’s Farallon Islands by dropping poisoned bait from helicopters has been approved by state officials. After hours of impassioned […]

This study reveals key disinfection byproduct (DBP) toxicity drivers in drinking water across the United States. DBPs, which are ubiquitous in drinking water, form by the reaction of disinfectants, organic matter, bromide, and iodide and are generally present at 100–1000× higher concentrations than other contaminants. DBPs are linked to bladder cancer, miscarriage, and birth defects […]

A controversial plan to poison rodents on the Farallon Islands is coming up for a key vote after years of debate. The federal government proposes to airdrop poison pellets on the islands to kill tens of thousands of invasive house mice that have wreaked havoc on seabirds and the local ecosystem. The islands are a wildlife refuge with the largest seabird breeding colony in the contiguous United States. In a twist, the plan has […]

By the time she turned 25, Kimberly Burr had lived in at least ten places. Growing up as an “Air Force brat,” she moved frequently: Alabama to Maine, England to Germany, California to Florida, Colorado to Wyoming. “There were benefits, like learning to make new friends and having opportunities to reinvent yourself, but it was […]

By Sofia Andrade Aug 12, 20214:11 PM — After spending more than 700 days under house arrest, a human rights and environmental lawyer was found guilty last month of criminal contempt in a legal saga that has demonstrated the deep-rooted conflicts of interest layered throughout the judicial system when it comes to climate justice. In Steven Donziger’s conviction, the initial judge who referred him to trial, the second judge who was asked to lead the trial, and the private prosecutors who tried him all had deep ties to Chevron, the company Donziger had won a landmark multibillion-dollar ruling against.

Geneva (Sept. 29) – The United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights – the top human rights legal body in the world — has issued a stunning ruling in favor of U.S. human rights attorney Steven Donziger on the eve of his sentencing on a highly controversial criminal contempt charge filed after he won a $9.5 billion pollution judgement against Chevron on behalf of Amazon […]

“…toxicologists worry that dental-health gains have come at a cost.” One of the world’s most important scientific journals has published a special news feature on water fluoridation, focusing on the Fluoride Action Network’s federal court case against the U.S. EPA and quoting our legal counsel along with several accomplished neurotoxicity researchers. It’s a well-balanced piece that we […]

Blooms of harmful algae, like this "red tide" off the coast of Texas, can cause illness and death in humans and animals.

NOAA is announcing $15.2M in funding for harmful algal bloom (HAB) research projects throughout U.S. coastal and Great Lakes waters. HABs can produce toxins or cause other harmful effects that can damage ecosystems, disrupt our seafood supply, impact economies, and threaten human health. Marine and fresh waters of the United States are increasingly impacted by […]

Posted on September 26, 2021 by andrewrypel by Jeanette Howard, Kirk Klausmeyer, Laura Read, and Julie Zimmerman Droughts are extreme, but not necessarily extreme events — at least not in the way we humans usually experience events as discrete, episodic occurrences. Droughts are continuous and exhausting; they can come out of nowhere and take us on a rollercoaster of waiting […]

Steven Donziger has spent the last 800 days under house arrest with a government tracking device around his ankle.His crime? Well, Donziger is the lawyer who successfully sued the oil giant Chevron on behalf of the people of Ecuador for deliberately discharging 16 billion gallons of toxic waste in the Ecuadorian Amazon between 1964 and 1992. Donziger and his colleagues succeeded and won a $9.5 billion judgment on behalf of the indigenous and poor […]

Author: admin

The Causes of Forest Fires: Climate vs. Logging

WATER Institute Launches New California Process-Based Restoration Network

Logging for Water

Industrial Logging, Forest Depletion, and Climate Change—The Ghost in the Machine

NASA Researchers Untangle Puzzling Patterns of Sinking and Rising Land To Monitor Underground Water Loss

Waste Deep

Scientists Believe Beavers Can Build Resilience In Northwest Waterways

Steven Donziger Walks Free After 993 Days Of ‘Completely Unjust’ Detention

Supreme Court Reinstates Rules Limiting Clean Water Act Protections

Wetlands–Endangered!

Forest Service tool spotlights connection between forests and water

Hexavalent Chromium Maximum Contaminant Level

Fluoride in Drinking Water Court Status Hearing

What is chromium-6? Here’s what you need to know

Panama Passes National Rights Of Nature Law

Despite California groundwater law, aquifers keep dropping in a ‘race to the bottom’

The Greatest Threat To Non-Fluoridated Communities Is Here

Climate crisis and systemic inequities drive push to reform California water laws

Corporations are consolidating water and land rights in the West

FDA must address endocrine-disrupting phthalates: House Oversight

Helicopters to drop poison on California’s Farallon Islands amid ‘plague’ of mice

Drivers of Disinfection Byproduct Cytotoxicity in U.S. Drinking Water: Should Other DBPs Be Considered for Regulation?

Farallon Islands poison airdrop plan set for key vote

Spotlight on Kimberly Burr: Globe-Trotter Turned Environmental Attorney

This Attorney Took On Chevron. Then Chevron-Linked Judges and Private Prosecutors Had Him Locked Up.

Highest U.N. Human Rights Body Rules U.S. Government Must Release Steven Donziger from “Arbitrary” Detention and Compensate Him for Legal Violations

Nature Publishes Fluoridation Article

NOAA Awards $15.2M for Harmful Algal Bloom Research

Developing tools to model impaired streamflow in streams throughout California

Kafka in America. It Can’t Happen Here?

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