Toxic Algal Blooms can harm people and pets. They can ruin vacations and wreck recreation and tourist economies. They can happen anywhere. And they’re entirely preventable. We were fortunate. Though he waded and drank some of the contaminated water, our dog Wooly escaped with a few days of severe vomiting and diarrhea. He’s now fully […]
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“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed individuals can change the world. In fact, it’s the only thing that ever has.” –Margaret Mead In this issue, we interview two local activists, Anne Wheaton and Geoff Ellsworth. They have pleaded with public agencies for years to address Clover Flat Landfill’s dangerous conditions, which result from radioactive […]
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While we’re on the topic of federal investigations into wine-country wheelings and dealings. Over in the Napa Valley, as you probably know by now, the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI have been sniffing around for the better part of the last year, apparently looking into county government officials and their connections to wine-industry power players […]
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State’s transport department given a 2045 deadline to fully decarbonize and achieve zero emissions under agreement Dharna Noor and Lois Beckett Hawaii officials have announced a “groundbreaking” legal settlement with a group of young climate activists, which they said will force the state’s department of transportation to move more aggressively towards a zero-emission transportation system. […]
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By Ian JamesStaff Writer June 18, 2024 In the face of climate change and worsening cycles of drought, California water managers have been increasingly focused on the precise tracking of water resources. Snowpack in the Sierra Nevada is measured with sensors and aerial images, reservoir levels are electronically logged, and the movement of water through aqueducts […]
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Feb. 20, 2024 The researchers examined 814 active gauges and modeled scenarios in which more gauges are installed across the state. They said adding 500 gauges to the network could more than double the length of streams monitored. They acknowledged that this expansion would be expensive because each gauge can cost as much as $40,000 […]
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May 26, 2024 In another recent report, researchers with the Public Policy Institute of California assessed the dire threats to freshwater biodiversity in the state. Studies have found that about half of California’s native aquatic species are highly vulnerable to extinction this century, and the researchers said with climate change accelerating, the state needs to quickly […]
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PublishedJune 27, 2024 A new study co-authored by Yale researchers quantifies the consequences of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that weakened the Clean Water Act. Ephemeral streams, or those streams that flow only briefly after precipitation events, are a substantial pathway for water transfer with significant implications for water quality, a first-of-its kind study co-authored […]
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The recent U.S. government-funded study (Malin et al., 2024) published in the Journal of the American Medical Association(JAMA) linking fluoride exposures experienced in fluoridated Los Angeles, California during pregnancy with a doubling of the odds of several neurobehavioral problems for the child, has received extensive media coverage across North America and also throughout the world. The study […]
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By Li Cohen Updated on: June 6, 2024 / 10:10 AM EDT / CBS News One of the major drivers of the exceptional heat building within Earth’s atmosphere has reached levels beyond anything humans have ever experienced, officials announced on Thursday. Carbon dioxide, the gas that accounts for the majority of global warming caused by human activities, […]
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Los Angeles, California (May 20, 2024) – A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) on Monday found that in fluoridated Los Angeles, the children of mothers with higher fluoride exposures during pregnancy had double the odds of several neurobehavioral problems compared to mothers with lower exposures. Funding for the study was provided by the National […]
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Recent lawsuits say Arrowhead, Evian, Poland Spring, and other water bottlers are deceiving customers. Joseph Winters Staff WriterPublished May 20, 2024 Is bottled water really “natural” if it’s contaminated with microplastics? A series of lawsuits recently filed against six bottled water brands claim that it’s deceptive to use labels like “100 percent mountain spring water” and […]
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Today, eight young people from across the state of Alaska filed their constitutional climate lawsuit, Sagoonick v. State of Alaska II, against the State of Alaska, the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC), and AGDC president Frank Richards. The youth plaintiffs filed their case to protect their rights to a safe, healthy climate and stop the Alaska LNG […]
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BAKERSFIELD, California — The California Water Service in Bakersfield has found that 22 of its water wells could be contaminated with ‘forever chemicals’, also known as PFAS. The water utility company came across these findings when they tested several of their wells ahead of the Environmental Protection Agency’s introduction of new PFAS guidelines. We knew of […]
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By Clark MindockApril 15, 20241:06 PM PDTUpdated 19 days ago April 15 (Reuters) – A new lawsuit filed by public drinking water systems in California against manufacturers of toxic “forever chemicals” is among the first to cite new Biden administration regulations that set strict limits for the chemicals in drinking water. The Orange County Water […]
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Tom Perkins Rules celebrated for reducing exposures, but experts say it’s not enough and will lead to ‘an endless game of Whac-A-Mole Strong new limits for some PFAS compounds in drinking water set by the US Environmental Protection Agency this week are being celebrated for how far they go in reducing exposures to the dangerous chemicals. But […]
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BY JOHN COX jcox@bakersfield.comApr 15, 2024 A preliminary assessment suggests nearly two dozen Bakersfield water wells suspected of containing harmful “forever chemicals” may have to be treated within five years to bring local taps served by California Water Service into compliance with new federal rules. Expectations are that reverse osmosis or granular activated carbon will effectively remove the […]
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By Cristen Hemingway Jaynes, EcoWatch.April 12, 2024 We are running out of time to take action on climate change, says Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. In a speech titled “Two Years to Save the World,” Stiell emphasized that governments, development banks and business leaders must take steps to avert much more […]
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By MICHAEL PHILLIS Updated 2:29 PM PDT, April 10, 2024 The Biden administration on Wednesday finalized strict limits on certain so-called “forever chemicals” in drinking water that will require utilities to reduce them to the lowest level they can be reliably measured. Officials say this will reduce exposure for 100 million people and help prevent thousands of illnesses, […]
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Rachel BeckerMar 13 Facing criticism over their ambitious plan to curb urban water use, California’s regulators on Tuesday weakened the proposed rules — giving water providers more years and flexibility to comply. Cities and urban water districts welcome the changes to the state’s draft conservation rules, which they said would have been too costly for ratepayers, estimated […]
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In a landmark trial, the Fluoride Action Network (FAN) challenges the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) policies on water fluoridation. The case, brought forth by advocacy groups including Food & Water Watch, spotlights potential neurodevelopmental risks, particularly for fetuses and children. The trial resumed after a pause, focusing on expert testimonies regarding safe fluoride thresholds […]
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A judge in Montana recently ruled in favor of landowners and ranchers fighting against a housing development project near Helena that could have put further stress on steadily declining groundwater reserves. Public defiance: Initially, the state and county governments had signed off on a developer’s plans to build 39 homes that would pull their water from […]
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By Kurtis AlexanderMarch 13, 2024 Climate change is driving up the thirst of crops significantly in California’s San Joaquin Valley, new research shows, adding to the critical water challenges faced by one of the world’s leading agricultural regions. The total water demand of orchards, vineyards and row crops in the area is up 4.4% over the past […]
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North Coast Stream Flow Coalition The Coalition is strongly in favor of regulation for California Groundwater Resources. Groundwater and surface waters constitute a single resource (see: Thomas C. Winter, Judson W. Harvey, O. Lehn Franke, and William M. Alley, Groundwater and Surface Water: A Single Resource, U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1139, 2006). This means that […]
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Mar 5, 2024 ASHEVILLE, N.C., March 5, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — A new lawsuit alleges the U.S. Forest Service’s practice of setting ‘timber targets’ puts the climate at risk, undermines the Biden administration’s important climate goals, and violates federal law. The Southern Environmental Law Center filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia […]
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The largest-ever dam removal is underway, a milestone in the nation’s reckoning over its past attempts to bend nature to human will
It was a small moment, with little fanfare, in one of the most remote patches of northern California. Just the rat-a-tat of three Caterpillar excavators gnawing through concrete signaled the beginning of the largest dam removal project in the history of the country, and perhaps the world.
There was no ribbon cutting or ceremonial dynamite detonation. But the demolition on that June day arrived only after decades of argument and activism.
The Klamath River dams, built between the early 1900s and 1960s, fundamentally reshaped one of the West’s most […]
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California’s leading environmental justice, land use, and conservation organizations—109 in number and representing hundreds of thousands of constituents throughout the state—are writing you at this critical moment. We live in a time of unparalleled threats to our environment and communities. With climate change, every Californian faces increasing risks from wildfires, persistent drought, rising seas, and […]
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Abstract Across the world, declining groundwater levels cause wells to run dry, increase water and food insecurity, and often acutely impact groundwater-dependent communities. Despite the ubiquity and severity of these impacts, groundwater research has primarily focused on economic policy instruments for sustainable management or the quantification of groundwater depletion, rather than assessing the impacts of […]
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Bloomberg Law | Jan. 30, 2024, 2:30 AM PST | By Pat Rizzuto https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/fluoride-science-on-trial-in-case-with-broader-chemical-impacts Fluoride added to tap water to fight cavities for 75 years Judge to conduct rare, de novo review of chemical’s science The health effects of a cavity-fighting chemical backed by health providers for decades will be on trial starting Wednesday, marking a […]
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In March 2023, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) determined that the groundwater sustainability plans (GSPs) for six critically overdrafted, high-priority groundwater basins in the Central Valley are inadequate. The six basins with inadequate GSPs, from north to south, are the Chowchilla, Delta-Mendota, Kaweah, Tulare Lake, Tule, and Kern County subbasins (please see map below). […]
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