Wetlands restoration and wildfire prevention can drive down insurers’ costs and skyrocketing premiums, a new study shows. By Emmett Gartner October 3, 2026 After years trudging through marshes around San Francisco Bay studying conservation practices, coastal ecologist Megan Kelso realized that one of the largest determinants of wetland health may not be an invasive species […]
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By MARTHA BELLISLE Updated 12:43 PM PDT, October 3, 2026 SEATTLE (AP) — Sea levels along the West Coast will begin to rise by up to a foot this month as a series of pulses of warm water called Kelvin waves hit the shoreline and move north, sparking concerns about beach erosion and flooding in […]
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Youth-powered Future Ariela Lara, youth plaintiff in Venner v. EPA. June 23, 2026By Ariela Lara My mom came to the United States from San Martín Huamelulpam, a small pueblo in Oaxaca, México, more than 35 years ago. She came because she was told, by family, by friends, by the news, that America was the place […]
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Pelicans, grebes, loons, murres and ‘tremendous numbers’ of Brandt’s cormorants have been found sick or dead By Rachel Fobar | rfobar@scng.com PUBLISHED: June 26, 2026 UPDATED: June 28, 2026 Between disease, pesticide contamination and starvation, seabirds are fighting multiple battles along the California coastline this year. Since March, beachgoers have discovered dozens of sick or dead seabirds along the coastal stretch […]
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Building on lessons learned from prior droughts, a new statewide regulation and the resolve of Californians, the state is deploying conservation — even in non-drought years — as a key strategy to ensure long-term water security. For more information, contact Nick Cahill With nearly 40 million residents, farms that produce half of all U.S. produce and […]
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The latest flurries that dusted parts of the Sierra Nevada this week are unlikely to do much to ease California’s snow drought. Since April 1 — when the state measured its second-lowest snowpack on record — the Sierra Nevada has seen a few rounds of storms. This week’s system triggered winter storm warnings in the […]
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Warm Storms and High‑Elevation Rain Accelerate Melt Months Ahead of Schedule, Impacting Water Supply for the Remainder of the Year SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Department of Water Resources (DWR) today conducted the critical April snow survey at Phillips Station and found no measurable snow, a stark indicator of how record‑hot March temperatures and high‑elevation rain have […]
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A skier surveys the view of South Lake Tahoe from Heavenly ski resort. An early spring California heat wave is feasting on what’s left of the Sierra Nevada snowpack, raising wildfire and drought concerns. (Olivia Allen-Price/KQED) The snowpack is melting so fast across the Sierra Nevada that ski resorts in the Tahoe area are farming snow to deepen […]
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On April 13, 2026, youth from across the country will stand before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Lighthiser v. Trump, challenging President Trump’s pro-fossil fuel executive orders that “unleash” fossil fuels, block renewable energy development, suppress critical climate science, and worsen the climate crisis. The appeal follows a historic September evidentiary hearing — the […]
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Youth across the country are getting the opportunity to argue their cases in court! The next generation is making history by launching bold climate lawsuits and stepping into the courtroom to demand protection of their constitutional rights. Don’t just watch from the sidelines. Join them in court and online as they make their voices heard! […]
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Published: Dec 30, 2025 Series of atmospheric rivers provided significant snowpack gains, boosted water supply statewide SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Department of Water Resources (DWR) today conducted the first snow survey of the season at Phillips Station. The manual survey recorded 24 inches of snow depth and a snow water equivalent of 5 inches, which is 50 […]
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Today, on International Human Rights Day, 13 courageous young Montanans are taking a historic step to protect their rights and uphold the rule of law. These youth, all plaintiffs in Held v. State of Montana, are returning to the Montana Supreme Court because their state is openly defying the Constitution and their landmark win. On a day dedicated […]
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A Historic Countdown Begins! This month marks a defining moment for climate justice in Canada: one year until trial in La Rose v. His Majesty the King—the first youth-led federal climate lawsuit ever to go to trial in Canadian history. Filed by 15 young people from across the country, the case argues that the […]
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The foundation said erosion of sandy beaches is a normal coastal process, but climate change is intensifying and compounding its impacts, leading to sea levels rising more quickly and more frequent extreme weather events. By City News Service • Published October 7, 2025 More than half of America’s sandy beaches will be lost by 2100 due to climate-driven […]
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University of California, Berkeley, study found that those who experience severe effects will see upto a $1m in costs Dani AnguianoThu 25 Sep 2025 The climate emergency is significantly increasing costs for California households in the form of rising utility bills, lost wages and growing healthcare expenses, worsening the state’s affordability crisis, according to a sweeping new report. The […]
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History was made in Missoula last week. For the first time ever, a federal court heard live testimony in a constitutional climate case led by young people. Over two powerful days, the youth plaintiffs in Lighthiser v. Trump stood before a judge and told their truth — about wildfire evacuations, asthma attacks, heat stroke, mental […]
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Friends, Partners and Colleagues, Today, the United States Supreme Court denied the Juliana 21’s petition for certiorari, after a nearly decade-long legal battle. At Our Children’s Trust, we’re celebrating ten years of impact and the 21 young people who catalyzed a global movement. Ten Years of Impact Juliana v. United States was filed in […]
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In the sea as on land, climate change is driving shifts in the abundance and distribution of species. Scientists are just beginning to focus on why some fish predators and prey — like striped bass and menhaden on the U.S. East Coast — are changing their behavior as waters warm. By Andrew S. Lewis • January 21, 2025 For decades on the […]
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16 Montana youth held their government accountable for harming their fundamental rights to health, safety, liberty, dignity, equal protection of the law, and a clean and healthful environment. Our youth clients’ voices were heard. The Montana Supreme Court has upheld science-based protections for a safe and healthy climate, affirming that fossil fuel pollution is incompatible with […]
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Great news! The Commission unanimously adopted the updated Sea Level Rise (SLR) Policy Guidance during its November 2024 hearing. The updates focus on three main areas: This update incorporated input from eight environmental justice (EJ) and SLR experts from the start to ensure community voices and EJ principles were central throughout the Guidance. For more details, […]
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● The most effective way to protect homes from fire: – Home hardening – Creation of defensible space up to 100 feet● Our forests are being targeted for extraction in the name of fire resilience – Clearing trees beyond 100 feet can exacerbate the spread of wind-driven fires – Causes immense damage to forest ecosystems, […]
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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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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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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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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 Sam Bookman, S.J.D. Candidate 8/30/2023 Young people across the United States have been asking courts to compel actions to address climate change. In the past, many federal and state courts have been reluctant to interfere in complex policy decisions that often raise concerns about causation, plaintiff standing, separation of powers, and the lack of […]
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By David Gelles In 2015 Pope Francis offered a sprawling meditation on man’s place on Earth and the spiritual implications of human-caused global warming. Eight years later, he appears to have little patience for such ruminations. In an updated environmental treatise published this week, the pope names and shames the countries and industries he sees […]
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By Dana DrugmandAugust 15, 2023 “Game-changer ruling” has implications for future climate change lawsuits in the US and around the world. A Montana court ruled in favor of 16 young people who put their state government on trial in June in the first constitutional climate trial in U.S. history. In an order issued Monday, Judge Kathy Seeley […]
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The wood products industry is massively undercounting its impact on the climate, a new study has found. Through its production of paper, pulp, pellets and lumber, the industry releases at least 3.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide every year, according to a study published last week in Nature. That is a large number in its own right: more than […]
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Because concrete and steel used to construct buildings are a major source of global greenhouse gas emissions, there is growing interest in “mass timber” — a supposedly lower-carbon option — to replace them. New ways of gluing pieces of wood together to form strong beams and structural panels provide opportunities to use wood even in tall buildings. But new research finds that using wood in construction is likely to increase emissions for many decades, […]
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