New Solar Project Will Help Power California's Most Powerful Water Plant
The California Department of Water Resources has signed a 20‑year power‑purchase agreement for the 105‑megawatt Pastoria Solar Project, located two miles from the Edmonston Pumping Plant that can draw up to 800 MW of electricity. The solar farm, paired with an 80‑MW/320‑MWh battery and a 750‑MW natural‑gas combined‑cycle plant, will supply clean power to the pumps as part of DWR’s plan to fully decarbonize water deliveries by 2035. The agreement locks in electricity at $1 per megawatt‑hour, but DWR projects a $1.5 billion cost to its water‑agency members through 2045. The initiative illustrates California’s aggressive clean‑energy push amid rising demand and shifting federal climate policy.
What to Plant (and What to Remove) in California's New 'Zone Zero' Fire-Safety Proposal
California’s Board of Forestry and Fire Protection unveiled draft landscaping rules aimed at reducing wildfire risk in high‑hazard communities. The plan creates a 1‑foot “Safety Zone” – part of a broader “Zone Zero” concept – where any combustible material, including...
More than 200,000 Lost Their Homes in the L.A. County Fires. For People Already on the Streets, the Damage Ran...
Four UCLA‑led studies link climate disasters to a surge in homelessness, using the January 2025 Los Angeles County wildfires as a case study. The fires destroyed roughly 200,000 homes and inflicted injuries, respiratory problems, and shelter loss on more than three‑quarters...
Mayor Bass Has a New Plan for Addressing Climate Change in Los Angeles
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass unveiled a comprehensive Climate Action Plan that aims to double solar capacity, electrify the city bus fleet and install 120,000 EV chargers by 2030, and achieve 80% renewable energy by 2030 and 100% by 2035....
This Long Beach Startup Says It Has a Patch for California's Power Problems
Long Beach‑based Critical Loop secured $26 million in new funding, bringing its total to $49 million, to accelerate deployment of battery‑and‑grid‑management systems that deliver power in days rather than years. The startup’s controller instantly switches between the public grid, on‑site batteries, solar...
Lead Still Haunts Yards in Exide Battery Recycler Cleanup Zone
A university‑led study of more than 1,100 soil samples from 370 homes near the former Exide Technologies battery‑recycling plant shows that nearly three‑quarters of properties deemed remediated still exceed California’s residential lead standards. The state has spent over $700 million since...
Fire Survivors Call for Audits of Edison's Wildfire Prevention Spending
Fire survivors are urging California lawmakers to require independent audits of Southern California Edison, PG&E, and San Diego Gas & Electric’s wildfire‑prevention spending after a Times investigation revealed the utilities failed to spend hundreds of millions they claimed were needed....
Intense Santa Ana Winds and Damaging Gusts to Pound Southern California This Weekend
Intense Santa Ana winds will sweep Southern California from Friday through Saturday, with sustained speeds of 25‑45 mph and gusts reaching 60 mph in Ventura’s mountainous areas. A high‑wind warning has been issued for the western San Gabriel Mountains and Highway 14 corridor, covering communities...
Contributor: Investigate the AI Campaigns Flooding Public Agencies with Fake Comments
California regulators discovered that AI‑powered platforms CiviClick and Speak4 were used to flood public‑comment systems with thousands of fabricated submissions opposing clean‑air rules. Over 20,000 fake comments, many bearing real residents' names without consent, were submitted to the South Coast...
April 1 Is Supposed to Be Peak Snow in California. Forget that This Year
California’s Sierra Nevada snowpack collapsed far earlier than the typical April 1 peak, with surveys on April 1 reporting essentially zero snow. The snowpack sits at just 18% of its historical average, the second‑lowest on record since 1950, after a month of...
Don't Want to Miss the Bloom? This L.A. Scientist Created a Poppy Forecast
Los Angeles biologist Steve Klosterman has launched an AI‑driven wildflower forecast for the Antelope Valley, using deep‑learning on satellite imagery and weather data to predict poppy and goldfield blooms up to five days ahead. The model scans 10‑meter squares, correlating...
Industrial Chemicals Have Reached the Middle of the Oceans, New Study Shows
A global study of 2,315 seawater samples, using untargeted mass‑spectrometry, found human‑made chemicals everywhere—from coastal estuaries to the open Pacific. Researchers detected pharmaceuticals, illicit drugs, pesticides and plastic‑derived compounds, some accounting for up to 20% of dissolved organic matter near...
Fuel, Energy Prices Raise the Pressure as California Officials Take Next Steps on Climate
California regulators are revising the state’s cap‑and‑invest climate program, extending it through 2045 and tightening the carbon cap by 118 million tons by 2030. The draft shifts free allowances from natural‑gas to electric utilities and aims to generate $180.7 billion in statewide...
H5N1 Bird Flu Spreads to Sea Otters and Sea Lions Along San Mateo Coast, Wildlife Experts Say
Highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza, previously found in northern elephant seals, has now been confirmed in a sea otter and a sea lion along California's San Mateo coast. The virus carries the A3 mutation, which facilitates mammal‑to‑mammal transmission and originates...
Contributor: Don't Let Lobbyists Win a Liability Shield for Big Oil
State and local governments across the U.S. are filing climate lawsuits against major oil majors, seeking compensation for billions in damage caused by fossil‑fuel emissions. The Supreme Court recently agreed to hear Exxon Mobil’s petition to block a Colorado wildfire...