Here are the water restrictions California should have passed today

By Alissa Walker17 March 2015 (Gizmodo) – After confronting the truth that we have only one year of water left, California passed new water restrictions today which are WIMPY AS HELL. Here, California, I fixed them for you. Admittedly, the impact of these restrictions is lessened because many of the state’s cities already have their […]

Once again, a record-hot winter for California

By Andrea Thompson 6 March 2015 (Climate Central) – As Yogi Berra famously said, “it’s déjà vu all over again.” While much of the eastern U.S. digs out from yet another snow and ice storm, the West has capped off a decidedly toasty winter. In fact, California, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and Washington each saw their […]

Warmer weather in Alberta and B.C.’s mountains creating shorter ski season – ‘Right now, we’re headed down a disastrous path’

By Mike Hager13 March 2015 (The Globe and Mail) – John Pomeroy had long sensed something was amiss with the Earth’s climate, but a balmy mid-winter rain shower in the Rockies finally offered him incontrovertible proof that dramatic changes were occurring. It was 2005, and Prof. Pomeroy, one of Canada’s leading hydrologists, was re-establishing the […]

NASA water scientist: California has about one year of water left. Will you ration now?

By Jay Famiglietti 12 March 2015 (Los Angeles Times) – Given the historic low temperatures and snowfalls that pummeled the eastern U.S. this winter, it might be easy to overlook how devastating California’s winter was as well. As our “wet” season draws to a close, it is clear that the paltry rain and snowfall have […]

Work on California’s Imperial County solar project halted to protect lizard, while San Benito County solar project is approved, despite threat to endangered species

By Chris Clarke   12 March 2015 (KCET) – Work has halted on a solar power facility in Imperial County due to the possibility that a rare lizard on site may be listed as an endangered species by the state. Construction halted Wednesday at the Tenaska Imperial Solar Energy Center West, being built by Tempe, Arizona-based […]

Epic drought spurs California to build largest desalination plant in Western Hemisphere

By Cole Mellino10 March 2015 (EcoWatch) – “The U.S. Drought Monitor shows nearly 40 percent of the state of California remains in exceptional drought, the highest level of drought and many communities are working to come up with long-term solutions as reservoirs and rivers continue to diminish,” says Jeremy Hobson of NPR’s Here and Now. […]

Public opposition forces major changes for California’s Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan

By Chris Clarke10 March 2015 (KCET) – Stringent criticism of a draft of a 12,000-page plan that would manage renewable energy development on 22 million acres of the California desert has forced a drastic change in strategy for the agencies pushing the plan. The Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan, known as the DRECP and released […]

Why fresh water shortages will cause the next great global crisis – ‘For us, water is now more important than oil’

By Robin McKie, science editor7 March 2015 (The Guardian) – Water is the driving force of all nature, Leonardo da Vinci claimed. Unfortunately for our planet, supplies are now running dry – at an alarming rate. The world’s population continues to soar but that rise in numbers has not been matched by an accompanying increase […]

Graph of the Day: Three waves of drought in 21st Century California

By Bob Henson27 February 2015 (Wunderground.com) – […] California is entering its fourth consecutive year of widespread drought, as measured by the U.S. Drought Monitor, which takes into account soil conditions and streamflow as well as precipitation. This is the third multiyear drought in California since 2000, and as Figure 3 shows, it’s the worst […]

Why are California sea lion pups starving? ‘Any fishing on sardines right now is overfishing, as the population is not even replacing itself, much less providing a surplus’

By Ben Enticknap23 February 2015 (Oceana.org) – Recent national news stories have shown emaciated California sea lion pups being rescued and admitted to marine mammal rehabilitation centers. The sight of hundreds of withered sea lions is reminiscent of the all-too-recent California sea lion “unusual mortality event” in 2013 followed by a significant number of stranded […]

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