It’s early Sunday morning. Our clocks “spring forward” an hour even as the position of the Earth relative to the sun barely changed. Thanks for nothing, Daylight Savings Time. Like millions of Americans, I wake up groggy. That grogginess (and grumpiness) spills into Monday and the rest of the week as our internal clocks have…
An oil pipeline that runs along the coast of southern California broke on Tuesday, according to officials, dumping tens of thousands of gallons of crude onto local beaches and creating a 4-mile slick in the Pacific Ocean. Initial estimates put the spill at about 21,000 gallons Tuesday, but the Associated Press cited a U.S. Coast…
As residents adapt to recently imposed water restrictions and California’s historic drought continues, experts are closely examining the dry spell’s exacerbating factors — from thirsty agribusiness operations to unrestrained development — and saying a fundamental shift is in store for the Golden State. In an analysis published Sunday, the New York Times suggests that the…
A California public safety measure to reclassify low-level crimes, including drug possession, won a clear victory on Tuesday, as voters paved the way for thousands of non-violent offenders to be resentenced and potentially released from the state’s notoriously overcrowded prison system. Voting 58.5 to 41.5 percent to pass Proposition 47, California residents “spoke clearly” on…
Fossil fuel energy companies have spent over $7.6 million to defeat a measure that would ban fracking in California’s Santa Barbara County. Measure P, which was brought forth by the Santa Barbara County Water Guardians, would ban “high-intensity petroleum operations,” including fracking, acidizing and steam-injection methods. Among those donating to the committee against the measure,…
California has become the first state to ban single-use plastic bags. Plastic bans cause damage to sewer systems and natural waterways. Governor Jerry Brown signed the legislation into law on Tuesday. “This bill is a step in the right direction — it reduces the torrent of plastic polluting our beaches, parks and even the vast…
