Keep Informed

March 15 …Phoenix, Arizona, obliterated its previous (winter) record (a record set last year) by almost 3 degrees, a pummeling of a record in the realm of three-month temperature data. (When a record is broken) for a three-month stretch.... it should be by a tenth of a degree. That’s how statistics (used to) work on a stable planet. Three degrees is insane.

As of March 1, 2026, 28 states plus DC are considering Utah-style plug-in solar bills as this newsletter long advocated! After months of hard work, a nationwide wave is building to make 2026 the year when plug-in solar becomes accessible in states across America!…

Mike Beck is being honored as the 2025 Innovator of the Year for advancing nature-based solutions that protect coastlines and communities from climate-driven storms and flooding. As director of the Center for Coastal Climate Resilience, Beck has emerged as a global leader in quantifying how ecosystems such as mangroves, coral reefs, and wetlands reduce storm damage and flood risk….

Santa Cruz startup Wonderfil has set its sights on helping reduce reliance on single-use plastic bottles by making it easier for consumers to refill bottles for products like shampoo, laundry detergent and hand soap. The solution: special refill stations that allow users to use the containers of their choice…

March 11 - Trump may have ordered Washington’s last coal-fired power plant to stay open, but it’s unlikely ever to operate ever again thanks to a crafty bit of policy the Evergreen state just passed. Washington’s Governor Bob Ferguson is expected to sign a bill today that accomplishes one very narrow goal: It taxes the hell out of any electricity generated by the TransAlta Centralia coal plant, effectively pricing it out of the market

In the midday hours, prices plummet. An excess of energy produced across Texas, largely due to the state’s solar and wind fleet, signals it’s a good time to buy. It’s then that 500 batteries, which once fueled General Motors’ electric vehicles, charge up. The batteries, now in their second careers, are kept in staggered steel mesh containers…

North of Santa Cruz, 9 miles of new trails connect redwood forests and coastal bluffs. Late winter can mean hiking paradise on the Northern California coast. The hills are a radiant emerald green, wild mustard flowers carpet coastal bluffs in electric yellow…

In November 2025, the Department of Energy canceled $7.5 billion in grants. The cancellations terminated more than 300 financial awards covering hundreds of projects, including new wind and solar development as well as critical grid upgrades and efficiency programs expected to save money for consumers. Notably, the cancellations were in states that did not vote for President Trump…

When the sun sets, solar panels sadly become unproductive. For decades, that daily pause has underscored one of renewable energy’s biggest challenges: how to store sunlight efficiently for use after dark. Researchers at UC Santa Barbara believe they have found an elegant answer.... inside a small, carefully engineered molecule…

On February 3, 2026, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors received a staff presentation on the status of the Moss Landing Cleanup. The coordination committee of the Never Again Moss Landing (NAML) Stakeholder Group, of over 4,900 citizens, is provided the Board their end of year-1 recommendation of 12 fixes to prevent a future BESS fire.

Last week, 17 states and a coalition of environmental groups won a lawsuit in federal court to restore $5 billion in funding for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program. The Trump administration unlawfully froze funds that Congress had…

Companies aren’t required to test cosmetics ingredients, including PFAS, for safety before using them in products. For over 20 years, EWG has advised consumers to avoid personal care products with PFAS. More recently, several states, including California, have taken steps to prevent the use of PFAS in cosmetics….

Eucalyptus are notorious trees familiar to most Californians. They are visually striking and aromatic, invasive and fast growing. They’re known to be oily and incredibly messy – as a result, highly flammable – thereby placing them in the crosshairs of wildfire mitigation groups, city planners and residents alike. Counties across the state have deployed all sorts of eucalyptus grove removal projects.

In the 1850s, settlers from around the world poured into California to seek their fortunes during the Gold Rush. The Washoe people, who had lived around Lake Tahoe for thousands of years, were pushed out. Farming, logging and mining took over their traditional territory in the Sierra Nevada, leading at times to violent conflicts. Now, 175 years later, the tribe is getting some of its land back.

Trophic structure describes how energy moves through living systems — starting with plants, then insects, then birds, and larger wildlife. It explains “who eats whom” and highlights how native plants form the foundation of healthy ecosystems. In the San Lorenzo Valley, these levels include: producers – native plants like Wild Ginger, Trillium……

Last May, the Trump administration proposed eliminating a key federal program that lowers energy bills for low-income households. Now, amid a mounting energy-affordability crisis, that program has officially survived — and even gotten a funding boost. On Feb 3, President Donald Trump signed a spending bill with more than $4 billion for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

MethaneSAT, the world’s most advanced methane-detecting satellite and first spacecraft owned by an environmental nonprofit, promised to usher in a new era of climate accountability when the device entered Earth’s orbit in 2024. One year later, researchers with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) lost contact with the $88 million satellite, but not before downloading a trove of data collected over the prior year.

Analysis of federal data by a nonprofit watchdog group found that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has drastically pulled back on holding polluters accountable. The nonprofit Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) found that civil lawsuits filed by the U.S. Department of Justice in cases referred by the Environmental Protection Agency dropped to just 16 in the first 12 months

Last year brought a torrent of bad news for the U.S. electric vehicle industry. Despite the upheaval, U.S. public charging networks had a growth spurt last year, according to a report released today by data analytics firm Paren. And the new chargers are working more reliably and being used more heavily than ever

Seaweed farms cover 3.5 million hectares of ocean and are busy locking away vast amounts more carbon than we realise, say researchers. In a new study they argue that in estimates of their blue carbon potential, we’ve been overlooking the unique way that seaweeds interact with seawater, which makes it absorb more CO2.

In the 1980s, the giant kangaroo rat was listed as a state and federally endangered species. In 2001, the animal’s protected status helped spur the establishment of the national monument on the southern part of the plain….