"An El Segundo refinery fire has renewed questions about who is investigating the state’s oil industry after serious accidents. With the U.S. Chemical Safety Board defunded, California has yet to fill the gap."
"For most of her life, Thea Maria Carlson did not like fire. Even though she had studied earth systems at Stanford University and knew, intellectually, that burning had an environmental purpose in her home of California, she still wanted nothing to do with it."
"If you’re young, pregnant and Latina, chances are you live near agricultural fields sprayed with higher levels of brain-damaging organophosphate pesticides."
"As US states increasingly pass laws to limit PFAS chemicals in consumer products, a debate is heating up over a California bill that proposes banning the sale of cookware with intentionally added “forever chemicals” beginning in 2030."
"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 AI-driven boom in data centers is putting growing demands on water in California and the Southwest.
New legislation in California would require data centers to report how much water they use."
An important federal database that tracks Arctic ice and snowmelt — which help address concerns like sea level rise and fresh water resources — is facing funding cuts and reductions in services. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox looks at the kind of high-quality information the National Snow and Ice Data Center can provide environmental reporters, including for local stories. That is, while it lasts.
"The region’s rail yards continue to pose serious health hazards, prompting local advocates to push state leaders for action."
"Frustrated with the lack of climate action, a high-school student launched Karbon Economics to explore systems that can shape solutions to the climate crisis."
"California legislative leaders in the wee hours of Wednesday morning reached an agreement with Gov. Gavin Newsom to extend the state’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction program, known as cap and trade, through 2045 — a contentious expansion that for weeks stewed in backroom discussions, held up other critical legislation and roiled insiders."
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