A US Hybrid Corporation electric hybrid heavy duty truck moves freight at the Long Beach Port in California on July 31, 2017. Dennis Schroeder / National Renewable Energy Lab
The state of California made history Thursday when it passed a clean truck rule that E&E News reported was the first of its kind in the world.
<p>The <a href="https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/resources/fact-sheets/advanced-clean-trucks-fact-sheet" target="_blank">Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) Regulation</a>, passed unanimously by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), will require more than half of trucks sold in the state be zero-emission by 2035 and 100 percent by 2045, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/25/climate/zero-emissions-trucks-california.html" target="_blank">The New York Times reported</a>.</p><p>"California is once again leading the nation in the fight to make our air cleaner," Governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement reported by <a href="https://uk.mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUKKBN23W31N#referrer=https://www.google.com" target="_blank">Reuters</a>.</p>
<div id="0e389" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c7a1aa4fb96029d99de0cce8cd1f74c2"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1276292655962402817" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">California takes bold step to reduce diesel truck pollution. A first of its kind requirement for #zeroemission truc… https://t.co/uNxDgJWvXL</div> — CARB (@CARB)<a href="https://twitter.com/AirResources/statuses/1276292655962402817">1593126856.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The rule aims to end diesel pollution from trucks by requiring manufacturers to sell an increasing percentage of zero-emissions trucks beginning in 2024. It applies to medium duty and large trucks, as light trucks are already covered by the state's clean car requirements.</p><p>The rule will help California achieve its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2035 and 80 percent by 2050, according to CARB. In addition to its <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate</a> benefits, the rule will help tackle toxic diesel pollution that disproportionately impacts low-income communities of color at a time of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/amp/protestors-publich-health-coronavirus-covid-19-testing-2646141562" target="_self">national protests</a> over racial injustice and a pandemic possibly made <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/coronavirus-air-pollution-fatality-2645656760.html" target="_self">more deadly</a> by exposure to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/air-pollution" target="_self">air pollution</a>.</p>
<p>Transportation overall accounts for more than 95 percent of California's diesel particulate matter emissions, around 80 percent of its smog-forming nitrogen oxide emissions and around 50 percent of its greenhouse gas emissions if fuel production is accounted for, according to CARB. Heavy duty trucks alone are responsible for a third of the state's nitrogen oxide emissions and a fifth of its greenhouse gas emissions, E&E News reported.</p><p>Heavy duty trucks are especially a hazard for the largely low-income or minority communities who live in the state's "diesel death zones," areas passed by thousands of trucks every day.</p><p>"We have some of the worst air quality in the nation, and that's because of the ozone pollution that largely comes from diesel trucks," Anthony Victoria-Midence, a resident of San Bernardino and a spokesman for the <a href="https://www.ccaej.org/" target="_blank">Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice</a> told E&E News in a phone interview. "It's leading to generations of families suffering from all kinds of illnesses, like asthma and cancer. That's why these things need to be addressed now, and the best way to do that is by moving forward a strong Advanced Clean Trucks rule."</p>
<div id="d2e11" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="b6e76566a93c97ca381da97066fe8124"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1276294522306088960" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">BREAKING: @AirResources votes to pass historic #ElectricTrucksRule, the first of its kind in the nation!
Now let’… https://t.co/D7oD9gtSve</div> — CCAEJ (@CCAEJ)<a href="https://twitter.com/CCAEJ/statuses/1276294522306088960">1593127301.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The rule was opposed by oil companies, farmers and industry groups and truck makers, The New York Times reported. Vehicle and engine manufacturers argued in March that the rule should be delayed because of the economic impacts of the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coronavirus" target="_self">coronavirus</a> pandemic.</p><p>"This is not a business-as-usual situation, and it should not be a regulation-as-usual situation, either," the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association said in a letter to regulators in March.</p><p>But CARB chairwoman Mary Nichols disagreed.</p><p>"This is exactly the right time for this rule," Nichols told The New York Times. "We certainly know that the economy is in a rough shape right now, and there aren't a lot of new vehicle sales of any kind. But when they are able to buy vehicles again, we think it's important that they be investing in the cleanest kinds of vehicles."</p>
<p>The rule could face another powerful opponent: the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/trump-administration" target="_self">Trump administration</a>. Trump's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has already <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/amp/trump-california-emissions-standards-2640413062" target="_self">revoked</a> California's waiver under the Clean Air Act to set its own emissions standards over its clean car rules, and environmental groups fear it may do the same for trucks.</p><p>"I'm sure the Trump administration, if they are still in the White House next year, would try to throw something in the way of this. But I think they would be very hard-pressed to justify it," <a href="https://earthjustice.org/" target="_blank">Earthjustice</a> staff attorney Paul Cort told E&E News. "This really is a big rule, and I'm very excited to get this one in the books and move on."</p>
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An aerial view shows Lake Mead in Nevada on January 2, 2020. Daniel SLIM / AFP / Getty Images
By Brett Walton
Use of Colorado River water in the three states of the river's lower basin fell to a 33-year low in 2019, amid growing awareness of the precarity of the region's water supply in a drying and warming climate.
<p class=""><br/></p>
<iframe width="100%" height="166" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" allow="autoplay" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/844750342&color=ff5500&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_teaser=false"></iframe><div style="font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/circleofblue" title="Circle of Blue" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">Circle of Blue</a> · <a href="https://soundcloud.com/circleofblue/drop-in-colorado-river-water-use" title="Drop In Colorado River Water Use" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">Drop In Colorado River Water Use</a></div>
<p>Arizona, California, and Nevada combined to consume just over 6.5 million acre-feet last year, according to an <a href="https://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/g4000/4200Rpts/DecreeRpt/2019/2019.pdf" target="_blank">annual audit</a> from the Bureau of Reclamation, the federal agency that oversees the lower basin. That is about 1 million acre-feet less than the three states are entitled to use under a legal compact that divides the Colorado River's waters.</p><p>The last time water consumption from the river was that low was in 1986, the year after an enormous canal in Arizona opened that allowed the state to lay claim to its full Colorado River entitlement.</p><p>States have grappled in the last two decades with declining water levels in the basin's main reservoirs — Mead and Powell — while reckoning with clear scientific evidence that climate change is <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/367/6483/1252.full" target="_blank">already constricting the iconic river</a> and will do further damage as temperatures rise.</p><p>For water managers, the steady drop in water consumption in recent years is a signal that conservation efforts are working and that they are not helpless in the face of daunting environmental changes.</p>
<p>"It's quite a turnaround from where we were a decade ago and really, I think, optimistic for dealing with chronic shortages on the river in the future, knowing that we can turn the dial back and reduce demand significantly, all three states combined," said Bill Hasencamp, the manager of Colorado River resources for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, a regional wholesaler and one of the river's largest users.</p><p>Observers of the basin's intricate politics are also impressed with the trend lines for a watershed that irrigates about 5 million acres of farmland and provides 40 million people in two countries and 29 tribal nations with a portion of their water.</p><p>"It is an incredibly important demonstration of the fact that we can use less water in this incredibly important water-use region," John Fleck told Circle of Blue. Fleck is the director of the University of New Mexico water resources program.</p><p>Projections for 2020 indicate that conservation will continue, though not quite at last year's pace. Halfway through the year, the <a href="https://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/g4000/hourly/forecast.pdf" target="_blank">Bureau of Reclamation forecasts</a> water consumption to be roughly 6.8 million acre-feet. An acre-foot is the amount of water that will flood an acre of land to a depth of one foot, or 325,851 gallons.</p><p>"I have to give them credit," Jennifer Gimbel, a senior water policy scholar at Colorado State University, told Circle of Blue about the lower basin states. "They're working hard to get these numbers."</p>
Raising Lake Mead
<p>Just five years ago, in 2015, the three states were making use of their entire 7.5-million-acre-foot allotment. By statute and tradition, the basin is divided into a lower basin, where use is higher, and an upper basin, which includes Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. The basins have different water allocation systems and rules governing its use.</p><p>In the lower basin, Arizona's annual allocation is 2.8 million acre-feet, but last year it used just 2.5 million. Nevada used 233,000 of its 300,000 acre-feet. The big savings were in California, which used only 3.8 million of its 4.4 million acre-feet. California hasn't used that little water from the Colorado since the 1950s, Fleck said.</p><p>The drop in California last year is due in large part to Metropolitan Water District, which consumed only 537,000 acre-feet. Five years ago, the district's tally was around 1 million acre-feet per year. Urban conservation and development of local water sources have played a large role in the decline, but the district's Colorado River water use is also influenced by snow levels in the Sierra Nevada mountains. When more water is available to be imported from the northern part of the state, as it was last year, the district leans less heavily on the Colorado River.</p>Total Lower Colorado Basin Consumptive Use
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQxMTU1OS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MzM0NDYxM30.RVr3Rzi1jqZHweILfonMU8SWs_LGJBGqg9lMiQ-jrVY/img.png?width=980" id="d31ab" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="15ef390e64a1be66991bfd26b0f0fee5" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" /><p>Reclamation's annual audit measures the amount of water consumed by humans, plants, and animals in the lower basin. Consumptive use equals total withdrawals minus any water that is returned to the river system, from irrigation runoff or wastewater treatment plants.</p><p>As meticulous as it is, the audit neglects a significant piece of the basin's water budget: evaporation from reservoirs and system losses, which is water consumed by riverside vegetation and absorbed by the ground. Together, these add up to about 1 million acre-feet per year, Jeremy Dodds, water accounting and verification group manager for Reclamation, told Circle of Blue.</p><p>This factor is part of the lower basin's "structural deficit," which means that total demand in the lower basin — use by Arizona, California, and Nevada, plus evaporation and required deliveries to Mexico — exceeds the amount of water that flows into Lake Mead, the lower basin's supply source.</p><p>Gimbel, who was the principal deputy assistant secretary for water and science for the U.S. Department of Interior from 2014 to 2016, said that despite the conservation efforts reflected in the audit, the lower basin still has much work to do. "They're closing the deficit, but they're not there yet," she said.</p><p>The goal of the lower basin's conservation is to keep Lake Mead from a precipitous decline into "dead pool" territory, where the reservoir is too low to send water downstream. The dead-pool threshold is at elevation 895 feet. Not using 1 million acre-feet last year most certainly helped the reservoir. Dodds said that at the current elevation of 1,089 feet, each block of 85,000 acre-feet equals 1 foot of elevation. So last year's conservation added 12 feet to Mead, compared to a scenario in which the three states use their full entitlement.</p><p>The conservation tool box that the states have employed has a range of instruments. Cities have provided incentives to remove grass lawns and replace inefficient toilets, showerheads, and washing machines. In Imperial Irrigation District, farmers have lined earthen canals with concrete to prevent seepage and they have agreed to fallow land to save water. Those measures, in both town and country, have helped to reduce demand. Supplies, on the other hand, have been bolstered by more investment in recycling and reuse, groundwater treatment, and desalination. As a whole, the seven states in the watershed came together in 2019 to modify rules for mandatory water-use restrictions that kick in as Lake Mead drops.</p><p>The decline in Colorado River water consumption mirrors regional and national trends. In Metropolitan Water District's service area in Southern California, water use per person fell from about 181 gallons per person per day in the mid-1990s to 131 gallons in 2018, a drop of 27 percent. Colorado River consumption on the Colorado River Indian Tribes reservation, in Arizona, is down about 20 percent since 2016.</p>
<p>According to Tom Ley, a water consultant to the tribes, the decline is due to changes in farming practices and participation in a land fallowing program that will see 10,000 acres taken out of production in the next three years. The tribes' decrease in consumptive water use "may look even more dramatic once the 2020 report comes out," Ley told Circle of Blue.<br></p><p>All of these actions amount to a shift in the perception of what's possible, Fleck said.</p><p>"It shows that the expectation that a growing population and a robust agricultural economy require more water is wrong," explained Fleck, who is optimistic about the basin's capacity to wield the tools of conservation effectively. Environmental doom is not the inevitable outcome, he says. "We're seeing success in the transition away from the tragedy narrative," he added.</p><p>Still, there are minefields to navigate. There are dozens of proposals in the upper basin states to withdraw more water from the river, which, if they were built, would further stress supplies. Some of the water conserved in Lake Mead is stored as a credit that participating agencies can theoretically draw upon in the future. How agencies handle those withdrawals, especially if large requests are made as lake levels plummet, is an uncertainty. On top of that, a warming climate will suck more moisture from the basin, even before rain and snow reach the river.</p><p>A hot, dry spring this year in the upper basin is evidence of what aridity can do. Snowpack in the basin's headwaters was roughly average on April 1 and runoff into Lake Powell, a key water supply indicator, was expected to be 78 percent of normal. But then dry conditions arrived in April and May. Combined with dehydrated soils, which took their share of water, the runoff forecast by June 1 had diminished to just 57 percent of normal.</p><p>Those climate signals are the counterbalance to the conservation success so far. Water managers, now wary, know the risk.</p><p>"Just hopefully we don't get a string of dry years coming back," Hasencamp said.</p>
<p class=""><em>This story originally appeared in <a href="https://www.circleofblue.org/" target="_blank">Circle of Blue</a></em> <em>and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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A ruling that permanently bars California from affixing a cancer label to Roundup is separate from ongoing civil suits that claim glyphosate caused blood cancers. Mike Mozart / CC BY 2.0
A federal judge in California ruled on Monday that the state cannot put a cancer warning on the label of the popular herbicide Roundup, as The Associated Press reported.
<p>The world's most widely used weed killer has faced nearly 125,000 lawsuits by plaintiffs who claim their non-Hodgkins lymphoma and other forms of blood cancer were caused by repeated exposure to Monsanto's signature product, which is now owned by the German chemical and pharmaceutical giant Bayer AG.</p>
<p>Since Bayer bought Monsanto, the spate of lawsuits and their legal fees have weighed on Bayer and made the company lose 40 percent of its value. To try to contain the damage, Bayer made a verbal agreement to settle 50,000 to 85,000 cases in May, awarding plaintiffs anywhere from a few thousand dollars to a few million, according to <a href="https://fortune.com/2020/05/25/bayer-roundup-cancer-lawsuit-settle/" target="_blank">Fortune</a>.</p><p>Those lawsuits have been aided by a <a href="https://www.iarc.fr/featured-news/media-centre-iarc-news-glyphosate/" target="_blank">2015 finding by the WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer</a> (IARC), which said that <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/glyphosate" target="_self">glyphosate</a>, the chemical in Roundup, is a probable human carcinogen.</p><p>Despite that categorization, U.S. District Judge William Shubb called California's cancer warning misleading and said the state's label is not backed up by regulatory findings, according to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bayer-glyphosate-lawsuit/u-s-court-blocks-california-cancer-label-on-bayers-roundup-weed-killer-idUSKBN23T38Y" target="_blank">Reuters</a>.</p>
<p>Regulators around the world have determined Roundup, or glyphosate, to be safe, even though the IARC labeled it a probable carcinogen. That includes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (<a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/epa" target="_self">EPA</a>). Late last year, when a judge reduced an $80 million jury award, the EPA filed papers in court that fully and unequivocally supported Bayer's claim that <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/glyphosate" target="_self">glyphosate</a> does not cause cancer, as <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-epa-backs-bayer-2641674057.html" target="_self">EcoWatch</a> reported.</p><p>Since the EPA and its European counterparts have not found a connection between glyphosate and cancer, the judge said the state could not require the company to put a cancer warning on its label, according to the <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/Judge-prohibits-California-from-putting-cancer-15358663.php" target="_blank">San Francisco Chronicle</a>.</p><p>Shubb said the state, under Supreme Court rulings, cannot require a private company to change its label or say anything about its products unless the statement is "purely factual and non-controversial," as the <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/Judge-prohibits-California-from-putting-cancer-15358663.php" target="_blank">San Francisco Chronicle</a> reported.</p>
<p>The ruling, which permanently bars California from affixing a cancer label to Roundup, is completely separate from the ongoing civil suits that claim glyphosate caused blood cancers, according to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bayer-glyphosate-lawsuit/u-s-court-blocks-california-cancer-label-on-bayers-roundup-weed-killer-idUSKBN23T38Y" target="_blank">Reuters</a>.</p><p>So far, juries in three trials have ordered the company to pay billions after concluding that the product did cause cancer. Plaintiffs alleged that Bayer manipulated studies and deceived the scientific community to make glyphosate seem safer than it actually is, according to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bayer-glyphosate-lawsuit/u-s-court-blocks-california-cancer-label-on-bayers-roundup-weed-killer-idUSKBN23T38Y" target="_blank">Reuters</a>.</p><p>Bayer has consistently denied those claims and has insisted that glyphosate does not cause cancer, and it got help on Monday when Shubb said, "the great weight of evidence indicates that glyphosate is not known to cause cancer," as <a href="https://apnews.com/cf17840fc93b59f68751de92b5d4de9a" target="_blank">The Associated Press</a> reported.</p>
<p>As the <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/Judge-prohibits-California-from-putting-cancer-15358663.php" target="_blank">San Francisco Chronicle</a> reported, the lawyers for the plaintiffs in the jury trials that have awarded cancer patients over $200 million argued that the EPA's insistence that Roundup does not cause cancer is spurious since there was evidence the company had unduly influenced the federal agency and had "ghost-written" purported research studies on the product's safety.</p><p>In the case, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra proposed to reword the label warnings to include both the IARC and EPA findings and a reference to a website for further discussion, but the judge unequivocally rejected that compromise, according to the <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/Judge-prohibits-California-from-putting-cancer-15358663.php" target="_blank">San Francisco Chronicle</a>. Becerra's office said it would review the ruling and plan its next step.</p>
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People wearing face masks at California's Huntington Beach on April 25, 2020. APU GOMES / AFP via Getty Images
Californians stepping out of their homes to enter most public spaces are now required by law to wear a face mask.
<p>The new order was issued by <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/california" target="_self">California</a> Gov. Gavin Newsom Thursday amidst an uptick of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coronavirus" target="_self">coronavirus</a> cases in the state.</p><p>"Our numbers are going up, not going down. Hospitalization numbers are just starting to creep back up, and I'm very concerned by what we're seeing. We think the most impactful thing we can do, short of going back to a stay-at-home order, is wearing face coverings when we can't practice physical distancing," Newsom <a href="https://abc7.com/masks-face-coverings-order-statewide/6254439/" target="_blank">told ABC7</a>.</p>
<div id="3c463" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d285f7ee47f38018d10abe146662495c"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1273696999066353664" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">NEW: Californians are now REQUIRED to wear face coverings in public spaces.
Together -- we can slow the spread.
D… https://t.co/NTmI8q5Wsl</div> — Gavin Newsom (@Gavin Newsom)<a href="https://twitter.com/GavinNewsom/statuses/1273696999066353664">1592508003.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Newsom issued his order a day after both California and Los Angeles county reported single-day highs for new cases, the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-06-18/california-mandatory-face-masks-statewide-order-coronavirus-gavin-newsom" target="_blank">Los Angeles Times reported</a>. To date, more than 161,000 Californians have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and 5,290 have died, according to Department of Public Health figures cited by <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/06/18/880583357/california-gov-newsom-makes-face-masks-mandatory-amid-rising-coronavirus-cases" target="_blank">NPR</a>.</p><p>Several California counties and cities already require face masks, but Newsom said he issued the order because many people were ignoring them.</p><p>"Simply put, we are seeing too many people with faces uncovered — putting at risk the real progress we have made in fighting the disease," he told ABC7.</p>
<div id="b6006" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e17152f247e1c93268e45981e467ebdf"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1273737029579243520" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Be smart. Wear a mask. https://t.co/IvQ2BUrHJj</div> — Gavin Newsom (@Gavin Newsom)<a href="https://twitter.com/GavinNewsom/statuses/1273737029579243520">1592517547.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The new order will require masks in the following situations:</p><ul><li>In indoor public spaces</li><li>While visiting any medical facility</li><li>While using or operating public transportation or driving services</li><li>While working in most situations, including preparing or serving food</li><li>When interacting with others in public</li><li>When in any indoor setting with people you do not live with if social distancing is impossible</li><li>While outdoors if social distancing is not possible</li></ul>
<p>The rule allows for the following exceptions:</p><ul><li>Children two or younger</li><li>Anyone with a mental health, medical or developmental disability that prevents them wearing a mask</li><li>People who are hard of hearing or communicating with someone hard of hearing</li><li>People who are dining at a restaurant</li><li>People exercising outdoors if they stay six feet away from non-household members</li><li>People whose jobs would make wearing masks risky</li><li>People receiving services involving the nose or face</li></ul>
<p>People who break these rules could be charged with a misdemeanor and forced to pay a fine, the Los Angeles Times pointed out. However, the state has been hesitant to impose similar penalties to enforce its stay-at-home order, instead focusing on public information campaigns. Labor and workplace safety agencies could also enforce the new rule.</p><p>California was the first state to impose lockdown orders for residents and businesses March 19 and now has one of the most sweeping mask requirements in the country, <a href="https://uk.mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUKKBN23P3GA" target="_blank">Reuters reported</a>. About a dozen U.S. states and some cities require masks, but typically only inside public spaces or outdoors when social distancing is not possible.</p>
<p>Newsom's order is likely to face pushback. In Orange County, the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/public-health" target="_self">public health</a> officer resigned last week after her mask order earned her verbal abuse and a death threat, according to the Los Angeles Times. Her replacement loosened the requirement to a reccomendation.</p><p>"A mandatory order was too strong," Orange County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Michelle Steel told the Los Angeles Times of Newsom's order. "I think our residents in Orange County are very smart. If they feel sick, they're going to wear a mask. It doesn't really have to be mandatory."</p><p>However, a growing body of research is revealing masks to be an important tool in stopping the spread of the virus. A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences earlier this month found that the "wearing of face masks in public corresponds to the most effective means to prevent interhuman transmission," the Los Angeles Times pointed out. Another German study said wearing masks reduced the daily increase in cases by 40 percent.</p><p>Actor and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger took to Twitter in defense of his successor's rule.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This is 100% the right move. This will help us beat this terrible virus. The science is unanimous - if we all wear masks, we slow down the spread and can reopen safely. It’s not a political issue. Anyone making it a political issue is an absolute moron who can’t read. <a href="https://t.co/N0FmCwDU5w">https://t.co/N0FmCwDU5w</a></p>— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) <a href="https://twitter.com/Schwarzenegger/status/1273754766787502080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>"This is 100% the right move. This will help us beat this terrible virus. The <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/science/" target="_self">science</a> is unanimous — if we all wear masks, we slow down the spread and can reopen safely. It's not a political issue. Anyone making it a political issue is an absolute moron who can't read," he wrote.</p>
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Remnants of a home in Paradise, California on Dec. 18, 2018, after the November Camp Fire. Cal OES
A faulty transmission line from California's largest utility PG&E started the Camp Fire in 2018 that ripped through California and destroyed the town of Paradise. For that, the company's CEO Bill Johnson had to stand in front of a judge on Tuesday and say the word "guilty" as 85 counts were read out: 84 for involuntary manslaughter, and one for unlawfully starting a fire, according to The New York Times.
<p>"I'm here today on behalf of the 23,000 men and women of PG&E to take responsibility for the fire that killed these people," Johnson told Judge Michael R. Deems of Butte County Superior Court, while families of the victims watched live on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mL09t2NYcCY" target="_blank">YouTube</a>, as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/16/business/energy-environment/pge-camp-fire-california-wildfires.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> reported. "No words from me can ever reduce the magnitude of that devastation."</p><p>As <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/06/16/879008760/pg-e-pleads-guilty-on-2018-california-camp-fire-our-equipment-started-that-fire" target="_blank">NPR</a> reported, Johnson stood with his hands clasped and gently rocked back and forth for duration of the 28 minutes that the judge read out the names of the dead, and Johnson said, "Guilty your honor," after each one.</p><p>"Our equipment started that fire," Johnson admitted, after waiving the company's right to appeal the case, according to <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/06/16/879008760/pg-e-pleads-guilty-on-2018-california-camp-fire-our-equipment-started-that-fire" target="_blank">NPR</a>.</p><p>"I wish there was some way to take back what happened, or to take away the impact, the pain that these people have suffered," Johnson said, according to <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/pg-e-pleads-guilty-84-counts-manslaughter-devastating-camp-fire-n1231256" target="_blank">NBC News</a>. "But I know that can't be done."</p>
<p>The guilty plea followed a scathing report presented to a grand jury that was released Tuesday. The report found that the utility giant willfully ignored warnings about its aging power lines and shoddy maintenance repeatedly. It also did not follow state regulations. The report said the company showed "a callous disregard" for life and property, according to court documents, as <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/06/16/879008760/pg-e-pleads-guilty-on-2018-california-camp-fire-our-equipment-started-that-fire" target="_blank">NPR</a> reported.</p><p>That led to the fire that ignited on Nov. 8, 2018. It directly killed 84 people, leveled the town of Paradise, and wiped out large parts of the nearby towns Concow, Magalia and other areas of Butte county, according to <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/pg-e-pleads-guilty-84-counts-manslaughter-devastating-camp-fire-n1231256" target="_blank">NBC News</a>.</p>
<p>For its misdeeds that led to the deadliest and most destructive <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildfires">wildfire</a> in California history that claimed more than 18,800 structures, including 13,696 single-family homes and 528 businesses, the company will have to pay $3.5 million. It will also have to pay $500,000 for the cost of the investigation, as <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/pg-e-pleads-guilty-84-counts-manslaughter-devastating-camp-fire-n1231256" target="_blank">NBC News</a> reported.</p><p>Butte County District Attorney Michael Ramsey, who was dismayed that the penalty for 84 counts of manslaughter included no jail time and a relatively light fine, spearheaded the investigation. No company employees or executives are expected to face prison time.</p>
<p>"This is the first time that PG&E, or any major utility, has been charged with homicide as result of a reckless fire," Ramsey noted in a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuXeau92GYk#action=share" target="_blank">press conference</a> following the string of guilty pleas.</p><p>"We treat corporations as persons but we don't send corporations to jail," Ramsey added, as <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/06/16/879008760/pg-e-pleads-guilty-on-2018-california-camp-fire-our-equipment-started-that-fire" target="_blank">NPR</a> reported. "The best the state could do is to fine the company as a person. There's an obvious disconnect there."</p><p>He noted that the state's hands were tied since they were only allowed to ask for $10,000 per death.</p>
<p>A criminal conviction might undo some companies, like it did to consulting firm Arthur Andersen after it was found guilty in 2002 of obstructing justice. However, PG&E is a state monopoly, leaving customers with no other place to turn for their electricity needs, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/16/business/energy-environment/pge-camp-fire-california-wildfires.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>.</p><p>"They have put profits over people year after year and the state of California just keeps letting it happen," said Tommy Wehe, who lost his mother when she was burned by the fire while trying to flee in her truck, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/16/business/energy-environment/pge-camp-fire-california-wildfires.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>. "The company's acceptance of guilt is inconsequential if the appropriate safety measures are not enacted to prevent the future loss of life and property."</p>
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An oil well pumps in Long Beach, California. Proximity to a well and the level of production were found to be significantly associated with poor birth outcomes. David McNew / Getty Images
By Nina Lakhani
Living near active oil and gas wells during pregnancy increases the risk of low-birthweight babies, especially in rural areas, according to the largest study of its kind.
<p>Researchers analyzed the records of nearly 3 million births in California to women living within 6.2 miles (10km) of at least one oil or gas well between 2006 and 2015. It is the first such study to look at birth outcomes in rural and urban areas, and to women living near active and inactive oil and gas sites.</p><p>Proximity to a well and the level of production were found to be significantly associated with poor birth outcomes. </p><p>Specifically, the study found that in rural areas, pregnant women residing within a mile (1km) of the highest producing wells were 40% more likely to have babies with low birthweights and 20% more likely to have babies who were small for their gestational age compared with people living farther away from wells or near inactive wells only. </p><p>Even among full-term births, babies born to mothers living close to wells were on average 1.3 ounces (36 grams) smaller than those of their counterparts.</p>
<p>Newborns are deemed to have low birthweight when they weigh less than 5lb and 8oz. It can lead <a href="https://www.marchofdimes.org/complications/low-birthweight.aspx" target="_blank">to multiple short-term development issues</a> as small babies often struggle to eat, gain weight and fight infections. Studies also suggest small- and low-birthweight babies are more likely to have medical conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and intellectual and developmental disabilities in later life. </p><p>About one in 12 babies in the US have a low birthweight.</p><p>The study found a link between oil and gas wells and small babies born in urban areas, but it was significantly less marked than in rural communities. Differences in air quality, maternal occupation and housing conditions may have contributed to the urban-rural divide.</p><p><span></span>The findings, <a href="https://news.berkeley.edu/" target="_blank">published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives,</a> add to a growing body of evidence linking proximity to oil and gas wells to a variety of adverse birth outcomes, including <a href="http://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=uDPfAnrJXoDw8-2BCe3b2e6mZrSzbfGkKzHANYO0uE0YiBqlF3rwXf2Mr8SRCLvDAzIKXnVtU-2B2QmvGPXvbocsH1WxvC9WZ-2FnbDzIGlBM7gt4-3DG8Y-_jtSSy6k4LvvOnG6bC4MxkkskRoGFcJutWr-2FczNTSmZEKc2UkvAYUnM1UvdBOSUfSWlkZChzLFF0OSmfgf2dNDCYyAlXeLhnh8lXkCG-2Bh4gfJiugP86eMdPQJGLGSe8q-2Fzi89ajL8M1G0yJUDLeQTurraaPJvSVTvcNFBvKQ65yg9L0st8Zw2e3-2F2KcuApBUzZu6vTXwlqzMBXaeeHa9Qde1HtqxvJArrH7br7t6OodlNV8UCvzfgmVl-2Brsbbj-2BwC-2BRGbE8Bif-2BqAgdNq-2FJm8SgBeVoh8YrckkUO-2FbOnxfOcPlQfZcjH8CINtgZ4GNkItQz3jhh7yT2x8mcp6YZXw-2BhpSMoOal1eFo7HgLLqa7v2GrLkRbP8JYWNcYXsJNAvNXS-2F1Af06Du-2BS4Qd5FkUvKg-3D-3D" target="_blank">premature birth</a>, <a href="http://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=uDPfAnrJXoDw8-2BCe3b2e6hgoqaL-2BohOC0J7kADrfydvdbxgrKXlEfuGHkUP-2FrI06ux1zHyOisOVxWs-2F76-2FIfd1I9Nr0Mmh9x7SUvFmgjYGz6QzRmQWTfcRHOBJflsKK-2FXjLaX6LMOnzwdfdzw3bcOWAvlUx2y7yXJeEK18hBvOE-3DvtkG_jtSSy6k4LvvOnG6bC4MxkkskRoGFcJutWr-2FczNTSmZEKc2UkvAYUnM1UvdBOSUfSWlkZChzLFF0OSmfgf2dNDCYyAlXeLhnh8lXkCG-2Bh4gfJiugP86eMdPQJGLGSe8q-2Fzi89ajL8M1G0yJUDLeQTurraaPJvSVTvcNFBvKQ65yg9L0st8Zw2e3-2F2KcuApBUzZu6vTXwlqzMBXaeeHa9Qde1HtqxvJArrH7br7t6OodknnCXsa-2B7RGiQWNQcdTUYvk7k53gLgIDDHD47z5c8Wkeibnk2FkaKrcF6BQ9qf-2BjU2-2FQ9V5OTw5JsyIYnU60j3Mp26xfI8BxabQ3hC6KjJtNsN6SJ6RmeZR2I-2Bw629WtDiFYSj4t7VM7BPsgNEUuLtmtjsn-2FZNOS9FxlTWlEVzrA-3D-3D" target="_blank">heart defects</a> and <a href="http://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=uDPfAnrJXoDw8-2BCe3b2e6qFwob4WVAc9Z5otCrKTzf8dcuXWlU8h1BN0RqeD-2BmdhPGUZd2jvTG96rXyRG8j2PXBuFuIqs46iqub1FamNwCx0wxh8c0d72pJH10EoQPTe1CRiRA-2F6pSpP7EngHj-2F4HcLPIZXIHQjFYtGlN-2B0nG2w-3DyRVS_jtSSy6k4LvvOnG6bC4MxkkskRoGFcJutWr-2FczNTSmZEKc2UkvAYUnM1UvdBOSUfSWlkZChzLFF0OSmfgf2dNDCYyAlXeLhnh8lXkCG-2Bh4gfJiugP86eMdPQJGLGSe8q-2Fzi89ajL8M1G0yJUDLeQTurraaPJvSVTvcNFBvKQ65yg9L0st8Zw2e3-2F2KcuApBUzZu6vTXwlqzMBXaeeHa9Qde1HtqxvJArrH7br7t6OodkDGAGpHSbPOvt95OWgeaNnW-2F6fDeCCMtvDwgr0UHPFcHcCyyClto5w7I4OVggNHfULOiae8zidgEsj06uafiCW-2F6-2B1WQBUCbRyuBxU2zfcy-2BFHClFv6b3VgwtElx58itL2EpyWckY2z-2BSHOlQjkhH853GJl47-2FAY10M8RvXztyNg-3D-3D" target="_blank">low birthweight</a>.</p>
<p>Nationwide, oil and gas production has risen significantly in recent years thanks to the expansion of non-conventional, hyper-polluting extraction techniques such as fracking. In 2011, during Barack Obama's first term in office, the US <a href="https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=40973" target="_blank">surpassed Russia</a> as the world's largest natural gas producer, and in early 2018 it <a href="https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=37053" target="_blank">overtook Saudi Arabia</a> as the leading producer of crude oil, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).</p><p>Active and inactive oil and gas sites create myriad environmental hazards including air and water pollutants, noise and excessive lighting, which have all been linked with poor health outcomes.</p><p>"Results from health studies such as ours support recent efforts to increase buffers between active [oil and gas] well activities and where people live, go to school and play," said Rachel Morello-Frosch, a professor of public health and of environmental science, policy and management at the University of California, Berkeley, and senior author of the paper. </p><p>"This scientific evidence of adverse health effects facing vulnerable populations, including pregnant women, should be taken into account as Californians debate the extent to which we want to expand oil and gas drilling in our state." </p>
<p>Four of America's 10 largest oil fields are in California. However, oil production in California has <a href="http://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=uDPfAnrJXoDw8-2BCe3b2e6mBjshWo3tDIQyDrpNNae6kaj-2BDN4popCFk-2BVLS29Vp8ew0uPhvj71iyHIiiHrNPM3feyzdgmtapiKpiZGHmQ3sxcsyLkxcYj-2F9LfTNObgZWmAce_jtSSy6k4LvvOnG6bC4MxkkskRoGFcJutWr-2FczNTSmZEKc2UkvAYUnM1UvdBOSUfSWlkZChzLFF0OSmfgf2dNDCYyAlXeLhnh8lXkCG-2Bh4gfJiugP86eMdPQJGLGSe8q-2Fzi89ajL8M1G0yJUDLeQTurraaPJvSVTvcNFBvKQ65yg9L0st8Zw2e3-2F2KcuApBUzZu6vTXwlqzMBXaeeHa9Qde1HtqxvJArrH7br7t6Oodm1AAdEl0hgVdr2tdlaR69Hio7cna5Y8YTPiDtt5pq48YpLS1uzybSagj63rxaEi2jyNJKiyzxz2h6L1EcGaTAsj4MG2MCzorbZvwAthN4gkiZpTS0noA9DcMQTiEm5MOKugWePzdEwN6SBUYUmNg1hkcX3YlsJ-2BYhl5xSHFTmg3Q-3D-3D" target="_blank">declined</a> over the past three decades, and generally the state has older, more conventional oil and gas sites than other parts of the US, and a larger number of inactive sites.</p><p>But many of the sites in California also use newer techniques such as fracking and steam and water injection to access hard-to-reach oil reserves, said the study's co-author Kathy Tran, a graduate student in environmental health sciences at UC Berkeley.</p><p><a href="http://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=uDPfAnrJXoDw8-2BCe3b2e6jKu41dHLpaTFayl-2B9Sdk2rBtD4MqLoRNXsODwX5oBxVzONbgt644qXDbWO5-2BgBWPhVba8fSLRVEHoYxrAMXIvNn3fhXnvDIm0vfSt6BLF-2Fx1FyLFjBLdiiDkSws-2B5Qqlodt-2BppG4taCWWbXNLexu6pd5IlXJOLl84c6n6vY-2BK5ekbzI_jtSSy6k4LvvOnG6bC4MxkkskRoGFcJutWr-2FczNTSmZEKc2UkvAYUnM1UvdBOSUfSWlkZChzLFF0OSmfgf2dNDCYyAlXeLhnh8lXkCG-2Bh4gfJiugP86eMdPQJGLGSe8q-2Fzi89ajL8M1G0yJUDLeQTurraaPJvSVTvcNFBvKQ65yg9L0st8Zw2e3-2F2KcuApBUzZu6vTXwlqzMBXaeeHa9Qde1HtqxvJArrH7br7t6OodnHnYB-2FFt1MzRlnf1z6UYZj7Bl29y7Q29BACXoEgE3HCCTTTwafmIfCCtv-2Fgn-2BqfpDvNwlqz6anYznAicIvwRzwmfyPxDiw0Qsc0HfV3p0zxeiXNvmaZC23My6-2FEqufGWMEHiOiJHmN0rX5HZjABqHNFYM4z0Lj3Eq7Sq5PRjsrhg-3D-3D" target="_blank">Stricter regulations</a> on new fracking permits were issued last year, but the state issued <a href="http://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=uDPfAnrJXoDw8-2BCe3b2e6vqtybg0rN7VvTT-2BoqOKR1Jhg1bHpZH1I0SWcOTglnSNFUGTKHVwAMcAEYUVgsVAi0B7DNMWIDNOXquMpVO-2BfqFAw7iRf9yGyC4SJNPo1w-2BpUiWFNc5JVV-2FLlxH7KjI-2BAA-3D-3DPUwP_jtSSy6k4LvvOnG6bC4MxkkskRoGFcJutWr-2FczNTSmZEKc2UkvAYUnM1UvdBOSUfSWlkZChzLFF0OSmfgf2dNDCYyAlXeLhnh8lXkCG-2Bh4gfJiugP86eMdPQJGLGSe8q-2Fzi89ajL8M1G0yJUDLeQTurraaPJvSVTvcNFBvKQ65yg9L0st8Zw2e3-2F2KcuApBUzZu6vTXwlqzMBXaeeHa9Qde1HtqxvJArrH7br7t6OodkniPaWG63uDdnwiNYIcqObz-2F4tlPa5ff40khJ87quNB7DgMLaG6c5e3LIQAHmAIiXS5y2dLalYwhNBxqS1am2fDQWrl4sIn9EgU86lwSaHiUYUreJ1ZEW5lTcGASTr7IvmPEjBTQiPJXL49FU2if2Pb5wtAuO0pPZo9lfSjgiHKA-3D-3D" target="_blank">24 new fracking permits</a> in early April, and another 282 are awaiting review. </p><p>"Because researchers don't have direct access to the actual oil and gas sites, it's hard to get a good estimate of what people actually experience," said Tran. "The more in-depth exposure assessment we can get, the more we can really understand why we are seeing the [birth outcome] effects that we see."</p>
<p><em>This story originally appeared in</em><em><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/03/living-near-oil-and-gas-wells-linked-to-low-birthweight-in-babies" target="_blank"> The Guardian</a></em> <em>and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Unusually strong winds for June fanned the flames of 10 wildfires around Los Angeles County Monday, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said.
<p>The largest of the blazes was the Equestrian Fire in Castaic, which was propelled by some of the strongest winds in the area, <a href="https://laist.com/2020/06/08/brush_fire_wildfire_santa_ana_winds.php" target="_blank">LAist reported</a>. Wind speeds in the region reached 65 miles per hour.</p><p>"It's rare to have the Santa Ana winds in June, which is why we should be ready for wildfires at all times of the year," NBC4 forecaster Belen De Leon <a href="https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/california-wildfires/brush-fire-castaic-lake-5-freeway-wildfire/2376591/" target="_blank">said</a>.</p>
<p>The fire ignited early Monday near the Jack Bones Equestrian Center off the 5 freeway, the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-06-08/wind-driven-fire-castaic-5-freeway" target="_blank">Los Angeles Times reported</a>. Firefighters used water-dropping helicopters to help fight the flames, NBC4 reported. As of 3 p.m. Monday it had spread to 86 acres and was 70 percent contained, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Fire Department told the Los Angeles Times.</p><p>"There are still crews there, but they're just mopping up the hot spots," L.A. County Fire Department Inspector Henry Narvaez told the paper.</p>
<div id="93791" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="b3722f8823d1a01ae7567532ce4354be"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1270064922617995264" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">As of 11:00 a.m., the #EquestrianFire in Castaic has burned 86 acres & is 60% contained. For the latest info, follo… https://t.co/dgtHSzeWMI</div> — LACoFD (@LACoFD)<a href="https://twitter.com/LACOFD/statuses/1270064922617995264">1591642048.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Other fires that ignited in Elysian Park, Eagle Rock, El Sereno, Lake View Terrace, the Sepulveda Basin and other areas were mostly contained to a few acres, LAist reported.</p><p>However, the fires were notable for the unseasonable weather that encouraged them.</p><p>"Typically we're talking about June Gloom. Cool conditions along the coast," National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist Eric Boldt told LAist. "This is an unusual weather system. We usually don't see this strong of winds and the Santa Anas like we're seeing today."</p><p>The Santa Ana winds typically arrive in the fall, during peak fire season.</p><p>In addition to the winds, temperatures are above average this week, with highs more than 20 degrees above normal projected for Tuesday, according to the Los Angeles Times. High temperature records were broken Monday at the Los Angeles, Long Beach and Camarillo airports, <a href="https://www.wrh.noaa.gov/total_forecast/getprod.php?wfo=lox&print=yes&pil=RER&sid=LOX" target="_blank">NWS reported</a>. A red flag fire warning was issued for the area through Monday night.</p>
<div id="5d13d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c8f88d9a8d59e23a1f9acbc4870682f9"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1269785902898802688" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Red Flag Warnings going in effect for portions of SW Calif tonight-Mon. Northerly winds gusting 40-60 mph, shifting… https://t.co/uKY9Tw0XnY</div> — NWS Los Angeles (@NWS Los Angeles)<a href="https://twitter.com/NWSLosAngeles/statuses/1269785902898802688">1591575525.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>"The weather conditions combined with the fuels — the grasses and vegetation — are ripe for more extreme fire spread and behavior if one were to start," NWS Oxnard meteorologist Mike Wofford told the Los Angeles Times.</p><p>The <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crisis</a> is making <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/california" target="_self">California's</a> wildfires worse by encouraging hot, dry weather, but it could actually decrease the frequency of Santa Ana winds, especially in the fall and spring, a<a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2018GL080261" target="_blank"> 2019 study found</a>. This would not necessarily reduce fire risk so much as push the season later, as rains are also delayed by climate changes.</p><p>"The window for wildfires is expanding toward winter," study coauthor Dr. Janin Guzman-Morales, a postdoctoral researcher at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, told <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/28/climate/santa-ana-winds.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>.</p>
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Jackson Family Wines in California discovered that a huge amount of carbon pollution was caused by manufacturing wine bottles. Edsel Querini / Getty Images
Before you pour a glass of wine, feel the weight of the bottle in your hand. Would you notice if it were a few ounces lighter? Jackson Family Wines is betting that you won't.
<iframe style="border: none" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/14386703/height/45/theme/standard/thumbnail/yes/direction/backward/" height="45" width="100%" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe>
<p>The California winery started analyzing its carbon pollution in 2008.</p><p>"For us it was really eye opening," says Julien Gervreau, vice president of sustainability.</p><p>He says they discovered that a huge amount of carbon pollution was caused by manufacturing wine bottles.</p><p>"The big 'aha moment' that we saw around our emissions was really with glass," he says. "When you look at the supply chain for glass, it's a pretty energy- and emissions-intensive process."</p>
<p>So now, the winery not only invests in renewable energy and efficiency, it's reduced the weight of each glass bottle of its Kendall-Jackson and La Crema Lines by a couple ounces.</p><p>"And in addition to emissions savings, we saw a pretty significant financial savings associated with having to buy less glass," Gervreau says.</p><p>The winery was careful to avoid affecting the bottles' look and feel, and Gervreau says customers have not complained. Meanwhile, shipping and sales clerks appreciate lifting lighter cases.</p><p>So cheers! Here's to lighter wine bottles. And don't worry, there's still the same amount of wine inside.</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2020/05/california-winery-finds-a-clever-way-to-cut-carbon-pollution/" target="_blank">Yale Climate Connections</a>.</em></p>
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A field of organic lettuce grows at a sustainable farm in California. thinkreaction / Getty Images
When the coronavirus pandemic hit, the future of the Cannard Family Farm—whose organic vegetables supplied a single Berkeley restaurant—was looking stark.
<p>Ross Cannard is the son of an iconic leader in the local organic movement in California. "Iconoclastic," Ross says with a chuckle. Bob Cannard built his 30-year career by rejecting organic certification in favor of his own "better than organic" breed of "natural process agriculture," enriching the soil on his Green String Farm with crushed rock and compost.</p><p>He and his son have long sold the fruits of their labor to the famous restaurant Chez Panisse, where, since 1971, chef Alice Waters has pioneered an elegant cuisine based entirely on fresh, local foods straight from the farm.</p><p>But in March, the stay-at-home order hit, and the restaurant closed.</p><p>"You're a farmer. Plants are already in the ground," says Evan Wiig, director of membership and communications for the Community Alliance with Family Farmers. "You make plans months and months in advance. You can't just turn on a dime."</p>
<p>Waters was worried about the vulnerable situation her workers and producers were finding themselves in. She rushed to establish a subscription CSA, which stands for community supported agriculture, offering weekly food boxes that could be picked up at the shuttered restaurant, filled with goodies from her regular producers like Cannard.</p><p>"I'm trying to connect our network with the people who would like to have that food in their home," she said on Michael Dimock's podcast, <a href="https://www.rootsofchange.org/flippingthetablepodcast/available-episodes/" target="_blank">Flipping the Table</a>, on March 26. "We can sort of skip the restaurant for now. … We could help people do the cooking in their own kitchen."</p><p>Cannard augments that market with his own local CSA, setting up a farm stand in the parking lot of Baker & Cook, a café in nearby Boyes Hot Springs, now serving only takeout. Along with produce, Cannard has his olive oil available, as well as wine from a friend's vineyard, and flowers from another local farm. Friends and neighbors are among his 100 or so customers.</p><p>This CSA model, where buyers invest in a farm's annual production upfront in exchange for a regular share of the harvest, is built on long-term relationships between farmers and consumers. It's those relationships, farmers say, springing from the fertile soil of Sonoma County, that are making survival possible. New local grassroots networks and nimbler digital marketplaces, too, are popping up to provide critical lifelines. And despite the strange, isolating atmosphere created by the coronavirus, the region is now bursting with spring growth.</p>
Building Food Communities
<p>Family farms in California and across the country have been hit hard by the impact of the coronavirus on their markets. But in the health-conscious Bay Area, where celery was already one of the first groceries to disappear from the produce rack, demand for fresh local produce has shot up. The challenge is in redirecting food from farms to new customers.</p><p>Sonoma County has historically been an agricultural region. When the organic food movement sprang up in the 1970s, this area was one of its early proponents. The first farmers markets and CSAs appeared in the 1980s and flourished, but the burgeoning network was later eclipsed by an inflated wine industry, much of it owned by distant corporations.</p><p>According to a 2018 crop report, 60,000 acres have gone to grapes, with only 500 acres in food crops. Land prices have skyrocketed, the cost of labor has gone up, and increased regulations have all made it harder to run a viable business here. Many farmers had turned to "boutique" specialty crops for restaurants.</p><p>"Farmers are always in an uphill battle, especially ecological farmers," says Wiig of the Community Alliance with Family Farmers. "I often hear them say, 'I'm working my butt off and hoping for the best.'" That's even more true now, as the pandemic strangles economies the world over.</p><p>For farms with existing CSAs, Wiig says, this is a really good time. "In the beginning of March, most CSAs were struggling to fill boxes. Now some now have waiting lists, some in the 100s."</p><p>But for those who didn't have CSAs established, Wiig says, this is a really tough time. "We've been able to keep farm markets open as essential businesses, but crowds have decreased with people afraid to go out, and sales are down."</p><p>Community Alliance was quick to jump in, becoming a "matchmaker" for producers and buyers on its website. They're also providing all kinds of information for farmers about how to start and run a CSA, including useful software, relevant legislation, available funding sources, and a series of four webinars showcasing successful farms.</p><p>Farm Trails, a local nonprofit with 250 farmer members, also leapt into the fray. The organization has been building relationships between farmers and consumers for 47 years by organizing farm visits and hosting educational events. Two days after the shelter-in-place shut down regular sales outlets, Farm Trails had put up a new page on its website and invited its members to post their offerings.<span></span></p><p>"We know our farmers well," executive director Carmen Snyder says. "We did outreach to them to see what they had. Spirit Works had plenty of alcohol, so they started making lavender sanitizer, giving it away to first responders and health care workers, and selling the rest at the local hardware store."</p><p>In the online marketplace's first two days, web traffic on Farm Trails' site went up 1000%.</p><p>"Many people have been on the fence about CSAs," says Sonya Perrotti, who runs the 1-acre Coyote Family Farm in Penngrove. "This was the push." While she has always sold most of her produce in a CSA, Perrotti benefited from the new digital marketplace. She has now sold out of her 100 shares and plans to expand.</p>
Scaling Up Support
<p>F.E.E.D. Sonoma, a food hub that aggregates produce from dozens of local farms, was another quick responder. When the pandemic hit, it went from serving Bay Area restaurants to building a cooperative of farmers, filling food boxes for distribution at F.E.E.D.'s Petaluma warehouse and other drop spots in the county.</p><p>"Our local food system is extremely diverse," says co-founder Tim Page, who has the energy of a visionary combined with the skills of a businessman. "We have a ton of small farms but we don't have the infrastructure to support them. That is what F.E.E.D. is trying to establish." Since converting the restaurant supply business to a CSA, it has gone from 90 boxes to 450. Ultimately, the goal is 1,800 or more.</p><p>"I grew up in L.A.," Page says. "Every single farm is gone. The same thing will happen here if the general public does not understand the importance of it.</p><p>"That understanding was on display at the Sonoma Farmers Market, which now operates with strict restrictions and safety precautions because of the virus. "We think F.E.E.D. is going to save us," said Candy Wirtz, co-director of Paul's Produce, a well-established farm in Sonoma, as she weighed out my purchases. The CSA model could be transformative for Paul's and other farms across the country.</p><p>Subscribing to a CSA is a lifestyle change for consumers, to be sure. It means eating what's in season and learning to cook unfamiliar vegetables. But it's a change that many people are making now because of the stay-at-home orders. "People just have to learn to cook again instead of eating out," says Judith Redmond, part-owner of Full Belly Farm near Sacramento.</p><p>In light of this newfound commitment to CSAs, Perrotti, of Coyote Family Farm, says: "My hope is that this solidifies instead of going back to the way things were. I hope the importance of local farming stays at the forefront."</p>Farms With Futures
<p>To help small farmers stay in business during the crisis, Community Alliance is also advocating for stimulus dollars. "Most often subsidies go to a small number of the largest farms, or to buy food that goes to food banks from far away, while local farmers can't sell their food," Wiig says. "We want food banks to buy from local farms."</p><p>This seems like a win-win. Millions of tons of food is being plowed under as 60 million people are now going hungry, 17 million of them since the pandemic began, according to Feeding America, the national network of food banks.</p><p>But it's complicated. David Goodman of the Redwood Empire Food Bank puts it plainly: Local food is too expensive. "We distribute nine and a half million pounds of produce annually," he says. "It costs about 9 cents a pound, 3 cents to transport. With 82,000 people to feed, it would be a luxury to think of tending to local needs by buying locally."</p><p>That reticence is partly because the food bank system is tangled in bureaucracy. The USDA decides what to purchase and from where. Because of the distances between sites, the federal agency has tended to favor foods with long shelf lives, such as canned and processed foods, and long-lasting produce like apples and potatoes. "If local food is what we need, there has to be a plan," Goodman says.</p><p>Such a plan might be where short-term disaster relief meets long-term resilience. Michael Dimock is president of Roots of Change, a nonprofit organization that advocates for transforming California's food system. To get serious about preparing the food system for future disasters, Dimock says, the government needs to be involved. Roots of Change is now advocating for a tax on sugary beverages to help foot the bill.</p><p>Dimock says the state needs a paradigm shift for farms to remain viable in the face of multiplying disasters to come—not only pandemics, but fires, floods, and other symptoms of climate change. "How bold will people get in the months ahead to demand real change? My hope is they will get more radical."</p><p>Food is fundamental. While farmers have yet to face the full economic impact of this pandemic, their collaborative efforts, along with local grassroots networks, could mark the beginning of a new economy laboring to be born.</p>
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A California neighborhood was treated to an unusual lockdown protest Tuesday evening when around 200 goats broke through a fence and ran shoulder to shoulder through the streets.
<p>The moment was captured on video and shared on social media by 23-year-old Zach Roelands, who returned to his San Jose home around 5 p.m. to find the goats on the loose, as <a href="https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/05/13/200-goats-escape-enclosure-run-free-san-jose-california-street/5182542002/" target="_blank">USA TODAY reported</a>.</p><p>"This is the craziest thing to happen all quarantine," Roelands tweeted.</p>
<div id="e326f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9ebc41e917ae00620cc354ecceae4d33"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1260392929547259904" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">I’m dead 😂☠️ When I got back from the store all the goats had broken through the fence and were recking havoc on ou… https://t.co/BZmgvpmXUq</div> — Zach Roelands (@Zach Roelands)<a href="https://twitter.com/zach_roelands/statuses/1260392929547259904">1589336066.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>While goats may not be very good at social distancing, they <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/california-wildfires-goats-2644401381.html" target="_self">are very helpful</a> at combating another potential crisis—California <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildfires" target="_self">wildfires</a>. Their ability to munch on flammable non-native grasses while navigating steep hillsides has made them a valuable (and adorable) part of fire-prevention efforts across the state.</p><p>That is the reason the goats were in the neighborhood to begin with, Zach's father Terry Roelands told <a href="https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/about-200-goats-escape-roam-the-streets-of-east-san-jose/2289305/?_osource=SocialFlowTwt_BAYBrand" target="_blank">NBC Bay Area</a>. The hill behind the Roelands' home caught fire around 15 years ago, so goats have since come to eat the brush a few times a year. This time, one of the goats went to eat a flower on the other side of the fence and tapped an electric fence, which then broke the boards on the fence, allowing the goats to escape.</p><p>"All of a sudden they get onto our driveway and it was very exciting but I was a little bit nervous because the garage was open and I thought they might get into the garage," neighbor Amit Patel told NBC Bay Area.</p><p>But the goats were mostly interested in eating the plants, and then doing their business, in neighbors' front yards, Zach Roelands told USA TODAY. They were not interested in bothering people.</p><p>"The goats are actually pretty scared of humans, it seemed like," he said.</p>
<div id="5942c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0f1d8e6435a6e371825ab9baff09fc43"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1260417077338181632" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Good social distancing vs bad social distancing. Stay safe 👍🏻 https://t.co/sWZHBXeBT2</div> — Zach Roelands (@Zach Roelands)<a href="https://twitter.com/zach_roelands/statuses/1260417077338181632">1589341823.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The whole thing was over fairly quickly. Terry Roelands told NBC Bay Area that a rancher wrangled the goats back to the hillside in about five minutes. But people had to spend the next hour cleaning up their droppings, Zach Roelands told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/13/goats-escape-san-jose-video" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>.</p><p>However, he said people were mostly diverted by the goats.</p><p>"The goats have come for the past 12 years but this was the most entertaining they've been," he told The Guardian.</p><p>The San Jose goats aren't the only herd of renegade goats to gain fame during the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coronavirus" target="_self">coronavirus</a> lockdown. A seaside town in Wales has been taken over by a herd of around 122 Kashmiri goats that wandered down from the cliffs into the empty streets in March.</p>
<div id="6ba3a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8bedc806b5b181bb3345bc7d788bc041"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1244579170744754177" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">They run Llandudno now and we just have to accept that as fact. Shenkin must be giving them tips from the Royal Wel… https://t.co/axR8R9xLAa</div> — Andrew Stuart (@Andrew Stuart)<a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewStuart/statuses/1244579170744754177">1585565772.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>"They are curious, goats are, and I think they are wondering what's going on like everybody else," Llandudno town councilor Carol Marubbi told <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-52103967" target="_blank">BBC News</a>.</p>
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Etosha Cave, cofounder of Opus 12. youtu.be
Factories and power plants often release a lot of carbon pollution. And without a government tax on that pollution, there's not always a clear financial incentive for companies to reduce their emissions.
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<p>Etosha Cave is cofounder of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.opus-12.com/">Opus 12</a>. The California start-up has developed a technology she says could motivate companies to invest in capturing their CO2 emissions.</p><p>"To me it just seemed like an elegant solution to provide a revenue stream for CO2 instead of throwing it away," she says.</p><p>The company's technology breaks down carbon dioxide and water, then combines them to create other molecules. Those molecules can then be used to make materials such as alternative fuels or plastics. It's basically a way to recycle CO2 that would otherwise end up in the atmosphere.</p><p>"One product, for example, is jet fuel and you can imagine using that jet fuel in commercial flights," Cave says. "Another product we make is polycarbonate polymer. The lenses in most sunglasses and eyeglasses are made from that now. We can make that from CO2."</p><p>Opus 12 has already built a small version of its technology. The company still needs to build bigger units and prove it's commercially viable. But at scale, Cave says this technology could make it profitable for companies to capture their harmful emissions.</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2020/05/california-startup-opus-12-aims-to-help-polluters-recycle-carbon-dioxide/" target="_blank">Yale Climate Connections</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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