California Connected Newsroom

While the USDA’s recently unveiled farm bill proposal would cut federal subsidies to some high-earning farmers and “traditional” crops such as rice, wheat, and cotton, California’s farms stand to gain much needed aid from the bill’s provision to spend increased amounts on “specialty crops”, such as fruits and vegetables, which comprise the majority of California’s […]

The Los Angeles Times columnist George Skelton says Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has shown great initiative in tackling the state’s aging levee system. “Give the guy credit,” Skelton writes. “If it weren’t for him, the ambitious $175-million project wouldn’t have been attempted. Not by the state, of course. Not by the feds, certainly, although it was […]

Wired News reports that Google is building “solar trees” on the parking lots and rooftops of its Mountain View headquarters, enough to power about 30 percent of the complex. “About a third of the 9,000 solar panels Google’s installing will take the form of overhanging parking shades at the million-square-foot campus in Mountain View,” Wired’s […]

The New York Times reports in-depth that power executives and economists are increasingly worried about global warming’s future impact on profits and society at large. To head off a crisis, more and more of them are calling for a federal pricing policy that taxes or caps carbon emissions and encourages technological innovation.
“Global warming can be […]

Computer model of Arctic ice vanishing in 40 years. (Animation Copyright UCAR.)
The New York Times and San Francisco Chronicle report on a new study that predicts the Arctic polar ice-cap could melt into open sea during summers in less than 40 years. “In the simulations, the shift seems to occur when a pulse of warm […]

The Los Angeles Times’ Stephanie Simon reports on cities across the country that are bypassing the Bush administration and trying to meet the greenhouse-gas reduction targets of the international treaty known as the Kyoto Protocol. Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels started the civic trend two years ago by adopting the targets and then challenging other cities […]

Solar panel installation on rooftop. Photo by Abraxas3d.
The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Craig D. Rose filed part one of his special report on California’s solar power ambitions, reporting that a new 10-year subsidy program beginning next year will pump $3.4 billion dollars into the solar panel market. That translates to 1 million solar roofs, he writes, […]

The Los Angeles Times’ Janet Wilson filed another strong story today on air pollution and public health, reporting that according to outside experts the Environmental Protection Agency has reduced the influence of its scientific advisory in determining the impact of dangerous pollutants. She reports that the EPA is replacing independent, scientific recommendations with those prepared […]

The Associated Press and Los Angeles Times reported yesterday on the river revival of the Owens Valley, but the Sacramento Bee reports that legislation on another big river restoration project is hitting rough waters in Congress.
“Against a backdrop of lofty snowcapped peaks, about 500 spectators, led by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, gathered Wednesday […]

Clean twinkling tree. Photo by Taryn Domingos.
The Sacramento Bee reports that a hydrogen fuel cell is powering the 6,500 lights on the state Christmas tree that sits in front of California’s capitol building. “The one-kilowatt unit, which converts bottled hydrogen into electricity, is about the size of a window air conditioning unit and is meant […]