Environment

Best-selling crime author Michael Connelly discusses what intrigues him about the LA River.

Commercial fishing took a massive blow this year with the virtual shutdown of salmon fishing along 700 miles of the West Coast. The Governors of California, Oregon and Washington have united in asking the Federal Government for aid for the fishermen.

In 2005, California Connected visited the port and their neighbors to report on the causes, the effects and some of the possible solutions to the air pollution problem. Correspondent Bob Jimenez returns to the port to find out what has changed.

Agriculture is one of California’s biggest and most successful industries. We are the top state for dairy production; the sole producer of a dozen crops; and the national leader in agricultural exports. However, California agriculture faces challenges like population growth, changing climate and politics.

In Mexican communities like Rosarito Beach, American baby boomers are fueling a massive real estate boom but it also comes with a big burden. Can Baja communities keep up with the growing demands these developments place on their infrastructure and municipal services?

Most costly: 1997 - $5 billion in damage. 48 out of 58 counties delcared disaster area. Most deadly: 1955 - 74 deaths statewide.

California’s primitive levee system has experts worried that a disaster on a similar scale to New Orleans could happen here.

How does Yosemite preserve its natural splendor while maintaining millions of visitors every year?

Death Valley National Park has one of the darkest skies in the United States — for now.

A giant on-going rockslide has cut off the tiny town of Mariposa from its economic lifeblood - Yosemite National Park. Will it survive or become another ghost town?

Producer Rick Wilkinson and Associate Producer Matthew Chin discuss the making of Views of Yosemite, a story on the park’s mission to preserve its natural splendor while maintaining millions of visitors every year.

Producer Joseph Angier and Associate Producer Matthew Chin discuss the making of “Wild Profits,” California Connected’s story on illegal animal poaching.

Animal poaching – the illegal taking of wildlife – is an estimated $100 million business in California. The most sought-after animals? Abalone and caviar-producing sturgeon. We follow California’s Department of Fish and Game on a statewide take-down of suspected poachers.

Can you save all the endangered animals all of the time? John Ridley takes a look at what happens when humans meddle with natural selection.

As organics go mainstream there is a debate raging among organic farmers as to what it really means to be organic.

We sat down with Dr. John Swartzberg, head of the Wellness Letter Editorial Board, to find whether or not our bodies care if we eat organic.

We sat down with Dr. John Swartzberg, head of the Wellness Letter Editorial Board, to find whether or not our bodies care if we eat organic.

A powerful water battle is brewing in the tiny town of McCloud. Nestle wants to open a bottled water plant there but the company’s plan is getting a mixed reception from local residents. At issue - will the plant stimulate the economy or drain the natural resources?

According to a recent study, that water bottle costs about 2000 times more than what comes out of the faucet and, often times, isn’t any better for you. John Ridley comments on Americans’ $9 billion dollars-a-year obsession with plastic encased H2O in this Sideways.

The New River is called North America’s most polluted river. It flows from Mexicali, Mexico all the way up to California’s Salton Sea.

Our producers discuss the story behind the story of “Troubled Waters.”

Aaron Robinson, technical editor at Car & Driver Magazine, discusses the U.S. fuel economy.

Katherine Perez is the Executive Director of the Transportation & Land Use Collaborative of Southern California. She discusses the connection between land use and transportation, as well as the state’s alternative growth choices.

Peter Lehman of Humboldt State University discusses the history and future of renewable energy research and development in California.

Tom Cahill, professor emeritus of physics and atmospheric sciences at UC Davis, discusses the past, present and future of California’s air quality.

Carol Whiteside, former mayor of Modesto and current President of the Great Valley Center, explains why and how the Central Valley is quickly becoming California’s destiny.

America is likely to import more and more Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) each coming year but plans to build two receiving terminals in California are meeting fierce opposition from environmental and “government waste” watchdogs.

If a tree falls in the forest of the future, something is bound to hear it and know why. California Connected visits the James Reserve field research station in the San Jacinto Mountains, where a network of robots and sensors monitor the forest’s vital signs.

What happens to the nearly 80 million tons of stuff that Californians toss out each year?

An interview with Timothy P. Duane of UC Berkeley on waste, growth and California’s future.

No more s%*t! That’s what some residents of Kern County are saying to Southern California’s sanitation districts. The Central Valley region generates 2% of the state’s “biosolids” or sludge — but receives 30% of California’s human and industrial waste each year. Now the rural community wants to ban the transfer of their urban neighbors’ waste.

Valley Fever, a potentially fatal respiratory disease spread by the airborne spores of a fungus, afflicts an estimated 100,000 Americans each year. A community group in Bakersfield wants to find a vaccine for this confounding ailment.

California has the largest and most complex water transportation system in the world. We follow a drop of water from the slopes of Mt. Shasta to a car wash in San Diego County.

What do sheep, libertarians, spam and global warming have in common? The tragedy of the commons.

Over the last two decades California’s vineyards have become world class. Now they could also become cutting-edge: by relying entirely on solar electricity.

How did the Iranian Revolution in 1979 set the stage for Sacramento County to become one of the world’s leading sources for white sturgeon caviar?

The Schatz Energy Lab at Humboldt State University has successfully used a solar-hydrogen fuel system to power an entire marine laboratory for more than a decade. But what do the lab’s directors think it will take for the rest of the state to follow suit?

Coast Seafoods is harvesting oysters in a more environmentally friendly fashion. But will the long-term benefits outweigh the short-term costs for this Eureka outfit?

In the latest installment of an ongoing saga, the lumber giant claims it may go bankrupt as a result of state regulations. The state disagrees while environmentalists charge PALCO is responsible for increased flooding.

There’s gold in them there waves. At least, that’s what a Minnesota renewable energy company is betting with its test program off the coast of Humboldt County.

Students at Humboldt State University in northern California have devised a system for powering their dorm with a blend of solar, wind, and pedal power.

A look at six machines that could convert the ocean’s power into electricity.

Ships docked in the LA-Long Beach port complex churn out more pollution each day than one million cars. Environmental activists say a “green” terminal is only a good start to mitigating a growing problem.

An online discussion of growing tensions between agriculture and real estate interests in the Central Valley with Alan Deutschman, Deborah Gonzalez and Carol Whiteside.

Growth in the Central Valley is increasingly pitting farmers against residents as in the case of pesticide drift.

Can a mythical creature resurrect a dying logging community? Did a talking mouse help Orlando, Florida?

A triple fence to separate Mexicans from San Diego, U.S.A., runs into trouble when it hits a nature preserve.

Abandoned mines from the Gold Rush continue to pose a serious danger to nature enthusiasts.

From brownfields to infill, new approaches to urban development may help California ease into the next century.

A wide-ranging and in-depth online discussion of “smart growth” with Dan Silver, Nick Bollman, Andy McCue and Gabriel Metcalf.

How some Central Valley communites are actually planning for “smart” growth.

Cris Franco visits a charismatic and enthusiastic advocate of… composting.

Scouring the earth for the next big drug, Dr. William Fenical turns to the mud at the bottom of the ocean.

For over a decade, a mysterious oil spill tainted California’s beaches. The source? A freighter that sank in 1953. Could future spills from shipwrecked vessels be prevented?

Follow the paper trail as we document the Humboldt County DA’s lawsuit, Pacific Lumber’s response and background materials in the ongoing Headwaters Forest saga.

The Humboldt County DA has filed a complaint against Pacific Lumber and now his constituents are torn between praising the lawsuit and recalling him from office.

Would having a personal driver improve your daily commute? What if your car could drive itself? Take a peek at the hard science behind this seemingly sci-fi scenario.

California leads the nation in the production of crystal methamphetamine, also known as “crank.” California Connected follows the story of how the brewing meth disaster impacts our children, the environment and law enforcement.

Fishermen, Native Americans, energy companies and farmers were each promised a piece of the Klamath River. Unfortunately, there’s not enough of it to go around.

On all sides of the Klamath River, farmers, fishermen and Native Americans stake their claim in the continuing struggle for water rights.

Environmentalists want to reduce the amount of land available for off-road-vehicle use in this Southern California public park. Off-road-vehicle enthusiasts say “Tough luck” and the Bureau of Land Management is stuck in between.

Off-road-vehicle enthusiasts vs. environmental conservationists. If neither side is happy, does that mean the Bureau of Land Management is getting it right?

A simple idea—using a car when you need it, without having to own it - could have an extensive impact on the Bay Area by reducing the number of vehicles on the road and saving users money and time.

Is the S.F. Bay Area polluting the air of its inland neighbors?

In a project to end the Owen Valley’s dust storm nightmares, L.A. returns water it “borrowed” decades ago, but what will it mean to Southern Californians?

Is the EPA’s that California switch to fuel additives like ethanol in order to meet federal Clean Air Act requirements based on real concerns or the influence of ethanol-producing interests in the Midwest?

What’s good for the air, in this case, is not good for the water. How does an international debate on the impact of MTBE, a gas additive, have great consequences for California’s water?

The “killer pike,” a native of Minnesota and the largest and most voracious of predator fish, stalks the state’s waterways and threatens California’s fishing and tourism industries.

The clock is running out on the deal as the federal government clamps down on San Diego’s other water dependencies.

The San Diego County Water Authority is trying to broker a deal with the Imperial Irrigation District for what would be the biggest water transfer in the nation’s history. At stake are California’s water supply and the ecosystem that depends on the Salton Sea.