Crooked Bough News Round-up

— Mosquito season is upon us. So why are Southern California officials releasing more of them?

 

at 4/25/24 4:00am

Vector control officials in Southern California are starting to release sterilized male mosquitoes to combat the summertime onslaught of ankle biters.

— Federal government 'believes' virus found in grocery store milk is safe for consumption

 

at 4/24/24 1:09pm

After identifying remnants of bird flu virus in grocery store milk, federal officials insist the nation's milk supply is safe.

— The first big-rig hydrogen fuel station in the U.S. opens in California

 

at 4/24/24 4:00am

The Port of Oakland is home to the United States' first commercial hydrogen fuel station for big-rig trucks. It's a step on the road to cleaner trucking.

— Los Angeles makes progress but earns 25th-straight F in air quality

 

at 4/24/24 1:01am

L.A., Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties received a failing grade on air quality from the American Lung Assn. Again.

— California increases water allocation after wet winter, but fish protections limit pumping

 

at 4/23/24 6:38pm

California has increased water allocations to 40% of full allotments from the State Water Project. Officials say environmental regulations have limited pumping.

— Steelhead trout, once thriving in Southern California, are declared endangered

 

at 4/23/24 4:00am

Southern California steelhead trout have been pushed to the brink of extinction as their river habitats have been altered by development and fragmented by barriers and dams.

— Former California State Parks employee awarded $2.3 million in discrimination lawsuit

 

at 4/22/24 8:25pm

A jury sided with a former State Parks employee who said the agency treated him unfairly in part due to his Mexican heritage, awarding him $2.3 million.

— California wants to harness more than half its land to combat climate change by 2045. Here's how

 

at 4/22/24 7:00am

State officials unveiled 81 targets to transform millions of acres in the Golden State into landscapes that can absorb more carbon than they release by 2045.

— Santa Monica school expansion delayed by toxic dry cleaning chemicals in soil

 

at 4/22/24 4:00am

McKinley Elementary has designs to modernize its campus. But plans are being delayed, and costs are rising since dangerous vapors were found in the soil.

— New scientific interventions are here to fight climate change. But they aren't silver bullets

 

at 4/22/24 4:00am

Giant sun shades, 40-foot-tall air filters, stratospheric sulfur injections: Here are some of the wild and wondrous ways we might save the planet.

— Climate change supercharged a heat dome, intensifying 2021 fire season, study finds

 

at 4/22/24 3:00am

North America's 2021 fire season, including massive Northern California blazes, was made worse by a supercharged heat dome. What did the supercharging? Climate change.

— As salmon are released into the Klamath River, tribal leaders see a 'symbol of hope'

 

at 4/21/24 4:00am

California has released 500,000 salmon into the Klamath River. As dams are removed, the fish will be some of the first to return to a free-flowing river.

— China's highflying EV industry is going global. Why that has Tesla and other carmakers worried

 

at 4/19/24 4:00am

A flood of cheap Chinese electric car exports has raised the specter of another trade war with the U.S. And it has Tesla worried.

— Column: Disneyland just promised electric cars at Autopia. Gas will be gone by 2026

 

at 4/18/24 8:13pm

Disney had previously committed to ditching gasoline engines but left open hybrids as a possibility and hadn't set a firm timeline.

— California sets nation-leading limit for carcinogenic chromium-6 in drinking water

 

at 4/18/24 11:05am

California has set a limit for the toxic heavy metal hexavalent chromium in drinking water. Advocates have called for a stricter limit, warning of health risks.

— Avian flu outbreak raises a disturbing question: Is our food system built on poop?

 

at 4/18/24 4:00am

News that Midwestern dairy cows may have become infected with avian flu by eating poultry waste has many asking: What are American farm animals being fed? And should we be concerned?

— California farming area placed on probation over declining groundwater and sinking land

 

at 4/16/24 10:31pm

California's water board has for the first time put a farming region on probation for failing to adopt measures to curb excessive pumping of groundwater.

— The EV market is in trouble: The latest sign is Tesla's layoffs

 

at 4/16/24 2:55pm

The drive to electrify personal cars in California has, at best, hit a rough patch. The big question is whether current conditions will turn out to be growing pains.

— Former California State Parks employee seeks $4 million in discrimination lawsuit

 

at 4/16/24 2:22pm

Angel Alba, who worked at Malibu-area state parks, alleges his supervisors denigrated him for being Mexican and retaliated when he complained.

— Damage found inside Glen Canyon Dam increases water risks on the Colorado River

 

at 4/16/24 4:00am

Newly discovered damage in Glen Canyon Dam would require releasing less water at low reservoir levels — a problem that increases water risks in the Southwest.

— Red state coal towns still power the West Coast. We can't just let them die

 

at 4/16/24 4:00am

Los Angeles, Portland and other progressive cities are still powered by faraway coal plants. We went to Montana to find out why.

As of 4/25/24 1:15pm. Last new 4/25/24 6:08am.