Crooked Bough News Round-up

— What to plant (and what to remove) in California's new 'Zone Zero' fire-safety proposal

 

at 4/18/26 10:57am

After years of debate between fire officials seeking total vegetation removal within the first 5 feet of homes and ecologists backing selective landscaping, California proposed a compromise.

— They lost their homes to fire. Now they're rebuilding with all-electric.

 

at 4/18/26 4:00am

As Los Angeles homeowners proceed with rebuilding from the 2025 fires, a new trend is emerging across the Palisades and Eaton burn areas. Emergency orders allow "like-for-like" replacements; some residents are moving toward all-electric home rebuilds.

— Trump administration takes emergency step to sustain key Colorado River reservoir

 

at 4/17/26 7:10pm

Emergency federal actions are underway to save Lake Powell as the Colorado River crisis intensifies.

— How high gas prices have given used EV sales a jump start

 

at 4/17/26 4:00am

Used electric vehicle sales increased 20% in the first quarter this year compared to last as prices at the pump continue to climb.

— Used EV sales charge up on high gas prices, even as new EV demand declines

 

at 4/17/26 4:00am

Used electric vehicle sales increased 20% in the first quarter this year compared to last as prices at the pump continue to climb.

— Striking before-and-after images show extent of California's snow drought

 

at 4/16/26 4:39pm

Before and after images of the Sierra Nevada snow show the early decline in California's snowpack. Statewide snowpack levels sit at 20% of their historical average.

— More than 200,000 lost their homes in the L.A. County fires. For people already on the streets, the damage ran deeper

 

at 4/16/26 2:00pm

A new study out of UCLA shows the outsized impact of climate-related disasters like the 2025 fires on unhoused populations.

— Mayor Bass has a new plan for addressing climate change in Los Angeles

 

at 4/16/26 11:15am

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has released a new climate change plan for Los Angeles, setting goals for solar energy, EV chargers and water recycling.

— The ocean off California keeps breaking heat records

 

at 4/16/26 8:35am

The marine heat wave of 2026 is simmering the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California, and experts are warning that it could lead to a warm, humid and stormy summer.

— This Long Beach startup says it has a patch for California's power problems

 

at 4/16/26 4:00am

This long beach startup powers California's  industries using off-grid power

— A gas that causes climate change is bubbling out of reservoirs

 

at 4/15/26 4:00am

How much planet-warming methane is coming from water reservoirs? Environmental groups want California to track emissions.

— The longer a species stays in the wildlife trade, the more likely it can spread disease to humans. Study explains why

 

at 4/13/26 11:49am

For every decade a species remains in the illegal global wildlife markets, the risk of interspecies disease increases, according to a new study.

— Three years of heartbreak, finally some hope: California's fishermen can go for salmon again

 

at 4/12/26 4:00am

Commercial salmon fishing is set to resume along the California coast this spring for the first time since 2022. Fishery regulators decided to allow a fishing season with strict catch limits.

— Lead still haunts yards in Exide battery recycler cleanup zone

 

at 4/11/26 4:00am

A recycler in Vernon melted down pallets of lead-acid car batteries for a century and there is still lead in people's yards after a decade of cleanup.

— Invasive rodent plaguing California may have been deliberately released. Here's the theory

 

at 4/10/26 5:27pm

The nutria, an invasive rodent plaguing California, may have been deliberately released. Wildlife experts have a theory on how they got here

— A sea turtle named Meatloaf is fighting to keep her flipper. Here's how you can cheer her on

 

at 4/9/26 4:23pm

Visitors to the Aquarium of the Pacific can now get an up-close look at Meatloaf, a rescued green sea turtle undergoing rehabilitation after a serious flipper injury, according to officials.

— Fire survivors call for audits of Edison's wildfire prevention spending

 

at 4/9/26 4:00am

Survivors of the deadly Eaton fire call on state lawmakers to pass a bill requiring audits of spending by Southern California Edison and the state's two other big for-profit electric companies on wildfire prevention.

— Near the shrinking Salton Sea, children's lungs may pay a price

 

at 4/9/26 4:00am

Scientists find that children who live near California's Salton Sea, where dust is a problem, suffer from diminished lung development.

— Inside California's audacious bid to build the world's deepest floating wind farm

 

at 4/9/26 4:00am

Readying California for offshore wind power will require a perfect concert of major port upgrades, hundreds of miles of new transmission lines and wind turbines as tall as the Eiffel Tower.

— PG&E is overcharging Californians to keep the last nuclear power plant open, report alleges

 

at 4/7/26 9:31pm

Eliminating fees for Diablo Canyon from 2027 to 2030 could save utility customers an estimated $1.84 billion.

— Photos from the dark side of the moon by Artemis II

 

at 4/7/26 10:21am

Artemis II marks NASA's first return to the moon with astronauts — a critical step toward a lunar landing by another crew in two years.

As of 4/18/26 1:09pm. Last new 4/18/26 12:38pm.