Western Soils and Plants are Parched

June 5, 2021 | NASA

For the second year in a row, drought has parched much of the United States from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Coast. Following one of the planet’s warmest years on record, and with precipitation this year well below average in the western U.S., scientists and government agencies are watching for diminished water resources and potentially severe fire seasons.
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/148419/western-soils-and-plants-are-parched

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California teen: I’m marching 266 miles, from Paradise to San Francisco, for climate justice

By Lola Guthrie | June 07, 2021 | The Sacramento Bee

The climate crisis isn’t a future threat. It’s as real and tangible as the ash drifting across the sky. I’m no longer comforted by the thought that adults will clean up their mess. I feel outraged and hopeless.
That’s why I’m marching 266 miles, from Paradise to San Francisco, with fellow youth activists from the Sunrise Movement. We’re marching for climate justice and fighting for every community.
https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/article251903963.html

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Photo by Lode Van de Velde. License: CC0 Public Domain.

California’s Latest Drought in 4 Charts

Alvar Escriva-Bou, Jeffrey Mount, Michael Dettinger | May 3, 2021 | Public Policy Institute of California

California is grappling with drought again, facing many of the same conditions and challenges that were features of the 2012–16 drought—including stressed ecosystems, depleted reservoirs, hard-hit farms and rural communities, threats to urban water supplies, and the potential for extensive wildfires. Knowing what’s different and what’s similar to our last major drought can help us better prepare the most vulnerable sectors for ongoing dry times.
To put this drought in context, this is only its second year. Historically, droughts have lasted up to six years. Our most recent one lasted five. We cannot know if this drought will break next year or four years from now, but we should plan for continuing drought.
https://www.ppic.org/blog/californias-latest-drought-in-4-charts/

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California’s Latest Drought in 4 Charts

California’s Wildfire Season Is Off to an Early Start

By Olivia Rosane | May 4, 2021 | EcoWatch

Fire season in California usually starts in summer and extends through the fall, according to The Guardian. However, the climate crisis has upended weather patterns in the state, which is now suffering from drought conditions. Much of California, including the north, is experiencing its driest wet season in more than 40 years; Sacramento experienced its driest on record in April, NWS said.
https://www.ecowatch.com/california-wildfires-2021-2652873703.html

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Kassis Property in SN&R

As vote looms over Rancho Cordova’s last open space, city’s mayor and vice mayor took money from the developer aiming to build over it

By Scott Thomas Anderson | March 24, 2021 | Sacramento News and Review

For months a coalition of Rancho Cordova nature-lovers has been trying to protect the city’s last unspoiled haven along the American River – some 40 acres of grassy, oak-studded wildlife shelter with captivating ties to history and some of the oldest Native American burial sites in the region. If they win, this pastoral property along the brushy shoreline could become a park or learning center. If they lose, it will become 244 tract houses, 24 of which will block one of the most picturesque river views in all of Sacramento.

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Will major scandal at Metropolitan Water District save Delta communities from the tunnel?

By Scott Thomas Anderson | March 2, 2021 | Sacramento News and Review

Metropolitan Water District, the driving financial and political force behind the proposed Delta tunnel, has suddenly found itself on the verge of losing one of its most important customers – the City of Los Angeles. The possibility of a break between California’s largest city and its largest water contractor comes after a host of women and members of the LGBTQ community said they were victims of sexual harassment, intimidation and retaliation while working for the latter.

The revelation has drawn MWD into a new arena of fire, one that’s separate from its ongoing standoff with conservationists, indigenous tribes, regional farmers, tax watchdogs and Northern California’s fishing industry about the future of the Delta.

“…There’s a real sense of imperialism with Met when it comes to how they treat the Delta communities, and now it seems like that’s something that might carry through to other aspects of its organization,” said Osha Meserve, an attorney who represents the Delta’s reclamation districts. “This could be really destabilizing for the tunnel project. There’s significant potential for LA to be a leader in coming up with some minimum standards for what kind of agency they want to get water from. If Met doesn’t share their values, whether it’s the treatment of women or destroying the environment, then they should step away.”

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