A ‘thirsty’ atmosphere is propelling Northern California’s drought into the record books

By Paul Duginski | September 25, 2021 | Los Angeles Times

Increasing evaporative demand is escalating summertime drought severity in California and the West, according to climate researchers.

Evaporative demand is essentially the atmosphere’s “thirst.” It is calculated based on temperature, humidity, wind speed and solar radiation. It’s the sum of evaporation and transpiration from plants, and it’s driven by warmer global temperatures, which can be attributed to climate change.

The meteorological summer of 2021 in the contiguous United States, which runs from June through August, tied the extreme heat of the Dust Bowl summer in 1936.

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U.C. Davis study finds dams ineffective for conservation…

By Dan Bacher | September 9, 2021 | Sacramento News and Review

For many years, federal, state and corporate proponents of building more dams in California have touted cold water river releases provided by increased water storage behind dams as a key tool in “saving” struggling salmon and steelhead populations.

Yet a just published study by the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences, Dams Ineffective for Cold-Water Conservation– 8/25/21, has found that dams are ineffective for the cold water conservation that is needed to preserve imperiled salmon, steelhead and trout.

”Dams poorly mimic the temperature patterns California streams require to support the state’s native salmon and trout — more than three-quarters of which risk extinction,” according to the study published in the journal PLOS ONE by the University of California, Davis. “Bold actions are needed to reverse extinction trends and protect cold-water streams that are resilient to climate warming.”

The study helps identify where high-quality, cold-water habitat remains to help managers prioritize conservation efforts.

https://sacramento.newsreview.com/2021/09/09/u-c-davis-study-finds-dams-ineffective-for-conservation-of-salmon-and-trout-in-sacramento-area-waterways/

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California moves to ban sale of gas-powered lawn mowers and leaf blowers

By Andrew Sheeler | September 9, 2021 | The Sacramento Bee

California could soon ban the sale of gas-powered leaf blowers and lawn mowers under a bill the Legislature passed and sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday.

Assembly Bill 1346 would direct the California Air Resources Board to phase out the sale of “small off-road engines” by 2024, or as soon as the board finds feasible, whichever is later.

The bill also requires the Air Resources Board to identify and make available, where feasible, funding for commercial rebates or similar incentive funding.

The bill’s author, Assemblyman Marc Berman, D-Menlo Park, tweeted on Wednesday that the state will spend $30 million “to help gardeners transition to cleaner, greener equipment.”

https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article254086403.html

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Photo from Pixabay on Pexels.

Caldor Fire: Sept 1 Update

Firefighters ‘lucked out’ with lighter winds, gain in fight to save South Lake Tahoe

By Staff (ABC10), Associated Press | September 1, 2021 | ABC 10

South Lake Tahoe launched an evacuation resources page for evacuees on Wednesday. The site includes information on shelters, where evacuees can go to get their mail, discounted hotels, transportation options, and more.

The National Weather Service warns critical weather conditions through Wednesday could include extremely low humidity, dry fuel, and gusts up to 30 mph.

Click here for current information on Caldor Fire evacuations, road closures and updates from ABC 10 News.


Photo by skeeze (pixabay.com)

Dangerous by design: How Sacramento’s un-walkable roads imperil and kill Black residents

By Alexandra Yoon-Hendricks And Phillip Reese | August 30, 2021 | The Sacramento Bee

Black pedestrians in Sacramento County were more than twice as likely to be killed in a car collision and three times as likely to be injured compared to the rest of the county.

City planners, state officials and traffic engineers have for decades prioritized cars as the predominant means of travel. Streets have gotten faster and roads have grown wider, with major urban thoroughfares slicing through low-income neighborhoods and communities of color. In the areas of Sacramento where people are most likely to lack access to a car, walking or biking to nearby stores, parks, clinics or public transit stops is a risky undertaking.

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Photo by The Humantra from Pexels