What causes global heating, and why is it of concern? Here is what you need to know, in brief.
What will the climate crisis mean for the Bay Area? Read a brief overview of areas of the negative impact we need to plan for.
We need to stop putting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and we need to take it out. Here is a list of actions we need to support.
We will return this fall with fresh clippings
[THE MERCURY NEWS]
Communities that consider themselves “safe” from sea level rise might need to think otherwise, said Kris May, a lead author of the report and founder of Pathways Climate Institute, a research-based consulting firm in San Francisco that helps cities adapt to climate change.
[SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE]
Adopting the regulations would prevent an estimated 37 to 85 premature deaths and about 110 new cases of asthma per year in the Bay Area, according to the air district’s analysis.
[EAST BAY TIMES]
A study last summer by scientists at UCLA found that the chances of such a series of huge storms, while still remote, have roughly doubled due to climate change. Climate change has warmed ocean waters, allowing more moisture to be absorbed in atmospheric river storms.
[THE MERCURY NEWS]
Under the new partnership, NPS students and faculty will learn and work alongside Stanford students and faculty to research solutions to climate change and energy security issues.
[SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE]
“This purchase ensures that some of the most important remaining stands of old growth redwoods in the Santa Cruz Mountains will be protected forever,” said Sara Barth, executive director of the Sempervirens Fund, which is based in San Mateo and claims to be the oldest land trust in California, dating to 1900.
[THE MERCURY NEWS]
Many wastewater treatment plants, including the San Jose-Santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility and Santa Cruz’s sewage treatment plant, are already doing their part by trying to ensure that their waste doesn’t go to waste. Instead, they’re turning it into biogas, a blend of gases dominated by methane that can be used to generate power.
[THE MERCURY NEWS]
For the first time, US scientists produced more energy from fusion than the laser energy they used to power the experiment.
“This is what it looks like for America to lead, and we’re just getting started,” Granholm said. “If we can advance fusion energy, we could use it to produce clean electricity, transportation fuels, power, heavy industry and so much more.”
[NRDC]
Minimum parking requirements may seem like a common sense solution to problems of parking scarcity, but they come with a host of unintended consequences, including exacerbating the housing affordability crisis, reducing small business flexibility, and undermining community climate and air pollution goals.
[SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE]
Runways at major Bay Area airports could face flooding within two decades if nothing is done to protect them from sea level rise and storm surge, a new UC Berkeley study evaluating risk to California coastal airports has found.
[CITY OF PALO ALTO]
At their November 14 meeting, the City Council adopted the 2022 Proposed Green Building and Local Energy Codes which will go into effect on January 1, 2023.
The goal is to design, build, and operate a new generation of efficient, environmentally responsible, and healthy buildings. Click on the link to learn more.
[THE MERCURY NEWS]
Los Gatos residents Lisa Wade and Karen Rubio are spearheading Plant-Based Advocates, a local public information campaign to promote a vegan lifestyle and combat consumer-caused climate change.
The group will host monthly events at the Los Gatos Public Library and is working on a community cookbook of vegan recipes.
[ROBB REPORT]
“Philanthropy is finally stepping up to the challenge and recognizing this is the moment where we need to make the biggest investment to date,” says Eggert, adding, “Now we can finally go to the next level.”
[THE ALMANAC]
Switching from gas to electricity could reduce the annual emissions of a California household by 50–70% and 46–54% for water and space heating, respectively, according to a 2019 study published in The Electricity Journal.
[GREEN CAR CONGRESS]
Archer Aviation publicly unveiled its production aircraft, Midnight, a pilot-plus-four-passenger eVTOL aircraft during its Open House event in Palo Alto, CA.
Midnight is designed to be safe, sustainable, quiet and, with its expected payload of more than 1,000 pounds, can carry four passengers plus a pilot.
[PALO ALTO ONLINE]
The plan notes that road transportation "represents the largest percentage of Palo Alto's existing carbon footprint — and a congestion headache" and it sets a goal of increasing the mode share for walking, biking and transit from the currently level of 19% to 40% by 2030.
[ABC7]
As the beavers' dam spread the river water through marshy banks, known as riparian zones, the researchers documented a cleansing effect, and a drop in contaminants and excess nutrients, such as nitrogen.
