A long-expected federal drought declaration underlines how serious the Colorado River water shortage has become for Western states.
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Articles on California
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If you thought slavery in the US was confined to southern states, think again.
More than 40 fire scientists and forest ecologists in the US and Canada teamed up to investigate why wildfires are getting more extreme. Climate change is part of the problem, but there’s more.
Sexual harassment and discrimination in gaming and tech is not inevitable or permanent, write experts in the field. The solutions are positive community standards and women in power.
As rivers run dry in the Rocky Mountains and the West, it’s easy to wonder where all the snow you see on mountain peaks goes. Some of it ends up in the air, but researchers aren’t sure how much.
New research found that smoke from the Camp Fire in Paradise, California, carried high concentrations of lead. An environmental toxicologist explains what else you’re breathing and how to stay safe.
Some of the most powerful offshore wind is over water too deep for a standard wind turbine. Engineers found a way around the problem.
‘Local, organic, sustainable’ are common buzzwords on US restaurant menus now, but it wasn’t always that way. Alice Waters and her restaurant, Chez Panisse, helped put them there.
Without enough water, trees can develop embolisms, similar to blockages in human blood vessels, and they’re more likely to die from drought or fires.
Satellites can already spot a new fire within minutes, but the information they beam back to Earth isn’t getting to everyone who needs it or used as well as it could be.
Photos from the early 1900s show LA’s forests of oil derricks. Hundreds of wells are still pumping, and new research finds people living nearby are struggling with breathing problems.
The US has one of the highest groundwater use rates in the world. When wells run dry, households may opt to conserve water, find new sources or sell and move.
Installing solar panels over California’s 4,000 miles of canals could generate less expensive, renewable energy, save water, fight climate change – and offer a solution for the thirsty American West.
The Supreme Court recently dealt defeat to Florida in its 20-year legal battle with Georgia over river water. Other interstate water contests loom, but there are no sure winners in these lawsuits.
The world’s first futures market for water launched in California in December. Two commodities experts explain how it works, what the potential problems are and why there’s no reason to freak out.
Making biofuels from crops grown on land poses trade-offs between food and fuel. A new study looks offshore.
Cities have long resisted the public demand for street food vendors, but the pandemic may reverse those restrictions for good.
Heat waves, droughts and deep freezes can all strain the electric grid, leading utilities to impose rolling blackouts. Climate change is likely to make these events more common.
Electric cars get a lot of hype, but what really matters for the climate are excess emissions from the many millions of gasoline vehicles still sold each year.
States and hospitals are starting to declare ‘crisis standards of care’ as the pandemic floods their ERs. The orders have consequences – both good and bad, as a medical ethicist explains.
Top contributors
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Academic Coordinator, California Institute for Water Resources, University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources
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Wildfire Specialist at the University of California Cooperative Extension; Adjunct Professor Bren School of Environmental Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara
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Regents Professor Emeritus and Morris K. Udall Professor of Law & Public Policy Emeritus, University of Arizona
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Director, Ocean and Coastal Policy Center, Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara
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Daniel Sperling is a Friend of The Conversation.
Distinguished Blue Planet Prize Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Founding Director, Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Davis
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Professor of Geology and Environmental Geosciences, University of Dayton
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Associate Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences, University of Southern California
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Associate Professor of Urban and Environmental Policy, Occidental College
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Research Professor Emeritus, University of Michigan
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Professor of Management and Wine Business, Sonoma State University
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Australian Research Council Future Fellow, The University of Western Australia
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Director Emeritus, California Institute for Water Resources, University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources
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Professor of Criminal Justice and Corrections, University of California College of the Law, San Francisco
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Senior Lecturer in Earth System Science, University of Hull
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Adjunct Assistant Professor and a founder of the Laboratory for Environmental Narrative Strategies in the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California, Los Angeles
