Environment
KQED Science
New California County Fracking Bans Likely to Face Challenges
Passage of two out of three local measures may just set the stage for next battle.
KQED Science
Bay Area Votes in Favor of Open Space and ‘Smart’ Growth
A local environmental group is declaring victories for open space preservation and smart growth in the Bay Area.
KQED Science
The Amazing Life of Sand
There’s a story in every grain of sand: tales of life and death, fire and water. If you scooped up a handful of sand from every beach, you'd have a history of the world sifting through your fingers. From mountain boulders to the shells of tiny ocean creatures, follow the journey that sand takes through thousands of years across entire continents to wind up stuck between your toes.
KQED Science
Why California’s Largest Estuary No Longer Works for Wildlife
Startling maps in a new report on the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta show the dramatic loss of marshlands that once supported a vast array of wildlife.
QUEST
With GMO Labeling on the Ballot, Oregon and Colorado Learn From California Defeat
Voters in Oregon will head to the polls Nov. 4 to decide whether to require foods made with genetically engineered ingredients to be labeled. In doing so, they'll be voting on an initiative shaped in part by the experience of activists in California, who watched a similar measure fail ...Read More
KQED News
Where Have All The Birds Gone? Listen As a California Forest Grows Quiet Over Time
Does the sound of the forest change over time? Bernie Krause knows. The point in the forest where Bernie Krause records each year View Larger Map The expert bio-acoustician has spent decades recording natural sounds all over the world, including one particular section of forest between Napa and Sonoma ...Read More
KQED News
Long After Fracking Stops, The Noise Lives On
Copyright 2014 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/. ...Read More
KQED News
American Intruder Lurks In Scottish Streams, Clawed And Hungry
Forget Nessie: there's another insidious creature living in the waters of Scotland. The story starts in the streams and lakes of the northwestern United States, where North American signal crayfish are a familiar sight. Turn over a rock and you may well encounter one. But in Scottish streams and lochs, these creatures ...Read More
KQED News
Court Upholds Water Releases for Salmon on North State Rivers
A federal judge in Fresno has ruled that the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation did not violate the law when it made special reservoir releases last year to help salmon in Northern California's Klamath River survive the drought rather than save the water for farms. But U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O'Neill ...Read More
KQED News
How Do You Say How Big a Really Big Fire Is?
A California Highway Patrol photo of the King Fire, which spread rapidly north of U.S. 50 near Pollock Pines earlier this month. Here's an ongoing debate in our newsroom as we move into autumn and what is often the climax to our fire season: What's the best way to describe the ...Read More
KQED News
Researchers Say Beavers Are More Than Simple Pests
Copyright 2014 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/. ...Read More
KQED Science
With Drought, New Scrutiny Over Fracking’s Water Use
The drought is putting a spotlight on water use around California, including for hydraulic fracturing. How much water does fracking use and will it increase as companies tap into the Monterey Shale, estimated to be the largest oil resource in country?
KQED Science
Anti-Fracking Activists in California Take Fight to County Ballots
Activists are hoping local residents will do what state legislators haven’t done -- shut down the controversial oil production technique known as hydraulic fracturing.
KQED News
Climate Change Worsens Coastal Flooding From High Tides
A wave of high tides is expected to hit much of the East Coast this week. These special tides – king tides — occur a few times a year when the Moon's orbit brings it close to the Earth. But scientists say that lately, even normal tides throughout the year ...Read More
KQED Science
Now You Can Take a Virtual Hike in California State Parks
You can now visit 14 California State Parks from the comfort of your own web browser, using Google Street View.
QUEST
Will Recycling Phosphorus Help Stop Algae Blooms?
Excess phosphorus in lakes can cause destructive algae blooms big enough to be seen from satellites. NOAA image. We depend on big farms for our food. For crops, that means a lot of fertilizer; for animals, that means a lot of waste. For the lakes near these farms, that means a ...Read More
KQED News
National Park Service, Drakes Bay Oyster Co. Announce Exit Agreement
After nearly a decade of negotiations, scientific studies, congressional intervention and protracted legal skirmishing, the National Park Service and Drakes Bay Oyster Co. announced Monday they've reached agreement on terms for the firm's final exit from Point Reyes National Seashore.
KQED News
Court Upholds Water Releases for Salmon on North State Rivers
A federal judge in Fresno has ruled that the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation did not violate the law when it made special reservoir releases last year to help salmon in Northern California's Klamath River survive the drought rather than save the water for farms. But U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O'Neill ...Read More
KQED News
Glacier Breaks, Sends Mudslide Down Mount Shasta
Mount Shasta as it appeared on a hazy day in late August 2014. (Dan Brekke/KQED) MOUNT SHASTA, Siskiyou County — U.S. Forest Service crews on Mount Shasta were dealing Monday with mud flowing from a melting glacier that covered two roads and a bridge in muck, logs and rocks and forced ...Read More
KQED News
Brown Signs Statewide Ban on Plastic Bags
Fenit Nirappil Associated Press Shoppers in San Franicsco's Chinatown with plastic bags. (David Paul Morris/Getty Images) SACRAMENTO — Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation imposing the nation's first statewide ban on single-use plastic bags at grocery and convenience stores, driven to action by a buildup of litter and damage to aquatic ...Read More
