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As wealthy homeowners build sandbag walls and plan more extensive, costly measures, scientists say the ocean could eventually defeat all such efforts.
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About 1.4 million acres burned in 2008 in one of the worst fire seasons in the state's history. But no meaningful reforms are enacted at the state or federal level. >>
The state attorney general's office says new rules put California's threatened and endangered wildlife in greater danger and could cost the state more to protect the plants and animals on the list. >>
In the Upper Midwest, the animals are dying off in startling numbers. Biologists blame global warming. >>
A trove of oil shale may be a boon. But the science to extract fuel is imperfect, and locals worry about their water supplies, which ultimately feed Southern California reservoirs. >>
Environmental groups concerned about the effect on whales claim victory, as does the military. The Navy says the deal does not expand protections. The Supreme Court recently decided a similar case. >>
Economic downturn hits metal dealers and scavengers where it hurts. >>
The reptiles, especially softshell turtles, are prized in China as food and as a source for traditional medicines. U.S. experts fear the trade could lead to extinctions. >>
A burst dike at a coal-fired power plant in eastern Tennessee spilled millions more cubic yards of ash than originally estimated, officials said Friday, and residents fear the muck coating their neighborhood is endangering the drinking water. >>
GREENSPACE
Lennie Arkinstall braves rough weather to keep tons of urban debris in the L.A. River from reaching the open ocean. >>
New regulations aim to protect medical workers, the environment and wildlife. Critics call them potentially crippling to an industry crucial to the state economy. >>
The United States faces the possibility of much more rapid climate change by the end of the century than previous studies have suggested, according to a report led by the U.S. Geological Survey. >>
Silver Lake Farms owner is cited by city agency for composting waste not generated in her home. Officials say she will be OK if they receive no more complaints. >>
A new Cal State Long Beach study finds high levels of DDT and PCB in seals and sea lions that died between 1994 and 2006, suggesting possible danger for humans. >>
Industry experts and businesspeople in China say that the industrial chemical has been routinely added to fish and animal feed to artificially boost protein readings. >>
Now that the federal government has rejected a proposed toll road extension through south Orange County, it's back to square one. >>
Jewish communities in Southern California follow a nationwide trend among religious organizations of environmental awareness. >>
The exhibit outside the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry urges people to use environmentally sustainable methods. >>
The global financial crisis has shut down the mill, a feat that ecologists, trying to preserve Lake Baikal from pollution, had been unable to accomplish. >>
A hard-line environmentalist group chasing Japanese whalers near Antarctica said it had found the Japanese fleet and had attempted to attack one of the vessels with stink bombs. >>
Physicist John Holdren will be the president-elect's top science advisor; marine biologist Jane Lubchenco will lead NOAA. Both advocate more action to fight climate change. >>
Appeals court strikes down an EPA rule that allowed the emission of tens of millions of pounds of excess toxic chemicals annually. >>
Two bidders, suspected of being environmental activists, are detained. >>
ENERGY
The ratepayer-funded electrical transmission project aims to boost the use of clean sources. >>
His selections as science advisor and NOAA head are two advocates for mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions. Environmentalists are heartened, and conservatives dismayed. >>
The California Utilities Commission is scheduled to vote on the renewable energy transmission project, opposed by some environmentalists. >>
They contend that the Bush administration, in its haste, failed to comply with regulations requiring it to consider the sales' effect on air quality and other environmental factors. >>
The plan would inform consumers how items sold in the state are manufactured and transported and how environmentally safe their ingredients are. >>
The region is actually one of the safest in the country, researchers say. Extreme heat and cold are far more deadly than earthquakes and wildfires. >>
The Colorado senator, an attorney with expertise in water law, has criticized the department for opening up his state's Roan Plateau to drilling. >>
With a Nobel physicist and a former EPA chief on board, some expect Obama's White House to break from what they see as the Bush administration's record of overlooking science in favor of politics. >>
New restrictions are intended to protect the delta smelt and the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. >>
Judge refuses to reopen Los Angeles' environmental review of the massive project. The city had ordered the Planning Department to stop processing the application. >>
SHIPPING
The expansion would cut pollution, create jobs and prepare the complex for a shipping rebound, officials say. >>
Get rid of cane fields to help restore the Everglades? Florida Gov. Charlie Crist's big plan now faces big doubts. >>
BOOKS & AUTHORS
Dr. Seuss' spokesthing for the environment was ahead of the curve in 1971. Now, he's a green kids favorite. >>
O.C. residents awake to darkened skies and unsightly air, but it's only Santa Ana winds stirring up reminders -- along with ash and debris -- of recent wildfires. Still, it's gritty and unhealthy. >>
ENVIRONMENT
Hangar 25 may be the greenest facility in aviation, an industry known for a huge carbon footprint. >>
The program to urge environmentally friendly practices hopes to launch in six months. >>
Chickens throw their bantam weight around in Fair Oaks, Calif. Some residents are crying foul over the pampered poultry. >>
The hatchlings of the California two-spot species start life at the Ocean Institute, which is raising them for educational programs. >>
The mountain gorillas of Virunga National Park have been mostly unharmed by the civil war. But they are caught in a struggle between the government and rebels over who should control the park. >>
By studying starch grains in plaque on teeth up to 8,500 years old, scientists have discovered that the Andes people farmed far earlier than previously thought. >>
The document may have consequences for farmers: Belching and gaseous cows and hogs could start costing them money if the federal government decides to charge fees for air-polluting animals. >>
The Border Enforcement Security Task Force is made up of officers from federal, state and local agencies. It has already seized cocaine bound for Australia and weapons headed for Mexico. >>
The Condor Preservation Act has barred the use of lead in killing big game, but under a settlement between environmentalists and state wildlife officials, it also will apply to non-game species. >>
WASHINGTON, D.C.Mine waste disposal rules are changed >>Los Angeles County Waterworks Districts customers in Lancaster, western Palmdale, Lake Los Angeles and Acton will be affected. The disruption will last from Dec. 7 through Dec. 13. >>
A city councilman and animal welfare advocates worry the 3.6-acre 'Pachyderm Forest' won't provide enough space and are concerned about overall care. Zoo officials say they're mimicking the wild. >>
The number of spotted owls in the Pacific Northwest is dwindling. Some experts think an aggressive owl cousin, not logging, is to blame. >>
Your Money
How to celebrate the season while being kind to the environment and your bank account. >>
The Clean Trucks program has brought about an alliance between union leaders and activists in an attempt to clean up the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports. But some truck drivers are unhappy about the >>
COLUMN ONE
Naturalist Rick Halsey says it's absurd to prescribe burns of backcountry California chaparral. >>
Single-cell organisms are found rolling along the ocean floor, leaving animal-like tracks that researchers had thought could be made only by complex creatures. >>
After fighting for decades over its oil and land, conservationists, developers and Long Beach city planners are joining forces to let the Los Cerritos Wetlands grow wild again. >>
Critics say the change, which leaves out dozens of factories from regular emission checks, undermines efforts to guard children's health. >>
CALIFORNIA
Putting eco-friendliness to the test, we discover that the city passes with its trolleys but fails in affordable hotel options. >>
During high-surf advisory days, watercraft can be used at the famous riding spot in the Monterey Bay marine sanctuary. Other regulations are altered at the Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank sanctuaries. >>
Many of the 'midnight regulations' open wilderness for oil and gas drilling, and loosen environmental safeguards. President Bush has pushed 53 through in three weeks, researchers say. >>
In a 2-1 decision, the court orders a more thorough environmental review of the proposed offshore oil drilling project's effect on fish and endangered bowhead whales. >>
Gov. Schwarzenegger signs a pact with heads of other states and provinces to cut greenhouse emissions. 'We have got to do something worldwide here,' he says. >>
Officials, experts and Bob Barker weigh in on whether elephants do well in captivity. >>
Firms and investor group back emissions cuts, renewable energy. >>
President-elect tells delegates gathered in L.A. to debate tactics for reducing planet-warming pollution that his administration will help lead way to 'a new era of global cooperation.' >>
The Environmental Protection Agency is completing new air quality rules that will make it easier to build coal-fired power plants, oil refineries and other major polluters near national parks and wilderness areas, despite the fact that half of the EPA's 10 regional administrators have formally dissented from the decision and another four have criticized the move in writing. >>
The Chino Hills evacuation order is lifted. Officials are keeping tabs on the weather, but the Tea fire is 95% contained; Sayre fire, 70%; and Freeway Complex fire, 75%. >>
The plan, which could cost $5 billion to $6 billion, focuses on rebuilding the Tom Bradley International Terminal. >>
Scientists say no definitive link has been demonstrated between rising temperatures and wildfire occurrence in Southern California's chaparral country. >>
The event, organized by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, aims to promote cooperation on technology and reduction of emissions in major industries. >>
A proposal to expand cellphone towers in the park and install wireless Internet service in its hotels -- where TVs are banned -- has environmentalists furious. >>
The oil giant says it already cleaned up its share of the mess in the Amazon region, but peasant farmers continue to suffer. >>
From Santa Barbara to Orange County, hundreds of homes burn and thousands of people are evacuated. A mobile home park in Sylmar appears to lose the highest number of housing units in L.A. history. >>
Of Oakridge's 600 mobile homes, 501 were destroyed and at least 40 were badly damaged. Even firefighters were forced to leave as the flames grew so intense, they burned fire hoses into the cement. >>
In areas where the Sesnon fire struck last month, some residents are resigned to their fate. >>
With 111 homes destroyed and nine damaged, the news is often not good for residents. But some returning evacuees find reason to rejoice. >>
Sylmar, Corona, Brea and Yorba Linda are problem areas where everyone should avoid outdoor activity, the South Coast Air Quality Management District says. >>
More than 600 Southland homes have been damaged or destroyed. Governor declares an emergency in L.A. County. High winds drive flames through canyons in the San Fernando Valley. >>
Toll could rise. Schwarzenegger declares a state of emergency, and local groups are pitching in to assist evacuees. Calming winds give firefighters a break. >>
About 800 students and faculty spent a long, sweaty, anxious night in the gymnasium, and emerged to 14 faculty homes, a few dorms and several academic buildings destroyed. But no one was injured. >>
Experiment will see how they move through the Sacramento River. >>
The agreement has PacifiCorp spending $200 million, California $250 million to uproot four dams that have blocked the migration of salmon. Critics say the deal favors farmers over fish. >>
About $2.5 trillion of real estate assets in California are at risk, with a projected annual price tag of between $300 million and $3.9 billion, according to a report by UC Berkeley researchers. >>
The huge smog-like plumes, caused mainly by the burning of fossil fuels and wood, block sunlight and absorb radiation, leading to new worries about climate change and extreme weather conditions. >>
Despite the Supreme Court's ruling Wednesday that the nation's security outweighs the need to protect marine mammals from high-powered sonar during Navy training exercises, environmentalists said the fight was far from over. >>
TECHNOLOGY
The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the largest cargo container ports in the nation, invest in cleaner-air efforts. >>
Democrat Mary Nichols, chairwoman of the state's Air Resources Board, held a high-level position in the federal agency in the Clinton administration. >>
Quake tips* To prepare for an earthquake, secure objects that may fall over and cause damage, such as bookshelves or large televisions, said Mark Benthien, director of outreach for the Southern California Earthquake Center, who is helping to organize the Great Southern California ShakeOut. Latch cabinets, strap bookshelves and attach water heaters to the wall. (And don't forget to get your home properly bolted and secured and up to recent building codes, said Lucy Jones of the U.S. Geological Survey.) >>Most of the losses are attributable to 3,000 annual deaths, a Cal State Fullerton study says. The study underscores the economic benefits of meeting federal air quality standards. >>
More than 175 acres of the Los Cerritos Wetlands will be saved under the arrangement. >>
The state of Florida has agreed to pay the nation's biggest producer of sugar cane $1.34 billion, instead of the $1.75 billion originally proposed, under a revised deal to buy up vast tracts of farm land to restore the Everglades, the company said in statements today. >>
Hawaii will switch to digital TV faster than the rest of the country to make way for an endangered, volcano-dwelling bird. >>
In a move to save depleted stocks, managers vote to implement a quota system on important bottom-dwelling species. >>
The base is home to 147 of the species. The U.S. is working on a comprehensive management plan for bison on federal lands. >>
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