Doubling down on diesel: CA regulations will slash nitrogen oxide emissions
Last week, the California Air Resources Board unanimously passed new regulations to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions. The new legislation, aimed at diesel trucks, will reduce NOx emissions by 90 percent. This is the equivalent of taking 16 million light-duty vehicles off the road. The new Read More...
Airbnb Open Homes connects wildfire evacuees with a free place to stay
More than 200,000 Californians have been displaced by the wildfires ravaging the state, but some are finding safety and shelter with the help of Airbnb. The vacation rental company is mobilizing its network of open properties to connect fire victims with urgently needed free shelter. The Read More...
Food brand KIND pledges to source bee-friendly almonds for their snacks
Bee pollination is essential to coaxing fruit from almond trees, with almond growers in the US renting about 1.5 million colonies of honeybees per year to produce about 80 percent of the world’s almonds. But between the stress of relocating, the increased exposure to disease from other Read More...
Phew! California’s 2,000-year-old redwoods survived the wildfires
With over 1 million acres torched and 12,000 buildings burnt down, the California wildfires have already been the worst in history. But just when you thought things couldn’t get worse, the wildfires started sweeping through California’s oldest state park: Big Basin Redwoods State Park. Park Read More...
Therapy dog lends a helping paw to firefighters fighting CA blazes
As the pandemic and wildfires sweep through California, we are more grateful than ever for the first responders and medical staff who put their lives on the line every day to ensure the safety of their fellow citizens. For many firefighters, a lack of resources and stigma around mental health help Read More...
How the world’s biggest battery could help solve blackouts in California
California aims to run its grid entirely on fossil-fuel-free energy by 2045 and has been closing down dirty power plants and ramping up renewables at a steady clip. But while fuels can supply a steady stream of energy, the sun and wind are intermittent. That’s where the Gateway Energy storage Read More...
Google is creating the world’s largest earthquake detector
Google is on a mission to create the world’s largest earthquake detector. To do this, the tech giant is using the same accelerometer that rotates your screen. Beginning with Android 5.0's launch on August 11, phones running the OS will start becoming part of Google's Lucious Fox-like Android Read More...
America now has a stretch of highway paved with recycled plastic
A newly repaved stretch of highway in Oroville, California, looks like an ordinary road. But it’s the first highway in the country to be paved in part with recycled plastic—the equivalent of roughly 150,000 plastic bottles per mile of the three-lane road. The change in materials makes the Read More...
After 250 years, the Esselen tribe has reclaimed their homelands
In 1770, the people of the Esselen Tribe of northern California were forcibly removed from their lands and brought to Spanish missions. But now, after more than 250 years, the Esselen tribe is landless no more. This week, the Esselen tribe finalized the purchase of a 1,200-acre ranch near Big Read More...
These 15 states will join California in electrifying all buses and trucks
Fifteen states and Washington, DC have announced that they will follow California’s lead in switching all heavy-duty trucks, vans, and buses over to running on electricity, in what could be one of the most significant efforts to reduce harmful diesel engine pollution in the United States. It Read More...