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KQED: California Regulators Consider Adding $24 Fixed Fee to Utility Bills
Starting late next year, you might see a new flat charge of up to $24.15 on your monthly electric bill. That’s if the California Public Utilities Commission votes in favor of proposed changes to how Californians pay for power at a meeting Thursday. Read more
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KQED: ‘Perfect Day’ for a (Partial) Eclipse: Here’s What the Bay Area Saw
Just after 10:30 a.m. Monday, the sky began to darken. For those lucky enough to be in the narrow path for the first total solar eclipse over the U.S. in seven years, the sky filled with stars and planets as shadows sharpened all around. Read more
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LOOKOUT: Through paintings, local artist Taylor Seamount reimagines Santa Cruz as an eco-utopia
When most people walk through expansive parking lots or fields of invasive grass, they see familiar American landscapes. Not Santa Cruz painter Taylor Seamount. They see a dystopian reality spreading out before them, filling them with “day-ruining existential dread.” To combat this feeling, Seamount has turned to an environmental art movement called solar punk. In… Read more
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EOS: Flash Floods May Support One of the World’s Rarest Fish
Devils Hole pupfish, living within a single pool in Death Valley National Park, have clung to their existence under the watchful eyes of ecologists and public agencies. Numbers of the uniquely isolated and critically endangered species have ebbed and flowed with shifting conditions and nearby development. Now, researchers have identified a new factor that could… Read more
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THE MERCURY NEWS: Eucalyptus are one of the state’s most controversial trees. A Monterey Bay reserve may be a model for how to replace them.
Returning eucalyptus-choked landscapes to their original glory is a long and arduous process. It involves coaxing the barren earth back to life and dealing with thousands of tons of highly flammable wood. At the Elkhorn Slough Reserve — home to a vast array of birds, marine mammals, amphibians and fish — thirsty eucalyptus trees leave… Read more
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SCIENCE: New class of ‘ozone-safe’ refrigerants may have unexpected downside
In 2013, a new class of chemical refrigerants—used to cool everything from homes to freezers—replaced the ones that were destroying the ozone layer. But a study published this week finds that some of the new compounds, known as hydrofluoroolefins (HFOs), can create fluoroform, a gas that has a global warming potential 14,800 times worse than… Read more
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LOOKOUT: Rare harlequin duck spotted in Santa Cruz sparks frenzy among birdwatchers
Throngs of birdwatchers have gathered at the Santa Cruz Harbor to catch a glimpse of a harlequin duck, which is rarely spotted this far south, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Read more
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MONGABAY: Do tree-planting projects on grasslands increase fire risk?
Global tree-planting initiatives, aimed at storing carbon from the atmosphere, could include plantations in fire-prone African savannas. 58% of tree plantations grown in South African grasslands between 1980 and 2019 burned, polluting water and releasing carbon dioxide back into the air. As efforts to plant trees for carbon storage in Africa expand, researchers suggest cutting… Read more
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LOOKOUT: Rare plant spotted for first time in Santa Cruz County reveals hidden ecosystem reborn in fire
A hobby naturalist walking in the Santa Cruz Mountains discovered a patch of what turned out to be Humboldt County milkvetch, a rare plant that had never been spotted south of Mendocino County. Scientists believe the plant — known as a fire-follower because it often appears after a great disturbance to the landscape — actually… Read more
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LOOKOUT: Ms. Blue is coming down — what happened to Seymour Center’s iconic whale skeleton and what’s next
After taking a beating from the elements at UC Santa Cruz’s coastal campus, the structure supporting the blue whale skeleton affectionately known as Ms. Blue has been deemed unsafe. But fear not, says Seymour Marine Discovery Center director Jonathan Hicken — the bones are staying, and the center wants input on the next chapter of… Read more
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LOOKOUT: How some Pajaro Valley farms are being tapped to help solve California’s water crisis
Can agriculture, long considered a drain on the state’s water resources, help solve California’s water crisis? In the Pajaro Valley, some farmers are being paid to return stormwater to the ground. The effort is part of a joint project among local agencies, landowners and UC Santa Cruz to install groundwater recharge basins on some local… Read more