Many of California’s native ecosystems evolved to burn. Modern fire suppression creates fuels that lead to catastrophic fires. So why do people insist on rebuilding in the firebelt?
California drought
Posted inEssays & Criticism, Featured, Story
Mega-drought and Me
As California gets drier, a woman entering her 30s reflects on PCOS, pregnancy, and her desire to have children.
Posted inFood, Profiles & Interviews, Story
Farming A Warming Planet: An Interview Nathanael Johnson
How California farmers are planning ahead for climate change while balancing their immediate economic concerns.
Posted inFood, Nonfiction, Quote Posts, Quotes, Science & Nature
Farming a Warming Planet
Even if rising sea levels flood many coastal cities, California farmers plan to grow food for a living. So what will the future California grow?
Posted inFeatured, Nonfiction, Quotes
The Many Deaths of California
When “the big one” strikes California, the state isn’t going to fall into the Ocean the way so many Arizonans who want beachfront property like to imagine. But there are many ways to die. In The New York Times, author Daniel Duane writes about what he calls the Golden State’s “sense of unraveling” and its […]
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
Developing Strawberry 2.0
California produces 29% of the world’s strawberries, but the ample water, cheap labor, chemicals and climate that support the state’s output are changing. In Bloomberg Business, Dune Lawrence writes about a breeder at Driscoll’s who’s trying create a strawberry that requires fewer chemicals, less water and less oversight. Having spent decades building a brand known […]
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
The Decline of Pacific Sardines
“We believe the harm has been irreparable and will already have ramifications for decades to come,” [Geoffrey] Shester said. “We’ve basically reduced the carrying capacity of the ecosystem to support the populations of other species that depend on sardines. The more fish we take, the more it is going to make that situation even worse.” […]
Posted inBooks, Nonfiction, Quotes
The Bestseller That Warned Us About California’s Water Problem
When most of us think of California’s irrigated acres, we visualize lush fields growing tomatoes, artichokes, strawberries, and grapes. But in California, the biggest user of underground water, more irrigation water is used for feed crops and pasture than for all these specialty crops combined. In fact, 42 percent of California’s irrigation goes to produce […]