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Water Reporter

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Rachel Becker is a journalist reporting on California’s complex water challenges and water policy issues for CalMatters. She’s covered drought, water standoffs, groundwater depletion, water quality and the world’s biggest dam removal. 

In 2021 she won first place for Outstanding Beat Reporting from the Society of Environmental Journalists for stories that included deep dives into water contamination in the wake of wildfires and from widespread industrial chemicals. 

In 2022 Rachel was the inaugural recipient of the Water Education Foundation’s Rita Schmidt Sudman Award for Excellence in Water Journalism, “honoring outstanding work that illuminates complicated water issues in California and the West.”  

Her reporting has also been recognized by the California News Publishers Association, 그 Online Journalism Awards, 그 Northern California Society of Professional Journalists, and the San Francisco Press Club. In 2025, her coverage of dwindling groundwater, polluted drinking water and deteriorating ecosystems won a Golden State Journalism Award for environmental reporting. 

Rachel has a background in biology, with master’s degrees in both immunology and science journalism. She previously reported on climate change and air pollution for CalMatters, and contributed to early coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well. 

Before joining CalMatters, Rachel was a staff reporter at The Verge, where she covered science and health for the news site and for its Webby Award-winning video series, Verge Science. Her byline has also appeared in outlets including National Geographic News, Smithsonian, Slate, Nature, bioGraphic and the YouTube series MinuteEarth.

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Cigarette butts in a pile
국회 의사당
Why a California lawmaker wants to ban cigarette filters and disposable vapes
California Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson's bill to curb litter from cigarette butts and electronic cigarettes cleared the Senate but approaches its next hurdle in the Assembly. The bill aims to tackle hundreds of thousands of cigarette butts that litter the state's coasts and hold the tobacco and e-cigarette industry accountable for the mess that its products make.
에 의해 • 6월 25, 2019
Shell oil refinery in Martinez, California; the state could have a new cap-and-trade partner if Oregon's new carbon trading bill passes.
기후 변화
No longer the loneliest? Why Oregon’s all-in climate push matters to California
After efforts to unite the West under a carbon-trading program stalled for nearly a decade, Oregon will decide this month whether it wants to follow in California’s footsteps. This bill would make Oregon the second state after California to rely on the market for emissions reductions throughout the entire economy. Supporters say that expanding the cap-and-trade market to Oregon could increase competition, lower compliance costs, and speed decarbonization of the West. But others worry a failure in Oregon could hurt carbon trading's chances in other states.
에 의해 • 6월 6, 2019
Cars stuck in traffic in San Francisco, California
환경
Why California’s air board won’t ban gas-powered cars yet
Mary Nichols, the powerful head of the California Air Resources Board, didn’t even need to explicitly threaten a ban on gas-powered cars last week to get the attention of carmakers. The warning was only in her prepared statements for a workshop with the state Transportation Commission. But the remarks, obtained by Bloomberg, hit headlines and […]
에 의해 • 5월 24, 2019

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Rachel Becker - CalMatters
Rachel Becker is a journalist reporting on California’s complex water challenges and water policy issues for CalMatters.
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Rachel Becker is a journalist reporting on California’s complex water challenges and water policy issues for CalMatters. Rachel has a background in biology, with master's degrees in both immunology and science journalism. She previously reported on climate change and air pollution for CalMatters, and contributed to early coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well. Before joining CalMatters, Rachel was a staff reporter at The Verge, and her byline has also appeared in outlets including National Geographic News, Smithsonian, Slate, Nature and the YouTube series MinuteEarth.