Environment

Updated May 30, 2019 Welcome to death watch. The legislative kind. We’ve tracked which bills California lawmakers have rejected as the Legislature hit the half-way point for making new laws for this year.  May 31 is the deadline for bills to pass the house in which they were introduced, a critical hurdle in the legislative […]

Unless the emissions trend is reversed, the state could stall on its route to clean air.

Unless the emissions trend is reversed, the state could stall on its route to clean air.

Inside the Capitol’s corridors and pro-development quarters around the state, the California Environmental Quality Act is increasingly disparaged as a villain in the state’s housing crisis. But the act’s environmentalist defenders are pushing back, saying many projects slip too easily through—leading to overdrawn groundwater tables and disappearing forests. And whatever the urgency to build more housing, environmentalists say there’s nothing to preempt a rigorous review of commercial proposals—even ones as visually appealing as vineyards in the Napa Valley.

An advancing bill in California would legalize the "salvaging" of roadkill. Proponents promise safer roads, protected animals and less food waste. But will Californians stomach it?

A California bill would force hotels to rid rooms of single-use, sample-sized plastic bottles of free shampoo, conditioner, lotion and other toiletries.

Gov. Gavin Newsom's strike team offered a provocative–and politically challenging–idea for easing utility wildfire liability that has already prompted PG&E to file for bankruptcy.

Dozens of California counties and cities ban fracking, even where there is no oil drilling. About 20% of California oil comes from fracked wells.

After years of catastrophic wildfires, California lawmakers and taxpayers are eager to protect the state—but it won't be easy. It's expensive. It will take time. And Californians will have to think of fire not just as a destroyer, but also as a tool.

Malibu's sprouting hills show how fresh growth can renew wildfire danger.