Environment

The Trump administration may look to reverse the monument designation for the Chuckwalla Monument after the Department of Justice cleared the way changes to 625,000 acres in Riverside County.

With 7 of its most ambitious rules for cars, trucks and trains repealed, California officials now must find new ways to clean up the nation’s worst air pollution. But officials face growing pushback about affordability and costs.

Major changes to the California Environmental Quality Act include an exemption for high-tech industrial plants and other projects. The move, fast-tracked under pressure from Gov. Gavin Newsom, sparked fierce pushback from environmental, community and labor groups.

No immediate hike in California gas prices will occur but Democrats and Republicans in the Legislature fear the effects of the clean-fuel program.

The land at stake ranges from dense, remote coastal forests in the far north, to alpine conifer forests in the Sierra Nevada, to Southern California’s great expanses of brush. Experts dispute whether revoking the two-decade-old rule would help prevent wildfires.

Honey bees, a critical component of California’s agriculture, face several challenges to survival. Will the Legislature spend more money in a deficit year to try and address the problems facing the bees?

Scientists and officials say they need to figure out why the famed alpine lake isn't improving despite decades and billions of dollars in efforts. Clarity last year was about 40 feet worse than in the late 1960s. Runoff from roads and air pollution are leading causes.

Trump signed measures today revoking waivers for the state's mandates that clean up car and truck exhaust and ramp up sales of electric vehicles. California and 10 other states immediately sued and the governor ordered the air board to craft a new mandate.

The new rules would have set increasing targets for sales of zero-emission products in the 4-county L.A. region over the next decade. Opponents say they would have limited consumers’ choices and driven up costs, while supporters say they are critical for healthy air.

Proposed legislation hasn't moved out of the state Assembly or Senate, raising questions about how far California will go in its efforts to make oil and gas companies pay for climate damage.