Environment

The air board’s lack of accounting threatens to derail the state’s climate change goals, the audit says. “California is in need of more reliable tools,” state auditor Elaine Howle wrote.

California’s air board will vote this week on stopping burns that spew plumes of smoke that can trigger asthma attacks. The move is long in coming — it was supposed to end a decade ago under state law.

Experts say the state’s cap and trade program may be insufficient in meeting ambitious climate goals. And environmentalists have called the program unfair to polluted communities.

Erasing dozens of Trump’s climate rollbacks is Biden’s priority, and he issued directives on his first day in office. California’s air quality, wildlife, water, forests, farms — and even its light bulbs and washing machines — could be affected by new executive orders, policies and rules. But how likely are they, and when?

Download and read this 53-page overview of all the major issues facing California policymakers.

1. California widens mental health conditions insurers must cover In the past, state law only required treatment for nine serious mental illnesses. Even before the pandemic, more than half of Californians said most people with mental health conditions couldn’t get the help they needed. Some families even dropped private insurance to qualify for treatment in […]

Mary Nichols has been pivotal in California’s war on smog. But as her tenure ends next week, activists say she didn’t do enough to protect low-income communities and they scuttled her candidacy for Biden’s top environmental post. Wounded but tenacious, she’s contemplating her next battles.

In an attempt to prevent wildfires, the utility is removing vegetation from around power lines. But it’s leaving downed trees on people’s property that are “little fire bombs waiting to ignite,” one expert says.

A program that incentivizes homeowners to mitigate wildfire risk through insurance discounts would be a win-win for insurers and consumers. Creating one is the hard part.

For low-income Americans, the number of homes at risk of flooding could triple by 2050, researchers say. Three Bay Area cities are among the top at-risk communities.