Environment

About

From water shortages to climate change to wildfires, we cover everything you need to know about environmental issues that confront California.

Meet the Team
Avatar photo
Molly Peterson
Environment and Health Editor
Rachel Becker
Water Reporter
Avatar photo
Alejandro Lazo
Climate Reporter
Avatar photo
Alejandra Reyes-Velarde
California Divide / Environmental Justice Reporter
Tesla workers examine a Tesla workers examine a Model S used for training and tool calibration at the company's factory in Fremont on June 22, 2012. Photo by Noah Berger, REUTERSModel S used for training and tool calibration at the company's factory in Fremont on June 22, 2012. REUTERS/Noah Berger
Environment
California blew a hole in environmental planning law. Now, lawmakers are trying to fix it
Just south of downtown Los Angeles, the Exide battery recycling facility ​​spent decades leaking lead and arsenic into the soil — sickening children, causing cancer, and creating a nearly billion-dollar liability for the state of California.  A flurry of last-minute reforms to the California Environmental Quality Act at the end of last year’s legislative session […]
By • March 27, 2026
An aerial view of a large dam spanning a deep blue reservoir, surrounded by rolling green hills covered in trees and shrubs. The water extends into multiple inlets and peninsulas, creating an intricate shoreline. In the background, snow-capped mountains rise above the horizon under a clear blue sky. A hydroelectric facility and other infrastructure are visible near the base of the dam, along with winding roads leading through the landscape.
Water
Record heat, melting snow: What does it mean for California’s reservoirs?
A record-baking heat wave is scalding California, with major consequences for the state’s most important reservoir: its snowpack.  Providing about a third of the state’s water supply, the Sierra Nevada snowpack is a vital source of spring and summer runoff that refills reservoirs when the state needs the water most.  But a warm wet storm […]
By • March 20, 2026

Gift this article

Environment - CalMatters
News and analysis on environment, climate change, wildfires and water issues in California.
CalMatters
California, explained