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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
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Molly Peterson
Environment and Health Editor
Rachel Becker
Water Reporter
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Alejandro Lazo
Climate Reporter
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Alejandra Reyes-Velarde
California Divide / Environmental Justice Reporter
A juvenile salmon is laid onto a white ruler to measure while inside a small net in a bucket of water.
Water
Endangered salmon returned to California’s far north — then the money dried up
Two years ago, Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled a strategy to save declining salmon — spotlighting a historic partnership with the Winnemem Wintu Tribe to reintroduce endangered winter-run Chinook to the vital, cold waters upstream of Lake Shasta in far northern California.  Now, tribe officials say the state is ending its support, potentially causing salmon restoration […]
By • April 4, 2026
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

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