Air Pollution

Gov. Gavin Newsom tours the North Complex Fire zone in Butte County on Friday, Sep 11, 2020, outside of Oroville. Newsom has declared a statewide emergency due to the widespread fires and extreme weather conditions, and secured a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration to bolster the state’s emergency response to the Northern California wildfires. Photo by Paul Kitagaki Jr., The Sacramento Bee

Environment

‘Debate is over,’ California’s governor says. ‘This is a climate damn emergency.’

As more than two dozen fires still rage, Newsom stands amid charred parkland, vowing to ratchet up the state’s ‘inadequate’ plan to cut carbon emissions.

By

Rachel Becker

• September 11, 2020

Residents and activists protest outside Sun Valley's LADWP plant . Photo by Andrés Rivera, Pacoima Beautiful

California Divide

Sun Valley Residents: ‘We want the methane leak to stop’

Maria Madrigal has lived in Sun Valley, in the San Fernando Valley, for the last 33 years. Recently she learned that the Department of Water and Power (LADWP) Valley Generating Station — adjacent to her neighborhood — has been emitting a methane leak for several months. That is a big concern for her because she […]

By

Jacqueline Garcia

• September 9, 2020

Oil Tanker at the Port of Long Beach. Image via iStock

Environment

Shape up or ship out: California requires ships, trucks to eliminate thousands of tons of pollution

Diesel trucks, oil tankers and other ships must comply with two new rules that are the state’s most ambitious strike against smog in a decade. The cost could reach nearly $7 billion.

By

Rachel Becker

• August 27, 2020

Bad air day along 99 south of Fresno, Thursday morning Dec. 28, 2017. Photo by John Walker, The Fresno Bee

Health

Trump’s smog decision fails to protect Californians from unhealthy air, experts say

Rejecting a tougher smog standard is not based on the latest science, California officials say.

By

Rachel Becker

• July 14, 2020

Gov. Gavin Newsom at the CalFire/Cameron Park Fire Station in Cameron Park on May 13, 2020. Photo by Rich Pedroncelli, AP Photo/Pool

WhatMatters

Newsom: Hospitalizations threaten reopening

Pointing to a sharp uptick in coronavirus-related hospitalizations and ICU admissions, Gov. Gavin Newsom implored Californians to wear face masks.

By

Emily Hoeven

• June 23, 2020

A man wearing a mask walks past a boarded up restaurant in the Mission neighborhood of San Francisco on April 7, 2020. California is entering the fourth week of sheltering in place to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

WhatMatters

Will today be CA’s peak?

California may be about to hit coronavirus peak. Are new masks coming from China safe? COVID-19 poses dire predicament for farms and farmworkers

By

Emily Hoeven

• April 13, 2020

General overall view of sparse traffic on the Interstate 710 freeway amid the global coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, Thursday, April 9, 2020, in Los Angeles. Photo by Kirby Lee via AP

Health

As Californians stay at home, air quality improves – for now.

The global coronavirus pandemic has inadvertently achieved what state officials have sought to do for decades: Californians have parked their cars. Freeways and highways are clear. And the constant burn of fossil fuels has been markedly diminished.

By

Julie Cart

• April 12, 2020

WhatMatters

California labels THC a risk for pregnant women, plus clean trucks and primary ballot selection

California warns of THC risks for babies. Proposed rule calls for zero-emission trucks. No-party preference voters must choose primary ballot.

By

Judy Lin

• December 12, 2019

Environment

California weighs controversial rule to tackle truck tailpipe pollution

California's clean air enforcers want major truck manufacturers to sell zero-emission vehicles in the state — but the agency's proposal faces criticism from environmentalists and truck makers alike.

By

Rachel Becker

• December 11, 2019

Environment

As California burns, scientists search the smoke for threats to firefighter health

“You get exposed to a lot of stuff over the years, and the body takes a beatdown."

By

Rachel Becker

• November 12, 2019