Environmental Justice

A weathered vintage-style sign reads “Welcome Salton Sea Beach” with a painted desert and ocean landscape. The sign features a red anchor-shaped arrow and a palm tree illustration. It stands along a quiet roadside with desert brush in the foreground and distant mountains and water in the background.

Commentary

California’s lithium future must include better recognition of overlooked Salton Sea communities

An effort to formally recognize the Salton Sea as an economic region was vetoed last year, but that has not stopped underinvested and underrepresented communities there from fighting for key infrastructure as lithium mining expands.

By Silvia Paz • April 14, 2025

An industrial facility with a metal-sided warehouse is shown, featuring large exhaust stacks supported by cables. Refrigerated truck trailers are parked near loading docks, while a yellow forklift sits nearby. In the foreground, black flatbed trailers are lined up. To the right, a tall, aging conveyor structure extends upward, supported by a network of metal beams and ladders. Power lines crisscross the sky, and palm trees are visible in the distance under a clear blue sky.

Environment

‘We should be in crisis mode’: Toxic fumigant could be seeping into these communities

Long Beach residents near companies that use methyl bromide are angry that air quality officials didn’t notify them for years and haven’t assessed their health risks. Now officials say more facilities are operating in San Pedro and Compton.

By

Alejandra Reyes-Velarde

• March 21, 2025

An aerial view of a yellow construction truck as it drives through piles of trash on a plot of dirt in a landfill.

Politics

A burning California landfill has made neighbors miserable for 3 years. Can lawmakers help?

A smoldering reaction under the Chiquita Canyon Landfill in Southern California has made its neighbors' lives miserable for almost three years. A bill that seeks to compensate them faces uncertainty amid state budget challenges and bigger LA County wildfires.

By

Ryan Sabalow

• March 14, 2025

An aerial view of a neighborhood showing the the debris and remaining structures of houses that burned during a wildfire.

Commentary

Oil and gas companies should be held financially responsible for California climate disasters

Fossil fuel companies got California into this crisis, and now it's time lawmakers hold them accountable by passing crucial legislation this year.

By Nico Gardner • February 24, 2025

Two people hug a burned-down structure behind a fence while other people walk around in the destroyed neighborhood. Smoke lingers in the background, and green and palm trees remain in the haze.

Commentary

California faces its biggest call to action yet as climate-powered disasters worsen

After 2025 began with the deadly Los Angeles fires and a new presidential administration hostile to many environmental policies, this is California’s big call to act on climate.

By Mary Creasman and Mike Young • February 5, 2025

The panel of the California Air Resources Board meeting on "Advanced Clean Cars II" proposal at the agency's headquarters in Sacramento on Aug. 25, 2022. Photo by Rahul Lal, CalMatters

Commentary

California air board member: Why I can’t back the proposed fuel standard changes

Proposed amendments to the Low Carbon Fuel Standard program fall short of the goals of transparency, equity and responsible policymaking, says a member of the California Air Resources Board.

By Dean Florez • November 7, 2024

Two people are walk off pushing a cart with three crates of bottled water stacked on top of each other, as more crates are seen in the foreground of the frame.

Commentary

Climate costs will only go up if California fails to act. Voters should back a $10 billion bond

In November, California voters will decide whether the state should authorize a $10 billion bond to help shield against worsening climate change. As roughly 1 million Californians live without clean water, a Salinas resident says Proposition 4 will bring relief to long-overlooked communities.

By Horacio Amezquita • September 10, 2024

Commentary

California’s multibillion-dollar bet on hydrogen energy comes with major downsides

The billions of dollars being spent on hydrogen technologies in California must be used in a way that reduces emissions and doesn't harm vulnerable communities. Unfortunately, that's not happening.

By Ben Jealous • August 2, 2024

Dust particles fill the air with low sunlight filling the sky. A desert landscape with mountains in the background.

Environment

Danger in the dust: Coachella Valley residents struggle to breathe

A hazardous haze, made up of small, inhalable particles, casts a pall over the desert. This year has been severe, triggering asthma attacks — so what is being done to clean it up?

By

Alejandra Reyes-Velarde

• August 1, 2024

The Salton Sea at Bombay Beach on Feb. 4, 2023. Photo by Ariana Drehsler for CalMatters

Commentary

How California can rewrite the extraction business model and boost Salton Sea communities

The Salton Sea region has long been a vital part of California's farm industry. In the coming years, it will also be critical for the state's water supply and global lithium production. A proposed climate bond offers key investments to solidify that future.

By Silvia Paz • June 12, 2024