Climate Change

Monterey and Santa Cruz counties are at the center of a power struggle with the state over a key part of the clean energy transition—battery storage.

A regional housing summit in Salinas envisions how the city can build new affordable housing quickly. Plus, the City of Santa Cruz seeks public input on neighborhood-scale coastal resiliency plans.

Local food pantries say they're seeing more people in food lines as CalFresh benefits are on hold. And, a UC Davis study found over 80% of elementary schools in California experienced some loss of trees between 2018 and 2022.

The first report breaking down the value and vulnerability of surf breaks in Santa Cruz is out. And an indigenous Samoan chief who lives in Santa Cruz attends the inaugural Communicating Climate Solutions Symposium organized by the UC Santa Cruz Science Communication Program.

Congressional legislation introduced this week aims to provide relief to people with federally backed housing loans following climate disaster. And state legislation banning the sale of new Glock handguns could reach Gov. Newsom's desk by late August.

Federal dollars that help small growers experiment with climate-smart agricultural practices are drying up. One Aromas farmer has seen the benefits and wants to find ways to keep her land nourished despite precarious funding.

In today's newscast, the Santa Cruz Civil Grand Jury has released its report on the county’s climate adaptation and mitigation progress. And, nine forest resilience projects will soon get underway in Santa Cruz County. The Resource Conservation District has received a $7 million grant from Cal Fire to better prepare the region's forests for a changing fire landscape.

UC Santa Cruz Institute of the Arts and Sciences opens its "Weather and the Whale" exhibit. And, after noticing fewer Canadians coming to town, See Monterey seeks visitors from Asia, the United Kingdom and other parts of the world.

The decision to take down a climate security website at NPS signals faculty’s broader self-censorship of climate research and scholarship.

In today's newscast, a new state website called SprayDays lets people see when and where farmers plan to apply pesticides. And Governor Gavin Newsom has announced a new satellite program to monitor and reduce dangerous methane leaks.