| Post

Insurance companies abandoning California at a faster rate, as wildfires wreak havoc

by Dale Kasler, Sacramento Bee Highlights Deputy Insurance Commissioner Bryant Henley announced that insurance companies have dropped many Californians in the Sierra foothills after the 2017 and 2018 wildfire season resulted in losses of $25 billion for those companies 42,088 homeowners were sent non-renewal in the foothill counties in 2019 and had to purchase replacement … Read more

| Post

You can put a price tag on environmental and economic returns from protecting rangeland

by Karen Ross and Michael Delbar, Cal Matters Highlights New analysis from UC Berkeley found that 300,000 acres of protected rangeland can provide up to $1.4 billion a year in ecosystem benefits and that every dollar spent to protect working rangeland returned $3.43 on the investment in ecosystem benefits Managed grazing can help sequester carbon … Read more

| Post

Targeted ecosystem restoration can protect climate, biodiversity

by Bob Berwyn, Inside Climate News Highlights New research published in Nature shows that restoring wetlands, peatlands, and grasslands will help heal ecosystems and increase their ability to absorb greenhouse gases Protecting 30% of the priority areas identified in the study could save wildlife at the brink of extinction and would sequester about 465 billion … Read more

| Post

New climate warnings in old permafrost

Permafrost in Herschel Island by Boris Radosavljevic

by Bob Berwyn, Inside Climate News  Highlights A new study in Science Advances says that only a few degrees of warming is needed for large scale permafrost thawing, which would release methane and carbon dioxide that has been trapped in the frost  The permafrost regions of the arctic hold more carbon dioxide than the Earth’s … Read more

| Post

A new era of clean transportation requires new leadership

by Mary Creasman, CalMatters Highlights Transportation is responsible for about 40% of California’s emissions Assembly Transportation Committee Chair Jim Frazier has stalled various efforts for cleaner transportation in California Frazier pushed back against the Clean Cars Bill that would have transitioned cars to zero-emission by 2040 and worked against former Governor Jerry Brown’s goal of … Read more

| Post

Utilities commission must act to encourage clean energy microgrids

by P.J. Quesada, CalMatters Highlights Many Californians are experiencing the negative health effects associated with dirty energy pollution To combat this, the California Public Utilities Commission should advance a regulatory framework for more microgrids throughout the state, especially for essential businesses  California ok’d the use of diesel powered generators during power shutoffs that occur during … Read more

| Post

Rewild to mitigate the climate crisis, urge leading scientists

Wetlands

by Fiona Harvey, Grist Highlights According to a new study, restoration of Earth’s most degraded areas along with protections for areas still in good condition would help store an amount of carbon equivalent to half of all human-related greenhouse gas emissions since the industrial revolution Restoration and protection would prevent 70% of anticipated species extinctions … Read more

| Post

These 4 toss-up Senate races might determine the fate of the planet

by Shannon Osaka, Grist Highlights There are 35 Senate seats being voted on this November, with Maine, North Carolina, Iowa, and Montana being deciding factors on whether a new administration could pass effective climate legislation. Iowa – Joni Ernst (R) vs. Theresa Greenfield (D)  Joni Ernst previously received funding from Charles and the late David … Read more