I write Climate-Colored Goggles, a newsletter about climate & culture. Former L.A. Times climate columnist. Find me at Disneyland, or hiking in the mountains.
Los Angeles, CA
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OK, here we go...
I'm excited to launch Climate-Colored Goggles, a newsletter about climate & culture. I'll be writing about climate solutions in pop culture, media & sports. America's most influential storytellers need to get in the game.
Sign up here: climatecoloredgoggles.com/
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I'm trying to imagine a universe where a Democratic president said, "I'm shutting down the government until I get a 100% clean energy bill on my desk."
For one thing, there would be no "takes two sides to tango" narrative.
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"No crop is more wasteful or more useless than turf that’s never harvested and never feeds, clothes or fuels anyone or anything, while producing no revenue." @latimes editorial board calls for California to ban nonfunctional grass lawns: latimes.com/opinion/story/20…
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My story in today’s @latimes: How Europe and the U.S. could curb Russian influence by shifting away from fossil fuels: latimes.com/business/story/2…
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Hawaii shut down its last coal plant today: latimes.com/world-nation/sto…
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A major gas plant in a Latino, low-income neighborhood had been leaking methane for at least 3 years. Los Angeles officials learned about it a year ago.
But they didn't tell anyone until independent scientists found the leak and planned to publicize it: latimes.com/environment/stor…
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BREAKING: Gov. Gavin Newsom proposes keeping the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant open through 2035, and loaning PG&E $1.4 billion to help make it happen.
Legislature would need to approve in the next three weeks. I've got the details for @latimes: latimes.com/business/story/2…
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Jeez, this is bad. New study finds that bottled water contains a lot more plastic particles than previously thought -- and most of them are "nanoplastics" so small they can cross the blood-brain barrier: latimes.com/environment/stor… via @corinnepurtill @susrust
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Vin Scully's call is so, so good. "What a marvelous moment for baseball. What a marvelous moment for Atlanta and the state of Georgia. What a marvelous moment for the country and the world. A Black man is getting a standing ovation in the Deep South.”
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Folks, big @latimes news: Today we're launching Climate California, a new section focused on climate change, the natural world, health and science.
As part of this, I'm becoming The Times' first-ever climate columnist. More details here: latimes.com/environment/stor…
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I've been reporting on renewable energy for a decade. And no matter how much I write, there’s a question I get asked again & again:
Why do we need big solar & wind farms when we can put solar on rooftops & parking lots instead?
It's a great question. Let's do a thread... 🧵1/n
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BREAKING: Gov. Gavin Newsom tells @latimes he’s reconsidering the 2025 shutdown of Diablo Canyon, the state’s last nuclear power plant. He’s worried California will have trouble keeping the lights on without it. My story: latimes.com/environment/stor…
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My latest for @latimes is a clarion call for journalists everywhere: Stop worrying about bad-faith critics and start demanding solutions to the climate crisis.
None of us is going to look back in 20 years & wonder if our stories were a little too radical. latimes.com/environment/news…
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"Not a day goes by where someone either personally or on social media doesn't comment or say — I mean I could say happy anniversary to my lovely wife of 13 years and I'll get six, 'Nobody cares, Seans.' And it makes me equally happy & fucking irate." — @scottkfoley
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Holy crap, this chart showing how much acreage has already burned in California this year compared to the last five years — which includes the biggest fire years on record, 2020 and 2021 — is truly terrifying: latimes.com/environment/stor… via @grace_2e
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Fascinating story @byandreachang offering an inside look at @patagonia's activism strategy, including why it seems to help business more than hurt and lessons for companies that might be afraid to get too political: latimes.com/business/story/2…
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Like many of you, I've been watching society's urgent response to COVID-19 and wondering how we might learn to take climate change this seriously.
So I called eight thoughtful people and asked them what that would look like. Here's what they told me: latimes.com/environment/stor…
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Reminder that there's still beauty in the world. latimes.com/california/story…
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Hundreds of lightning strikes in the Bay Area, mugginess that is making L.A. feel like Houston, 130-degree heat in Death Valley, fires and a fire tornado, the worst SoCal smog in over a decade — oh, and the power went out, too.
Welcome to climate change: latimes.com/california/story…
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Big news in the climate/energy world: San Francisco has banned gas hookups in nearly all new buildings: sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti…
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BREAKING: Mayor Eric Garcetti says Los Angeles won't go through with a plan to invest billions of dollars in gas-fired power plants, which contribute to climate change and local air pollution.
“This is the Green New Deal," Garcetti told me this afternoon. latimes.com/business/la-fi-g…
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BREAKING: Los Angeles is the latest city to ban fossil gas in new homes to fight climate change. With today's unanimous City Council vote, most new buildings will likely come equipped with electric heating and stoves in the next few years: latimes.com/business/story/2…
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OK, so since this morning it's been reported that the Washington Post is ousting its senior politics editor, the Wall Street Journal has laid off its politics editor and the New York Times' Washington bureau chief is stepping down. None of this feels good.
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Zero-emission lawnmowers, leaf blowers and portable generators is now the law of the land in California: latimes.com/california/story… via @philwillon
Community note
The earliest this law can apply is 2024. There are no immediate changes.
latimes.com/california/sto
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The 200-foot-long, 165-foot-wide bridge over the 101 freeway — designed to create a safe crossing for cougars and other wildlife — will be the largest of its kind in the world, @LouisSahagun reports: latimes.com/environment/stor…
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I’ve been a climate journalist for 10 years. I’ve been a Disneyland fan my whole life.
Excited to break the news that Autopia is finally ditching gas cars and going electric.
Now Disney should make Tomorrowland all about clean energy. My @latimes column: latimes.com/environment/news…
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So here’s a wild story for you: The head of a pro-gas advocacy group backed by SoCalGas derailed a local climate vote by threatening to bus in hundreds of protesters “potentially adding to this pandemic.”
“There will be no social distancing,” he warned: latimes.com/environment/stor…
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Remember Kylie Jenner’s infamous 17-minute flight? She’d need to repeat it nearly 9,000 times to match the yearly climate pollution of Los Angeles police helicopters, new data shows: heated.world/p/the-climate-c…
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First Dodgers game for my 98-year-old grandfather since before the pandemic. He’s wearing his Brooklyn Dodgers jacket — grew up going to games at Ebbets Field. He’s happy to be back at Dodger Stadium!
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Folks, some personal news: I've accepted a job at the Los Angeles Times. I'll continue to cover energy, starting in December.
I feel so lucky to be able to return to LA and work with the amazing journalists at the Times. Also thrilled to join @latguild! 🦅
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More than 100 layoffs hitting @latimes this morning. Absolutely heartbreaking. Losing treasured colleagues who work hard to keep people informed and keep The Times afloat financially. This is bad for everyone.
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Add this to the "yikes" department: Increasingly extreme temperatures are making it harder for helicopters to rescue people on scorching days in national parks, because the air is too thin for the copters to take off: theatlantic.com/health/archi… via @thatsMohrlikeit
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I had no idea that Baja California was the first "California." Great story about history's lessons and modern myth-making from @katelinthicum: latimes.com/world-nation/sto…
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"The fears highlight a gap in the Trump administration’s market-centered approach to keeping vital industries running... There has been little done to address the labor-intensive fresh food crops that form the backbone of CA agriculture." latimes.com/business/story/2… @LATgeoffmohan
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This was reassuring for me to report: The utility industry seems better prepared for a pandemic than just about anyone, and they're confident they can keep the lights on even with major disruptions to their workforce: latimes.com/environment/stor…
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As if a drone crash-landing in an ecological reserve over which it was flying illegally and scaring off thousands of seabirds who then abandoned their eggs wasn't bad enough, the birds are "elegant terns." Which is a gorgeous name. latimes.com/california/story… via @phila_lex
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Super interesting new poll from @washingtonpost finds that 75% of Americans would be comfortable living near a solar farm, and 68% near wind turbines -- a sign that the vocal opponents of those facilities in their communities are a minority: washingtonpost.com/climate-s…
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"A lot of people want to think that the problems with DDT have gone away, because Congress banned it in 1972. Well, they haven’t." Alarming research finds that *granddaughters* of women exposed to DDT can suffer serious health consequences: latimes.com/environment/stor… via @RosannaXia
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Incredible data analysis by @MyDesert & @propublica finds 20 farming families in CA's Imperial Valley use 1.2 million acre-feet of Colorado River water — 1/7th of the entire Lower Basin flow. A single family uses more than the entire city of Las Vegas. desertsun.com/story/news/env…
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Memo to journalists: There's a high likelihood the thing you are writing about does not "raise concerns" about something bad happening -- it is in fact the bad thing happening. Reevaluate your language and maybe your whole approach to the story. Tell the whole truth.
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NEW from me: @REI says climate change is an existential threat. But it spent Earth Month helping Ford market a gas-guzzling SUV. latimes.com/business/story/2… #EarthDay2021
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Such an honor…thank you @SacPressClub!!
Congrats to @Sammy_Roth who was named California Journalist of the Year by the Sacramento Press Club.
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Deep in the Nevada desert, a huge lithium mine could fuel electric cars and help slow global warming. But conservationists say it would drive an endangered wildflower to extinction.
I visited Rhyolite Ridge and wrestled with a high-stakes climate dilemma: latimes.com/environment/news…
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No matter what energy topic I write about, I can almost guarantee I'll get at least one email telling me climate change is overblown, one email telling me a carbon tax would solve everything, and one email calling me an idiot for not making the story about nuclear power instead.
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“The new rule will remove federal protections from more than half the nation’s wetlands... That would for the first time in decades allow landowners & developers to dump pollutants such as pesticides and fertilizers directly into many of those waterways.” nytimes.com/2020/01/22/clima…
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Folks, today’s @latimes features a six-page special section with Part 1 of Repowering the West, my new series on the landscapes and rural economies being reshaped by wind & solar power. Get the paper and read the story: latimes.com/environment/stor…
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Endangered California condors have been spotted in Sequoia National Park for the first time in nearly 50 years as the giant birds reclaim historic habitat lost when the species teetered on the brink of extinction: desertsun.com/story/news/202…
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One of the coolest things about being a journalist is how many people are willing to spend hours and hours on the phone with you explaining complicated stuff and answering absurdly detailed questions. Grateful to my sources.
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Tesla installed a battery Megapack at Supercharger station in Baker, CA, to help meet EV charging demand for travel over New Year's. The Megapack caught fire and burned up: electrek.co/2023/01/04/tesla…
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The less you drive in Los Angeles, the more air pollution you breathe.
It’s a function of the racism that shaped this city — and a stark reminder of the need for climate solutions that benefit everyone.
My latest for @latimes: latimes.com/environment/news…
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Yes, wind turbines kill birds.
But fracking is a lot worse for birds. Even before the climate change part.
I looked at a new study comparing avian harm from building wind farms to drilling oil & gas wells. The difference is stark. My @latimes column: latimes.com/environment/news…
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The nonprofit behind the Burning Man -- which builds a temporary city of 80,000 people in the Nevada desert every year -- is suing the federal government over its approval of a geothermal energy project, citing the potential environmental harm: nevadacurrent.com/2023/01/10…
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In today’s @latimes: My story on Los Angeles banning most gas stoves and furnaces in new homes. It’s the city’s latest move to fight the climate crisis: latimes.com/business/story/2…
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Super helpful explainer from @russ1mitchell. "No one can say what the world will look like in 2035, but it’s a safe bet that EVs will be cheaper than gasoline cars." latimes.com/business/story/2…
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In today’s @latimes: My story on fossil fuel companies trying to cast themselves as allies of people of color, and why environmental justice activists say not to believe them: latimes.com/business/story/2…
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Yosemite has been returned "either to a previous era, before millions of people started motoring into the valley every year, or to a possible future one, where the artifacts of civilization remain, with fewer humans in the mix," @susrust writes: latimes.com/california/story…
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The easy answer: There aren't enough rooftops to power the United States with solar. Even if you add in parking lot canopies, and offer to generous financial incentives, we're not going to come close.
I run the numbers in my latest piece for @latimes: latimes.com/environment/news…
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Sometimes, the sun and wind disappear for days at a time. The Germans call it “dunkelflaute” — “dark doldrums.”
For Los Angeles, a giant mound of salt buried in rural Utah could be a solution. My latest: latimes.com/business/la-fi-r…
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Well then: Of the 400,000+ acres burned in the Park fire, "about 43,000 of those acres are forests that were supposed to stay intact for at least 100 years under California’s carbon offset program," per @carbonplanorg analysis. politico.com/newsletters/cal…
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Mind-blowing new research from @NaomiOreskes shows definitively that climate change was on the minds of members of Congress as they drafted the Clean Air Act -- and that even schoolchildren were being alerted to the risks, way back in 1958: grist.org/science/lost-histo…
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Battery storage on the U.S. electric grid is projected to grow by another 80% this year, after doubling the last two years and tripling the year before that. Crazy. canarymedia.com/articles/ene…
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Just got this photo from a friend in San Diego...some kid actually dressed up as a PG&E power line causing a fire.
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Looks like wind turbines and solar panels may generate more electricity than coal plants in the U.S. for the first time this year. Details from @bstorrow: eenews.net/articles/us-wind-…
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JUST POSTED: California finally reached 1 million solar roofs. @Schwarzenegger and @JerryBrownGov got together at a high school near Fresno today to celebrate.
Up next: 1 million batteries? latimes.com/environment/stor…
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Bottom of the 9th, #Dodgers down 4-3, nobody on base, 2 outs, 0-2 count to Chris Taylor.
Taylor works a walk. Four walks later, it’s a walk-off 5-4 victory. Never seen anything like it.
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Seems Laura Ingraham wasn’t a fan of my latest @latimes piece either. Dedicated a whole segment to it and called me out by name several times. Apparently I represent everything wrong with America!
Read my story and decide for yourself: latimes.com/environment/news…
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Unilaterally restoring Bears Ears National Monument to its former size, Mitt Romney says, "will only deepen divisions in this country." apnews.com/article/joe-biden…
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Turns out viewing climate change through the lens of American politics instead the lens of dramatic changes to Earth's life support systems is a terrible idea.
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More than 700 miles from Southern California, a conservative billionaire is building a stupendously large wind farm that could save the Golden State.
My latest for @latimes is a clean energy road trip across a changing American West. Check it out: latimes.com/environment/stor…
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Everything you need to know about California's new law requiring everyone to compost their food waste, which takes effect January 1 but will be phased in over the next few years: latimes.com/california/story… via @RaineyTime
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NEW: Southern California Gas has been using ratepayer money to fund pro-natural gas advocacy groups, according to documents shared with me by the Public Utilities Commission's independent consumer watchdog.
Why does this matter? A quick thread... latimes.com/environment/stor… (1/n)
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Today I'm walking off the job with my @latguild colleagues to protest plans for devastating layoffs.
Our owner says he's committed to great journalism and finding a path toward long-term financial sustainability. I am too. These cuts would make getting there so much harder.
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For years, people have talked about extracting lithium at the Salton Sea. Now it's finally happening, along with the first new geothermal energy drilling in a decade.
I went to the site and took a look. My latest for @latimes: latimes.com/business/story/2…
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Not enough for Atlanta to glory in the racist tomahawk chop — tonight's National Anthem singer is a vocal anti-vaxxer who's been appearing on Tucker Carlson and canceling shows in venues that require vaccination. What a garbage franchise. usatoday.com/story/sports/co…
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Disappointing ending to a crazy Dodgers/Cubs game, but mostly I wish I could call my grandfather — my Saba — to commiserate.
Sadly, he passed away last week at age 100.
We shared a deep bond, and a lifelong love of the Dodgers. Here we are at Game 4 of the 2018 World Series.
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This one has been building in me for a long time.
It’s hard to grapple with the enormity of the climate crisis. It’s easier to get worked up about problems caused by renewable energy.
We need to stop seeing the world so narrowly.
My @latimes column: latimes.com/environment/news…
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Shoutout to @jaketapper and @CBSEveningNews for being the only folks to do real news coverage of the most important story in the world this week.
ABC, NBC, and MSNBC did not air a single prime-time mention of the major new U.N. biodiversity report warning of ecosystem collapse. The new royal baby got airtime, though. By @theodorejay. mm4a.org/4RF #CoverClimate #CoveringClimate #ClimateCoverage #EndClimateSilence
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My column today is basically a plea for people who care about climate to stop yelling at each other about which solutions are “better” or “cheaper” and start coming to grips with the reality that it’s 2024 and we don’t have time for that shit anymore. latimes.com/environment/news…
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The more rooftop solar, the better.
But reporting on energy for a decade, I've learned this: Slamming the brakes on big solar & wind projects, in hopes of solving the climate crisis without them, would be a wildly risky strategy.
Again, more here: latimes.com/environment/stor…
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LATE NIGHT NEWS: A dozen energy companies and environmental groups have reached a breakthrough deal to work together on building more solar farms, faster, while protecting wildlife habitat and making sure nearby communities benefit. My story for @latimes: latimes.com/environment/news…
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In today’s @latimes: My story on new research finding California’s hottest, driest days are getting drier, worsening fire risk.
We’re going to need to stop putting carbon in the atmosphere, full stop. latimes.com/environment/news…
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Amazing story by @ScienceJulia: California commissioned its first climate change report 30 years ago. Everything predicted came to pass — and if anything it’s worse than predicted. latimes.com/science/la-sci-c…
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Big climate news out of L.A.: The city says it can achieve 98% clean energy within the next decade and 100% by 2035, all while keeping the lights on.
“The top scientists in the world have taken this from dreamland to reality,” Mayor Eric Garcetti told me: latimes.com/business/story/2…
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Southern California Edison just announced a batch of energy storage contracts *bigger than the entire 2019 U.S. energy storage market*: greentechmedia.com/articles/… via @jeffsaintjohn
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BREAKING: California extends the life of 3 coastal gas plants through 2026. They were supposed to shut down this year.
The 5-0 vote is a reminder of how hard it will be — and how necessary it still is — to stop burning fossil fuels.
My @latimes story: latimes.com/environment/news…
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NEWS: CBS News gutted its climate team as part of the big Paramount layoffs this week. These journalists had been doing incredible reporting on extreme heat, flooding, clean energy investments and more.
I've got details for Climate-Colored Goggles: climatecoloredgoggles.com/p/…
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I talked to electric and gas utilities, power plant managers and power grid operators to learn how they're keeping the lights on during the coronavirus pandemic, and what they'll do if a lot of their workforce gets sick: latimes.com/environment/stor…
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In today’s @latimes: My column calling on Gov. Gavin Newsom to stop standing by while his appointees crash the rooftop solar market and start going to bat for a crucial clean energy solution: latimes.com/environment/news…
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In today’s @latimes: My column calling out ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods for claiming we need “more math” to solve climate change, when the real problem is that his company continues to fight viable clean energy solutions: latimes.com/environment/news…
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Hopeful Earth Day story about how wildlife advocates raised $77 million to build a first-of-its-kind crossing over the 101 freeway, to help protect at-risk mountain lions by giving them more room to roam: latimes.com/california/story…
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Nitrogen dioxide pollution in the Los Angeles area in March 2019, versus now. latimes.com/projects/los-ang…
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For America's largest gas utility, climate action poses an existential threat. Now the company is suing California, arguing state officials have failed to promote natural gas as required by state law.
My latest on Southern California Gas: latimes.com/environment/stor…
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“In the Coachella Valley, there’s at least 124 golf courses that I can account for, countless water parks and then there’s the Disney operations there that have their own lagoons and lakes… This is the desert. It’s time to grow up.” latimes.com/environment/stor…
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One of Dianne Feinstein’s most significant feats was protecting millions of acres in the California desert — including the creation of Joshua Tree and Death Valley national parks, and Mojave National Preserve: latimes.com/environment/stor…
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Rick Caruso, Elon Musk and other folks with loud microphones say better brush clearance could have prevented or slowed the fires. But actual experts say the landscape was so dry and the winds were so bad that it probably wouldn't have made much difference: latimes.com/environment/stor…
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I’m finally convinced: The lithium revolution has arrived at California's Salton Sea.
After a dozen years of engineering, permitting and financing, construction begins tomorrow on a major lithium extraction and geothermal power plant. My @latimes story: latimes.com/environment/news…
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