New Lake Tahoe plan to allow higher density development

Lake Tahoe towns will grow taller and denser under a new regional plan that supporters hope will quell a rebellion by Nevada against land use regulations that have restricted development in the basin.

The new plan is intended to rid the area of some of its midcentury strip development and turn town centers into more inviting, greener destinations that will revive the area's ailing economy. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lake-tahoe-20121225,0,1292195.story

Article courtesy of The Los Angeles Times by Bettina Boxall

 

 

 

 

GM salmon: FDA's assessment of environmental risks

Genetically modified salmon moved closer to the market last week with release of draft documents from the Food and Drug Administration that assessed the environmental risks posed by AquAdvantage salmon, which grow faster than regular Atlantic salmon. http://www.latimes.com/health/boostershots/la-heb-aquabounty-salmon-fda-assesses-risks-20121224,0,2554480.story

Article courtesy of The Los Angeles Times-Booster Shots by Rosie Mestel

 

 

 

Your Water Footprint is Much Bigger than You Might Think

The average Californian uses a lot more water than just what comes from the tap. 

 

A new study measuring California's water footprint finds that an eight-ounce cup of coffee, for example, uses 35 gallons of water, counting what it takes to grow the beans and transport the coffee.

The study is from the Pacific Institute in Oakland. President Peter Gleick says it shows most of our water footprint comes from food.

 

"We may choose, for example, to buy and eat less meat. Meat turns out to be a very water-intensive product to make."

 

Gleick says he hopes the study is the first step toward helping consumers make more sustainable choices. The water footprint for the average Californian is 15-hundred gallons a day… more than 10 times what we consume directly.

 

Article courtesy of KQED Public Media For Northern California by  Caitlin Esch

 

 

 

Arctic breaks records for loss of snow and ice

A fast-changing Arctic broke records for loss of sea ice and spring snow cover this year, as well as summertime melt of the Greenland ice sheet, federal scientists reported Wednesday.

“The Arctic is an extremely sensitive part of the world,” said Jane Lubchenco, administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. As it warms, she said, “we see the results with less snow and sea ice, greater ice sheet melt and changing vegetation.”  http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-arctic-getting-warmer-and-greener-20121205,0,253551.story?track=rss

Article courtesy of The Los Angeles Times-Science Now by Kenneth R. Weiss

 

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Energy development on public lands and waters pumped more than $12 billion into federal coffers in 2012, $1 billion more than the previous year, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior.  http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-20121206-energy-income,0,4832619.story?track=rss

Article courtesy of The Los Angeles Times by Julie Cart

 

 

California air board says DWP must control dry lake bed's dust

The California Air Resources Board has ruled that the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is solely responsible for controlling the choking dust storms that arise from the dry Owens Lake bed.

The board said the DWP must take additional air pollution control measures on 2.9 square miles of the dry lake, which was drained to provide water to Los Angeles. The powder-fine dust arising from the bed often exceeds federal health standards  http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-1121-owens-20121121-001,0,1992213.photo

 

 

 

Climate change may explain Maya rise and fall, study says

Argument has raged for decades over what doomed the ancient Maya civilization and spurred its people to abandon their awe-inspiring temples and pyramids in the rain forests of Mexico and Central America. Warfare, disease, social unrest and over-farming have all been cited as potential factors in the decline of a culture that was scientifically and culturally advanced for 750 years.

A new study bolsters the theory that large-scale climate change was responsible for the society's demise — and argues that changes in global weather patterns were also responsible for its rapid rise. http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-maya-climate-change-20121117,0,3474592.story

Article courtesy of The Los Angeles Times by Monte Morin

 

 

Bullet-train planners face huge engineering challenge

Civil War veteran William Hood arrived at the mosquito-infested swamps near Bakersfield in 1874 to build a rail line that would soar through the Tehachapi Mountains, linking the Bay Area and Southern California for the first time.

It's a feat no one has attempted to duplicate. Until now.

A plan as audacious in the 21st century as Hood's was in the 19th century is taking shape on the drawing boards of California's bullet train planners. The crossing of not only the Tehachapi Mountains but the San Gabriel Mountains is seizing the imagination of engineers who see it as the greatest design challenge of the $68-billion project.  http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-bullet-mountains-20121113,0,4082877.story

Article courtesy of The Los Angeles Times by Ralph Vartabedian

 

 

 

Satellites and space debris disrupted by climate change

In that region, more than 50 miles above Earth's surface, carbon emissions cause cooling rather than warming because carbon dioxide molecules collide with oxygen atoms and release heat into space. Because such cooling makes the planet's atmosphere contract, it can reduce drag on satellites and debris that orbit the earth, possibly having "adverse consequences for the orbital debris environment that is already unstable," the researchers wrote.  http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-climate-change-satellites-debris-20121112,0,3501663.story?track=rss

Article courtesy of The Los Angeles Time/Science Now by Eryn Brown

 

 

 

Warming climate may starve bamboo-eating pandas

Already endangered by deforestation, poor reproductive rates and hunting, China's giant pandas may now face a new threat: global warming.According to a study published online Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change, rising temperatures could eliminate much of the bamboo that pandas rely on for sustenance in China's Qinling Mountains. http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-giant-panda-20121112,0,1607423.story?track=rss

Article courtesy of The Los Angeles Times by Monte Morin