Crooked Bough News Round-up

— California and Washington to join forces on carbon markets, aiming to cut pollution and raise billions

 

at 9/23/26 12:32pm

Linking California and Washington's carbon markets will cut more pollution and increase revenue for key state programs, officials said.

— Sea turtles laying eggs at Huntington Beach and Seal Beach are first known cases of nesting on West Coast

 

at 9/22/26 10:32am

Two olive ridley sea turtles have laid eggs on the sand on Southern California beaches.

— Sea turtle laying eggs at Huntington Beach is first known instance of nesting on West Coast

 

at 9/22/26 10:32am

At least one olive ridley sea turtle has laid its eggs on the sand in Huntington Beach.

— This major California river has gotten too warm for its salmon

 

at 9/22/26 4:00am

The Sacramento River has gotten too warm for salmon eggs. Environmental advocates blame the Trump administration for taking too much water out of Shasta Lake.

— A 'super' El Niño is about to crash into California: 9 essential ways to prepare

 

at 9/22/26 4:00am

Amid warnings of a wet and potentially destructive winter, The Times asked experts for their best tips to be prepared.

— Newsom signs bills to regulate data center industry, criticizes Trump for inaction

 

at 9/21/26 10:31am

California's growing data center industry will have more oversight after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed seven bills to regulate the industry's electricity costs and track water consumption.

— Lopez: We don't need AI to threaten the future of humanity. We've got Trump's climate policies

 

at 9/19/26 6:00am

Trump's ambitious assault on the planet is fueling climate activism.

— California is losing its oaks. One man is planting 10,000, including in tree-scarce Altadena

 

at 9/19/26 4:00am

For years, he'd been a classroom science teacher in suburban San Diego County. Now he hopes to meaningfully contribute to the regrowth of oaks in burned Altadena.

— Newsom rejects effort to roll back CEQA exemptions for advanced manufacturing

 

at 9/18/26 10:34pm

Senate Bill 954 would have rolled back parts of last year's controversial overhaul of CEQA that allowed for advanced manufacturing facilities to be sited in communities without environmental review.

— Wanted: Notorious Lake Tahoe tree poisoner. Reward? $147,000

 

at 9/18/26 7:23pm

A question has bedeviled a wealthy Lake Tahoe enclave for years: Who is poisoning the towering trees that stand sentry on the lake's North Shore?

— Another battery fire erupts at Moss Landing, where some units are still charged

 

at 9/18/26 3:21pm

Almost two years after a massive battery fire south of Santa Cruz displaced 1,200 people and smoldered for days, the same facility is burning again.

— For the first time, scientists link heavy snow to groundwater in California

 

at 9/17/26 12:12pm

Scientists are finding that snowfall is more connected to water underground than we knew. Using satellite data, they found groundwater levels actually rise during big snow years, in contrast to most years, when it continues to fall.

— Commentary: The approaching El Niño is scary, but L.A.'s starred in this horror movie before

 

at 9/17/26 7:00am

The thousands of square miles of mountain watershed around L.A. -- the San Gabriels and the San Bernardinos -- are as steep as roller coasters, and the rain funnels off them in tumults.

— A wave of dead seabirds washes ashore in Venice

 

at 9/15/26 3:05pm

More than 40 cormorants, black pelican-like seabirds, washed ashore at Venice Beach this weekend. The cause is a mystery.

— Newsom signs first-in-nation standards for homes damaged by wildfire smoke

 

at 9/15/26 1:23pm

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed legislation to create new standards to test and remediate homes damaged by wildfire smoke, and to require insurance companies to pay for the associated costs.

— EPA scraps power plant emissions limits in sweeping rollback

 

at 9/14/26 2:44pm

The Trump administration is rolling back the majority of Biden-era limits on greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to remove "red tape" that drives up energy costs, agency officials said.

— As the coast begins to crumble, the clock ticks on moving San Onofre's radioactive waste

 

at 9/12/26 4:00am

Storms and sea level rise threaten San Onofre's beachside nuclear waste pad as California officials search for long-term storage solutions.

— California's biggest lake is in crisis. Now tribes are coming back to save its sacred fish

 

at 9/11/26 1:00pm

An agreement signed Friday formalizes seven tribes as co-managers of the Clear Lake watershed. Mercury contamination, toxic algal blooms and invasive fishes have threatened a rare and revered local fish.

— The surprising reason California survived record summer heat without blackouts

 

at 9/11/26 4:00am

California has quietly, but dramatically, increased the resiliency of its electrical grid through a significant expansion in battery energy storage.

— California coast braces for another battering as new El Niño-related wave emerges in Pacific

 

at 9/10/26 5:12pm

Another El Niño-influenced phenomenon — a "coastally trapped Kelvin wave" — is moving up the coast of Mexico and will soon hit the U.S. West Coast.

— Trump administration wants to revise the latest National Climate Assessment — three years after publication

 

at 9/10/26 4:11pm

Experts said amending the finalized federal climate report would be unprecedented.

— Becerra backers with business in Sacramento spend tens of millions boosting his gubernatorial bid

 

at 9/10/26 4:00am

Companies and special interest groups with some of the diciest issues expected to land on California's next governor's desk are among the top financial backers of Democrat Xavier Becerra, the gubernatorial front-runner.

— With support from loggers and (some) environmentalists, Congress unites on major wildfire bill

 

at 9/10/26 4:00am

Congress seems poised to pass the Fix Our Forests Act, which would expedite forest thinning work, test new firefighting tech and build up homes' wildfire armor.

— Trump is trying to terminate EVs in California. Is that even possible?

 

at 9/4/26 4:00am

The Trump administration's efforts to erode California's emissions authority are slowing the state's EV transition, but not stopping it.

As of 9/23/26 2:39pm. Last new 9/23/26 2:39pm.