Environment

The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office has settled a consumer protection lawsuit against popular sunscreen company Sun Bum for advertising claims that misstated its actual impact on the ocean. The judgment is the first obtained by any prosecutor against a major sunscreen manufacturer for...

Home gardens and landscapes should be compatible with their respective climates. For local chaparral climates, plants that do not need much watering through the long and dry summers are appropriate. Aquatic plants are the extreme opposite. They require regular replenishment of the ponds that...

The publicly traded company that provides Los Gatos with water recently got the go-ahead to fire up two solar power generating stations—one in Los Gatos and one in Saratoga. Together they’ll help keep about 21 tons of greenhouse gasses out of the atmosphere each year,...

It was on Aug. 11 that 69-year-old Lexington Hills resident Sidney French reached out to Farmers Insurance to gain more information about the “Additional Living Expense” coverage on her home insurance policy. That’s the section that’s meant to help customers get reimbursed for costs incurred...

California State Parks has released its recovery plan for Big Basin Redwoods State Park, the oldest one in California. Nearly five years on from the CZU Lightning Complex Fire, which torched over 90% of the park and destroyed more than 900 homes in the area,...

Over the last decade, Valley Water has continued to spend more money on cleaning up homeless encampments around Silicon Valley. In fiscal year 2013-14, the regional water wholesaler put $786,085 into the initiative. That grew to $1.5 million just a few years later, then...

Earth Day, which has now been around for decades, marks the anniversary of the birth of the environmental movement. Los Gatos’ annual “Spring into Green” event was held Sunday in Park Plaza, a day before—and in honor of—that important day. But then again, isn't...

A homeowner who sought an exception to new fire-safe rules recently rolled out by the State won over Planning Commissioners and was granted development approval. Despite Santa Clara County Fire Department representatives appearing in the special Zoom meeting on Nov. 21 to argue against allowing...

A rare snowfall has dusted the Greater Bay Area and the National Weather Service is predicting more on its way over the weekend. The agency posted a photo on Twitter today of the Santa Cruz Harbor that showed snow even landing nearby boats at sea...

In Dec. 2022, Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District agreed to a $100,000+ deal with Nomad Ecology of Martinez, Calif., to study the population of the “critically imperiled Santa Cruz Kangaroo Rat,” which had just reappeared on the Santa Clara County side of the Santa...