Environment

In the preface to his book “California: A Fire Survey,” Stephen J. Pyne notes that the “California fire scene” has long shaped the broader American agenda. “For the national narrative the important fact is that what happened in California did not stay in California,” he...

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,...

“One man’s rubbish may be another man’s treasure.” —Hector Urquhart West Valley Recycles (WVR) has an outreach team to help us learn to recycle correctly. Forget what you knew about recycling guidelines. Things have changed, and we have new laws to ensure we recycle in the most...

Just three miles south—or 11 minutes away—from downtown Los Gatos, we have Bear Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve, nearly 1,500 acres of unbridled nature. It features six miles of hiking and equestrian trails that meander along perennial creeks. This acreage was acquired for us...

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...

California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot on June 21 shared California's progress on the 30X30 plan, a goal to protect 30% of the state's land and coastal waters by 2030.  California has preserved nearly 1,000 square miles of land and sea in the first year...

The inventor and artist Robert Seals has spent the majority of his almost-80 years on Earth transforming junk into desirable objects. His invention (and company) Klean Kanteen became famous for its metallic water bottle. But his finely crafted recycled-metal sculptures are almost invisible. You have...

Before you pull up any more “weeds” in your garden, you may want to consider what Alrie Middlebrook has to share about native edible plants and trees. This past Saturday and Sunday, 50 or so gardens around the San Francisco Bay participated in the...

A recent statewide snowpack measurement from the California Department of Water Resources is another indication that the tremendously wet winter might have been too much of a good thing. The agency’s readings from 130 snow sensors placed throughout the Sierra Nevada show the  snowpack’s snow-water...

A San Jose recycling company has been ordered by a Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge to pay $25,000 in civil penalties for causing dangerous fires to start in the back of garbage trucks in Campbell.   The company, iDiskk, LLC, its principal Yue Zou,...