Off the California coast sits a marine heat wave that has persisted since 2014. Scientists aren’t sure whether it’s now permanent, or a decadeslong blip on the map.
Environment
Posted inEnvironment
In the face of sea level rise, can we reimagine California’s vanishing coastline?
The human-built world keeps getting in the way of the rising sea. But this current story of our coast does not have to end in disaster.
Posted inEnvironment
‘An incredibly important site’: UCSC closes access to biodiversity-rich Empire Cave
Empire Cave, the popular caving attraction between Empire Grade and the west side of UC Santa Cruz’s campus, has been closed to the general public in an effort to conserve the rare species residing in its depths. Students might still be able to access the cave through school programs.
Posted inEnvironment
Global warming is making big(ger) waves off the California coast, scientists say
A hotter planet is generating more winter storms in the North Pacific Ocean, which in turn is producing taller waves, according to a new study. That could make coastal flooding and erosion even worse.
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‘We are in a new era’: A year after reopening, how far has Big Basin come — and how far does it still need to go?
Big Basin Redwoods State Park has made big strides since its reopening a year ago, with more trails and campgrounds reopened to the public now than over the last two years. However, the park in its current state is ‘almost unrecognizable’ from its pre-2020 iteration, parks officials say, even after nearly three years of intensive restoration work. Now, California State Parks is beginning the process of studying what kinds of new permanent facilities will be built in the park, and where.
Posted inEnvironment
Here’s how California’s electric cars can feed the grid and help avoid brownouts
Through bidirectional charging, owners of electric cars can sell energy to the grid or use it to power their homes. But will the technology, which is costly, become widespread?
Posted inEnvironment
Lake Tahoe has higher concentration of microplastics than ocean trash heap
A study of 38 lakes and reservoirs in 23 countries found that Lake Tahoe had the third-highest concentration of microplastics.
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Anger builds after controlled burn badly damages California sequoias
A controlled burn in Calaveras Big Trees State Park has badly damaged a pair of giant sequoias named “the Orphans,” outraging community members.
Posted inEnvironment
With bat baby season upon us, UCSC prof explains how to spot them and why they matter
Bats have come back to the Bay Area from winter migrations and are raising young all around the region. Winifred Frick, chief scientist at Bat Conservation International and an ecology and evolutionary biology research professor at UC Santa Cruz, tells Lookout how and where to find bats — and when you might catch a glimpse of a baby bat getting a flying lesson.
Posted inEnvironment
As El Niño officially begins, what might the effects look like in Santa Cruz County?
The climate pattern known as El Niño has officially begun and is expected to bring cooler, wetter winters to some regions of the United States. While the effects on the Central Coast are not as clear cut, Santa Cruzans likely won’t see any significant impacts until the winter months.