What You Need to Know About the Drought in California—and How It’s Affecting You
It's part of a much bigger water crisis in the West.
Browsing Tag
California
542 posts
A Low-Tech Solution to a Hi-Tech Problem: Trains That Generate Electricity
While others work on improving batteries and turning air compression into an energy-storage solution, the ARES team is re-purposing the simple ideas behind water towers to address a gap in our solar-power infrastructure.
Why California’s Solar Power Could Soon Be Curtailed
Inside the California Independent System Operator, a high-security complex where a handful of operators are working to find ways to secure the state's electrical grid before it's too late.
Could These Truck-Sized Batteries Be the Solution to Our Renewable Energy-Storage Problem?
Until we find a way to effectively store energy, the power on California's electricity grid will rise and fall with the sun.
Who’s Buying Electric Vehicles?
In California, which has been leading the way for the adoption of electric vehicles in the U.S., the revolution is mainly centered around Silicon Valley.
Why Millions of Chinese-Made Solar Panels Sat Unused in Southern California Warehouses for Years
A panic over renewable energy and billions in subsidies turned the world’s biggest carbon emitter into the world’s largest solar panel maker nearly overnight—but that doesn't mean those panels were put to use.
How a Conservative Billionaire Is Moving Heaven and Earth to Become the Biggest Alternative Energy Giant in the Country
Philip Anschutz wants to turn his 500-square-mile cattle ranch into the world’s largest wind farm. The project would generate four times more electricity than the Hoover Dam, enough to power all of the households in Los Angeles and San Francisco. It would also make Anschutz the nation’s most unlikely environmental hero—if he can ever get the thing built.
Tilting at Windmills
An early look at a Pacific Standard story that's currently only available to subscribers.
A Year Without Snow
Want to know what difference a few degrees can make as the climate warms? Look no further than the West’s critical and vanishing snowpack.
Northern California Is Already Losing Wildflowers Because of Climate Change
A study of a reserve near Davis finds a decline in wildflower diversity since 2000.