Welcome to The Compost, a weekly newsletter on key environmental news impacting Southern California. Subscribe now to get it in your inbox! In today’s edition…
Click here to read the introduction to this week’s newsletter, where environment reporter Brooke Staggs reflects on winters in her hometown and how they’re being shaped by climate change.
🛡️ PROTECT
Monarchs decline: After two years of increases, Steve Scauzillo reports the population of Western monarch butterflies wintering on the California coast dropped 30% in late 2023. One bright spot: Some have been spotted in new areas, possibly thanks to folks planting more milkweeds. …READ MORE…
Asbestos tests coming: Some Tustin residences will soon be tested for asbestos and lead that might have been dispersed during the November hangar fire, Michael Slaten reports. Area residents interested in having soil on their property tested can sign up now. …READ MORE…
- Details of fire: Minute-by-minute account provides details for how firefighters battled Tustin hangar fire
- Health warnings issued: Smoke and debris tested positive for the presence of asbestos, lead, arsenic and nickel
- Risks later deemed minimal: Health officials say Tustin hangar fire didn’t pose big health risk
Sewage spill shutters beaches: Roughly one million gallons of untreated sewage has spilled into the Dominguez Channel, which discharges at Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro. Kristy Hutchings reports the spill has closed the entire waterfront. …READ MORE…
Burro slaughter breakthrough: There may finally be a breakthrough in a long-running investigation into the killing of wild burros in the Mojave Desert nearly five years ago, the Associated Press reports. Now authorities want the public’s help. …READ MORE…
♨️ SIZZLE
Tree rings record climate change: A new study that analyzed tree rings going back five centuries confirmed what other research has shown: There’s no precedent in modern times for how hot and dry the West has been in the last two decades. …READ MORE…
What 1.5 degrees means: It’s becoming increasingly clear that it may be too late to stop our planet from hitting 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming above preindustrial temperatures. So what does that mean for us? And for efforts to avoid the next target of staying below 2 degrees of warming? Hayley Smith at the Los Angeles Times has a helpful explainer. …READ MORE…
💧 HYDRATE
Storm pummels state: Roads are flooded, trees are down, classes have been canceled, communities have been evacuated… Here’s a look at some of the great coverage my colleagues have produced over the past few days about how recent severe storms are impacting Southern California.
- Emergency declared as Southern California storm is called potentially catastrophic and life-threatening
- 40 people evacuated in the Topanga Canyon area
- Dirt road leading into beloved San Onofre Surf Beach destroyed and closed indefinitely
- Disneyland closing early as heavy rain closes Knott’s, Magic Mountain and SeaWorld
- Photos: Powerful storm sends water, mud slamming into Beverly Crest homes
- ‘Sketchiest’ rescue saves 3 stuck in tree in Devore after SUV is washed into creek
- SoCal Storm 2024: LA, OC and Inland Empire residents share videos on social media
- Downtown LA smashes rainfall record
🗳️ VOTE
OC voter guide: Along with questions about border policies and homelessness, the great team behind the Register’s primary election voter guide asked each candidate about a climate or environment policy they’d champion if (re)elected. Check out their answers here. …READ MORE…
Young voters hold sway: “They’re way less White and religious and wealthy than older voters. They’re also more influenced by specific issues, including the environment, gun control and racial justice.” Andre Mouchard looks at how young voters might impact this year’s elections. …READ MORE…
🚆 TRANSPORT
People movers pushed back: Two automated transit systems slated to whisk riders to LAX and to SoFi Stadium are facing delays that could push their openings out by more than a year, Jason Henry reports. That means the SoFi one might not be ready for Olympics crowds after all. …READ MORE…
📕 EXPLORE
Explore new climate fiction: Whenever I’m stuck at home, I fuel my adventure addiction by watching movies and reading stories that transport me to other parts of the world. So with rain still falling in buckets around Southern California, I thought I’d use this space to share the awesome collection Grist has compiled of fresh fiction with a climate bent from Southern California and all over the world. Gonna get cozy and explore some of these tales tonight!
💪 PITCH IN
Try out this online tool: For this week’s tip on how Southern Californians can help the environment… Thought about trying to electrify your home but worried about costs or what difference it might make? Rewiring America recently launched a new online tool called the Personal Electrification Planner. It gives users a picture of the upfront cost, annual bill savings, annual emissions reductions, and air pollution and health impacts of electrifying their homes by switching to heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, induction stoves, electric dryers, EV chargers and rooftop solar. Test it out, then share the tool to spread the word!
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![By Marco di Marco | Associated Press GRINDAVIK, Iceland — A volcano in southwestern Iceland erupted Thursday for the third time since December, sending jets of lava into the sky, triggering the evacuation of the popular Blue Lagoon geothermal spa and cutting heat and hot water to thousands of people. The eruption began at about […]](https://www.ocregister.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/sjm-olcano_178439293.jpg?w=467 "By Marco di Marco | Associated Press GRINDAVIK, Iceland — A volcano in southwestern Iceland erupted Thursday for the third time since December, sending jets of lava into the sky, triggering the evacuation of the popular Blue Lagoon geothermal spa and cutting heat and hot water to thousands of people. The eruption began at about […]")
