Living

Record snow melt drenches Yosemite in waterfalls

05/31/2011
By Alison Hawkes

Now’s the time to see record snow melt in Yosemite National Park after a winter season drenched in precipitation. Yosemite Falls, the nation’s tallest, is throwing down enough water to fill a gasoline tanker truck every two seconds. Mid June will be the time of peak melt, coinciding with peak visitor season. Go and...
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Tags: yosemite
Posted in Living, Nature, The Daily Catch | No Comments »

Closure of some California parks illegal, says feds

05/31/2011
By Alison Hawkes

California plans to close one-quarter of its parks has met another stumbling block. The National Park Service says it would be a breach of contract (a.k.a illegal) to close 16 of them because they receive federal land conservation funds that requires them to remain open to the public. The parks mentioned include Castle Rock...
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Tags: , parks, recreation
Posted in Living, Nature, The Daily Catch | No Comments »

PG&E reduces rates for its biggest consumers

05/27/2011
By Victoria Schlesinger

PG&E is in for another spate of public criticism. This time it will be over the utility’s new usage rates, which were approved by regulators on Thursday. Homeowners consuming the most electricity will pay less per kilowatt hour than they did previously, causing critics to accuse PG&E of incentivizing wasteful energy habits. Still, the...
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Tags: energy consumption, new usage rates,
Posted in Climate Change & Energy, Living, Policy, The Daily Catch | No Comments »

Marin is full of rattlesnakes this season

05/25/2011
By Alison Hawkes

An explosion in Marin’s rodent population has brought rattlesnakes out in full force this season. Summer marks the beginning of rattlesnake season and they’re hitting the trails like any outward bound urbanite. The Marin parks department has issued a warning: watch where you step!
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Tags: hiking, , snake
Posted in Living, Nature, The Daily Catch | No Comments »

Discussion of CA state park closures and high speed rail

05/23/2011
By Victoria Schlesinger

This morning on KQED’s Forum two topics close to WOW readers’ hearts are under discussion. First the impact of the California state park closures, followed by a look at the state’s embattled high-speed rail plans. Listen to the latter live right here: http://www.kqed.org/radio/listen/
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Tags: california high-speed rail, forum, , state park closure
Posted in Living, Nature, Policy, The Daily Catch, Transportation | No Comments »

Don’t build neighborhood on SF Bay salt flats, Redwood City voters say in new poll

Don’t build neighborhood on SF Bay salt flats, Redwood City voters say in new poll

Redwood City residents oppose a plan to build a massive development on a stretch of salt ponds beside the San Francisco Bay by a 2-1 ratio, according to new poll released last Tuesday.
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Tags: dmb associates, , redwood city saltworks, , save the bay
Posted in Contaminants, Living, Nature, Policy | No Comments »

Some call it “the bug from hell”

05/20/2011
By Victoria Schlesinger

The voracious, crop-destroying invasive stink bug is turning up in California. Named for the smell they exude when crushed, the Asian bugs have decimated fruit production in some areas of the east coast where they were first found in 1998. California growers are looking anxiously to the east for methods to eradicate the pest...
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Tags: , fruit growers, invasive species, stink bug
Posted in Living, Nature, The Daily Catch | No Comments »

Yellow Pages are a first amendment right…?

05/20/2011
By Victoria Schlesinger

A group representing Yellow Pages advocates, called the Local Search Association, is suing Seattle’s City Council for adopting a program that allows residents to opt out of receiving phone books. And they may do the same in San Francisco. Last Tuesday the city’s board of supervisors approved a similar approach to reducing the number...
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Tags: first amendment, free speech, , seattle, telephone book, yellow pages
Posted in Contaminants, Living, Policy, The Daily Catch | No Comments »

“Startling” results from necropsy of Redwood Shores sharks

05/20/2011
By Victoria Schlesinger

Disturbing new information about the hundreds of leopard sharks found dead near Redwood Shores in April is raising more questions than answers. Inside one of the sharks, researchers found “inflammation, bleeding, and lesions in the brain, and hemorrhaging from the skin near vents,” reports the Daily News. Researchers say more tests are needed to...
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Tags: bleeding, brain lesions, dead leopard sharks, redwood shores,
Posted in Contaminants, Living, Nature, The Daily Catch | 1 Comment »

SF Sup Avalo supports turnnig Sharp Park Golf Course into park

05/19/2011
By Victoria Schlesinger

It appears San Francisco Supervisor John Avalo has decided to side with environmentalists on the fate of Sharp Park Golf Course. Avalo, who recently through his hat in the ring for mayor, says he will work to have the property transferred from the city to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in order to...
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Tags: national park, , sharp park golf course, supervisor john avalo
Posted in Living, Policy, The Daily Catch | 1 Comment »

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Field Notes Blog

French radiation organization says exposure risks are no longer negligible

Just as farmers markets are swinging into full bloom, there’s very disturbing news about radiation from Japan reaching new levels in Europe. And if...
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Super graph on normal and abnormal radiation exposures

Did you know that sleeping next to someone blitzes you with 0.05 millionth of a sievert of radiation per night? That eating a banana...
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UC Berkeley study: Using fear backfires on climate change

It’s been a point of maddening frustration for scientists and environmentalists that as the predictions on global warming grow more dire, the public seems...
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Way Out West is a news site for the Bay Area dedicated to daily coverage of local green news.

We're camping out at public meetings, traipsing through parks, and sticking our noses into green tech research to bring you relevant local stories that matter.

WOW is produced by two local environmental journalists for you, our eco-savvy readers. We'd love to hear what you want from this site.