Stories That Stuck With Us This Year, Handpicked by the KQED Science Team

2025 has been a year of upheaval.

We saw a new administration in Washington take sweeping action to cut the work of federal scientists and researchers and gut environmental and species protections. We saw the most destructive fires in California’s history ravage areas of Los Angeles. We saw a protracted government shutdown and a state government more or less constantly at war with the federal government.

We also saw people taking local action to improve land and communities they care about, and people reaching out to others – again and again – in the hopes of making their lives a little better.

Through it all, KQED’s Science and climate team has been here bringing you the stories you need.

As we wrap up this year, we’ve handpicked some of the stories that we find especially memorable, thought-provoking or that changed how we thought about something.

Ezra David Romero, climate reporter: “They want to change the culture to make this place one that’s not just about a party, but a place that cares about the river and cares about the ecosystem, so that it can have a long life.”

Ezra David Romero chose his Dec. 1 story “A Queer Climate Movement Takes Root Along the Russian River” profiling people caring for land in an area with a long queer legacy.

“This was a big year of negative environmental news, with the Trump administration rolling back so much. I wrote dozens of those stories earlier this year. I wanted to do something that felt more regenerative, something focusing on positive news in the climate world.

“I kept meeting so many queer people in interviews, so I wondered if there were any interesting stories about queer people and climate.

“I found these two groups who purchased land up in the Guerneville area and are sort of reinvigorating this idea that the Russian River area had all these queer communes, in the ’60s, ’70s, but in a climate conscious way. They want to make sure the Russian River remains a queer place — that’s only going to happen if there’s forest restoration there, because the area is prone to fires, and if the place is able to withstand the future floods, because in a warming climate atmospheric rivers will be wetter and make bigger floods.

And so it’s cool to hear that they’re not just changing the land, but they want to change the culture to make this place a place that’s not just about a party, but a place that cares about the river and cares about the ecosystem, so that it can have a long life.”

Laura Klivans, climate reporter: “This helped me see what trends look like in the beginning — things might start out like the Wild West — before larger entities can wrap their heads around procedures and make policy around it. ”

Laura Klivans chose her Jul. 28 story “Forget Rooftops — Bay Area Residents Are Plugging Solar Into the Wall” about an emerging climate solution: people installing solar panels on balconies or in their backyards to get clean energy, even if they don’t own their homes or have the capital to invest in traditional solar setups. Laura’s reporting captured the attention of regulators and PBS Newshour.

“I saw that I was informing some of the interested parties, important stakeholders in this matter, that this was even happening. Someone at the California Energy Commission wrote to me and said ‘We’re all passing this around the office today.’

That felt great because a lot of my stories are on trends, solutions, events that have already happened or been established for a long time. That doesn’t do much to inform policy. But with this story, the people who have yet to write the policy are looking at my work.

“Using solar panels in this way isn’t really allowed in its current form. It was interesting to talk to so many people who were willing to go on the record with something that is emerging right now and not really sanctioned.

It feels like the work has more reach. And I think that’s why the post was so popular. I caught this wave of developing news.”

April Dembosky, health correspondent: “If you have a person whose illness makes them believe they’re not ill, how do you convince them to accept treatment?”

April Dembosky chose her July 17 post ‘Do You Want Help?’: Inside Orange County’s Bet on Voluntary Mental Health Care” looking at Orange County’s implementation of a new state program that seeks to help the people with serious mental illness, through radical patience and relentless outreach.

“Getting people with serious mental illness into treatment has been a historical problem and in recent years has resparked a vexing ethical debate: is treating people against their will an act of cruelty or compassion? California has been experimenting with new policies that make it easier to coerce people into treatment. ‘Care Court’ is one of those programs.

“Orange County ’s healthcare leaders surprised me because, while they volunteered to be one of the first counties to implement the program, they are completely against forcing people into care. They believe we need to invest in long-term relationships if we want to see long-term results. Their approach is to coax, rather than coerce.

“I went down there to see what this looks like and I met Giovanni Figueroa. He’s a social worker for the county who spends his days looking for and building trust with people with psychotic illness. He builds trust one bottle of water, one hamburger at a time.

Sometimes it can take six months or more before someone finally says, ‘OK, I’ll go see the doctor. OK, I’ll think about taking medication.’ He is incredibly patient and devoted to his clients.

“His approach looks completely different from any other I have ever seen in the healthcare system – which is basically ‘take it or leave it.’

He continues to show up for people, over and over, no matter what. It’s not a quick fix by any means and time will tell if it ultimately works. But this story showed me a different way of doing things is possible. Giovanni is an inspiration.”

Sarah Mohamad, science engagement producer: “Watching otters float by, completely unaware of the decisions being made about their future, made the policy debate feel immediate and human.”

Sarah Mohamad chose a piece she worked on with Ezra David Romero that published on Oct. 16, “California Sea Otters Could Face New Threats if Trump Weakens Law for Endangered Animals.” It’s about southern sea otters in Elkhorn Slough. The reporters kayaked to see otters up close for a social video.

“What I expected to be a pretty straightforward wildlife comeback story ended up being something much bigger, a reminder of just how interconnected ecosystems are, and how fragile those connections can be.

“I’ve always thought of sea otters as these really charismatic animals — they’re adorable, and I knew they were important in a general conservation sense. But seeing them in the water, watching them float with their pups, and listening to scientists talk about what they actually do in this ecosystem shifted my thinking. The otters aren’t just surviving in Elkhorn Slough, they’re actively shaping it. By eating crabs, they help stabilize marsh banks, make space for eelgrass to grow, and even help the ecosystem store carbon. They’re influencing biodiversity, habitat health, and climate resilience all at the same time.

Lesley McClurg, health correspondent: “What happens to people living on the street when encampments are swept away?”

In her Sept. 15 post “The Hidden Health Risk Behind Bay Area Homeless Encampment Sweeps” Lesley McClurg investigated the unintentional health harms to unhoused people when authorities move them off the street.

“A year ago the Supreme Court made it possible for communities to move people living on the street, even if there weren’t enough shelter beds to offer them.

“The sweeps are sold as being good for public health. Officials tell the public, ‘Look, it’s not healthy for people to be defecating in the streets or for all the garbage to be there. And yet it endangers the people who are displaced. What we found, and what the studies show, is that displacing people does lead to a higher rate of overdoses, instability, and mental health issues. They’re in a much more precarious physical and mental position, which overall is going to hurt society.

“I spent about 10 hours on the streets talking to people.They all had understandable reasons for being there. It gave me a window into their lives that I didn’t have.

Danielle Venton, science reporter: “There’s no ‘away’ to throw our stuff to, everything is connected and comes back to us.”

Danielle Venton chose her Mar. 25 story “Cuddly but Costly: The Unseen Dangers of Fleece in Kids Clothes and Toys” where she tried to answer the question for herself, ‘Should I let my kid wear fleece and play with fleece toys?’

“I was interested in this question for practical reasons. I’m concerned about microplastic pollution coming from fleece and my son has a lot of beloved polyester stuffed animals and warm fleece jacket hand-me-downs. Should I let him have these things? If yes, how do I best care for them?

“It opened my eyes to this new way of looking at consumption, the lifecycle of our products and the burden our bodies bear in this era where we are surrounded by plastic all the time. I was especially dismayed to learn that landfills often leak material they’re holding into groundwater and they give off pollution into the air as well. This made me question, ‘Can we ever truly throw something away?’ Instead I now feel more responsibility for the entire life cycle of a product.

“Fortunately, reporting this piece made me somewhat less worried about the fleece in my home. And it cemented a game plan for how we [at home] wash it, treat it, we avoid the dryer and we always pass it on. But we do not purchase any new fleece items because there is far too much of it in the world already.”