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"title": "California’s Displaced Oil and Gas Workers’ Fund Is a Lifeline. Now Advocates Say It’s Time to Expand",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story is part of KQED’s series “Flipping the Switch,” examining California’s transition to clean energy and what it means for you. Find the series and more of our climate coverage \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/climate\">\u003cem>here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Joe Villarreal spent his second day at Northwest Metrology honing a new skill: calibrating torque wrenches. The company’s Bakersfield headquarters is packed with pressure gauges, weights, and other specialized tools — all designed to ensure that everything from defibrillators to scales for weighing aircraft work without fail. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We have an extensive client list,” said owner Wayne Moule, who has been serving hospitals, refineries and aerospace companies for decades.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Moule has a hard time finding employees who are a good fit for the painstaking work.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“People come in, give us resumes that look great,” Moule said, “but they just don’t have the work ethic. They don’t care about the accuracy. They say they calibrate a piece of equipment, and they don’t. And then I find out about it from a customer.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9173-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001220\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9173-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9173-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9173-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9173-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Joe Villarreal’s second day in his new job at Northwest Metrology in Bakersfield on May 27, 2026. Villarreal was displaced as an oil worker and got connected to a program helping oil workers find new careers. (Lauren Justice for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The work is highly technical, requiring up to three years of training and the ability to read and follow 2-inch-thick manuals with detailed instructions for using each piece of equipment.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Do you know how hard it is to get somebody to read a manual?” Moule said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But the job was a good fit for Villarreal, a 55-year-old father of three who spent 30 years working in the oil and gas industry.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the early days of his career, he worked gritty, hands-on jobs in Bakersfield’s scorching hot oil fields, checking equipment for leaks.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Later, he switched to the administrative side, working out of the sun. In his final job as an engineering technician, Villarreal applied for new drilling permits, kept records and filed reports. He was laid off last year.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9441-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001225\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9441-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9441-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9441-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9441-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Joe Villarreal’s second day in his new job at Northwest Metrology in Bakersfield on May 27, 2026. Villarreal was displaced as an oil worker and got connected to a program helping oil workers find new careers. (Lauren Justice for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The oil industry has always had its up and downs,” Villarreal said. “I’m not really sure what happened this time … I thought we were doing good, the oil industry, and just, it just changed overnight for me.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Villarreal landed his new job at Northwest Metrology in May through a state program designed to mitigate the impact on oil and gas workers as California transitions away from fossil fuels.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The program connected Villarreal with three case managers who invited him to weekly “job hubs” that featured presentations from employers looking to hire. With no experience in calibration, he was reluctant to apply for the job but decided, “I should at least go talk to them ’cause it don’t hurt.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>California’s goal to achieve net zero emissions by 2045 has accelerated the decline of the oil and gas industry, which employs an estimated 94,000 people in high-paying, often unionized jobs with benefits.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Since 2020, the closure or conversion of six refineries has eliminated roughly 2,000 jobs, dislodging highly skilled workers from decadeslong careers spent extracting and refining crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt and petrochemicals.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9275-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001222\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9275-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9275-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9275-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9275-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Wayne Moule, Owner at Northwest Metrology, has utilized a program helping to employ displaced oil workers in new jobs in Bakersfield on May 27, 2026. (Lauren Justice for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Displaced Oil and Gas Workers Fund is California’s most tangible effort to help workers transition to comparable jobs in other industries. The $30 million fund, created through a state law in 2022, provides grants to local workforce development boards, unions, and other groups in the most affected areas of the state: Kern, Contra Costa and Los Angeles counties.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>State records indicate the fund has helped more than 630 workers transition to new careers. And that could be an undercount, as grant recipients say they’ve helped closer to a thousand workers like Villarreal get training and find new jobs.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Even with its successes, proponents of the program say it’s falling short. They are urging the state to extend it beyond the current end date in 2027 and provide new benefits, including wage replacement during transitions, college credits for on-the-job experience and at least two years of financial support during apprenticeships.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some of the biggest job losses from the energy transition are expected in Bakersfield, where the oil and gas industry employs an estimated 6100 people, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/publication/californias-energy-workforce-needs-and-opportunities/\">report\u003c/a> from the Public Policy Institute of California. The nonprofit think tank predicts that 40% of those jobs are likely to disappear in the next decade or so and warns that the city’s small labor market provides few new opportunities. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Bakersfield office of the Kern and Inyo counties workforce development board received $11.3 million, the largest distribution from the state fund, and pledged to provide job search and placement services to 900 oil and gas workers. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>By the end of May, more than 650 eligible people enrolled and nearly 200 found new jobs, according to Susana Vasquez, program manager for Kern County’s Employer Training Resource.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Eligible workers can receive $15,000 in state funding to pay for education, a certificate or licensing program, or on-the-job training. They can also get up to $2,500 for job-related costs, such as transportation, work clothes, tools or relocation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Convincing workers to accept help, though, is not always easy. Many in the industry view California’s turn away from fossil fuel as inconceivable, and they doubt the state’s promise that new jobs will offer comparable pay and benefits.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0726-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001217\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0726-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0726-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0726-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0726-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Career Planner Francisco J. Avila works with Jose Vicente Arroyo, 58, as he navigates the next phase of his career in Bakersfield on May 27, 2026. (Lauren Justice for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One morning in late May, a dozen men gathered at the job center in Bakersfield, where they listened with a mixture of skepticism and guarded hope as job counselor Francisco Avila described why California employers want to hire former oil and gas workers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“They’re looking for you,” Avila said. “Your experience, your knowledge, your skill set, they want to apply that to their industry.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Anthony Strauss, 45, worked for years mixing chemical mud, which makes it easier to extract oil from wells. He lost his job in 2025 when the company he worked for moved to another state.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“ When I was first laid off, they [the employer] had told me about this program,” said Strauss, who has been out of work for nearly a year. “However, in my personal life, I had taken on some other opportunities that didn’t pan out as well as what they said that they would provide. So I came back here.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The wake-up call\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The idea for the Displaced Oil and Gas Workers Fund grew out of the abrupt 2020 closure of the Marathon Refinery in Contra Costa County.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Marathon gave employees just 60 days’ notice and prohibited them from transferring to their other refineries, according to a 2025 \u003ca href=\"https://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/fossil-fuel-layoff/\">report \u003c/a>by the UC Berkeley Labor Center.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The company laid off over 750 workers, including 345 unionized staff who received only short-term severance. A year after the layoff, UC Labor Center surveyed the union workers and found nearly a third had taken early withdrawals from their retirement accounts to sustain themselves.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9005-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001218\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9005-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9005-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9005-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9005-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pamphlets and paperwork are seen at a presentation for displaced oil workers as they navigate the next phase of their careers in Bakersfield on May 27, 2026. (Lauren Justice for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The United Steel Workers union, whose members comprise the majority of people employed by refineries in California, anticipated members would need help taking the next step. The union lobbied state lawmakers to establish the displaced workers fund, and created the California Oil and Refinery Workers Readiness Program, or CORP, to help members use the resources.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We needed something that the members were gonna be able to grasp,” said Rosi Romo, program director for CORP.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>CORP received $9 million of the new funds, enough to help at least 650 people, and recruited a handful of union members to act as navigators, who could help their coworkers consider their options and take action. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When Phillips 66 announced in October 2024 that it was closing its refineries in Carson and Wilmington, Romo said, “We were able to have them [navigators] on the ground talking to people, enrolling them, and so they were gaining momentum.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Statewide, USW navigators have counseled 400 members, and by June, half of them were enrolled in courses paid for by the state. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0609-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001215\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0609-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0609-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0609-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0609-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Career Planner Francisco J. Avila leads a presentation and discussion with displaced oil workers as they navigate the next phase of their careers in Bakersfield on May 27, 2026. (Lauren Justice for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Wilfredo Cruz, a 37-year-old industrial mechanic at the Phillips 66 Wilmington refinery, became a navigator. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I could help myself and my coworkers to be able to find something new or at least get some sort of training, so we can find our next job,” said Cruz, who had seen his dad become a respiratory therapist after getting laid off from a refinery job.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Many asked Cruz if they should get started while still on the job. He told them to start as early as possible. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some union members transitioned to careers in radiology, wastewater treatment and as EMTS. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Cruz enrolled in a cybersecurity program at UC San Diego while he worked at the refinery, listening to lectures while commuting. Though he was laid off in March 2026, months before he expected to complete his education, his wife works a good job, and they have been able to swing it so far.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0672-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001216\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0672-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0672-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0672-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0672-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jose Vicente Arroyo, 58, left, and Anthony Strauss, 45, right, listen to a presentation for displaced oil workers as they navigate the next phase of their careers in Bakersfield on May 27, 2026. (Lauren Justice for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As a navigator, Cruz heard his coworkers’ frustrations with the displaced workers’ program and its limitations.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some who were working 12- to 16-hour days to wind down refinery operations did not have time for training programs.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Others who were sole breadwinners for their families faced a dilemma that forced them to consider a lower-paying job or one that doesn’t utilize their technical skills and knowledge. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“You kinda have to choose,” Cruz said. “Do I go to school? Or do I need a job now? It’s very hard to do both.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A lot of workers over the age of 55 took early retirement, Cruz said. The prospect of going back to school and starting in a brand new industry didn’t seem worth it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Laurie Wallace, another union navigator at the Wilmington refinery, has pressed state lawmakers to extend the lifetime of the fund to give oil and gas workers more time to transition. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As the 50-year-old process technician urged coworkers to take care of their medical check-ups and treatment before they lost their insurance, she did the same. That’s when her doctor told her she had breast cancer.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I call it divine intervention,” Wallace said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Early detection allowed her to undergo treatment and make a full recovery. She returned to work to help shut down the refinery and counsel her colleagues. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She said a lot of them were terrified about losing a career in an industry that had afforded them and their families a comfortable life.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Wallace said she had a different reaction to the closure. “I felt relieved,” she said, excited about the possibilities of working in another industry.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The refinery laid her off in April. She has since started to earn an associate’s degree and is thinking about becoming a grant writer or driving a forklift.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I always believe that when a door closes, a window opens,” Wallace said. “I just gotta figure out how to crawl through it.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Lessons from Marathon’s refinery closure \u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Refinery workers in Contra Costa County have also benefited from the Displaced Oil and Gas Workers Fund.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When Marathon closed its refinery there in 2020, existing benefits weren’t sufficient for laid-off employees, said Tamia Brown, executive director of the county’s workforce development board. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But by last year, when Valero announced it would close its Benicia refinery and lay off 282 nonunion employees, the county agency was ready to help with a \u003ca href=\"https://www.wdbccc.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Laid-Off-Oil-Gas-Workers-Program-2_Fact-Sheet_ADA-Compliant.pdf\">grant \u003c/a>of $4.3 million from the fund. They met with roughly 50 Valero workers by June.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/230921-VALERO-BENICIA-REFINERY-MD-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2000873\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/230921-VALERO-BENICIA-REFINERY-MD-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/230921-VALERO-BENICIA-REFINERY-MD-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/230921-VALERO-BENICIA-REFINERY-MD-01-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/230921-VALERO-BENICIA-REFINERY-MD-01-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Valero refinery in Benicia on Sept. 21, 2023. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Brown expects that number to climb as severance and unemployment benefits dwindle. But she said people don’t have to wait until that happens to access benefits and other resources. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She said the funds are a huge help but would be even more effective if they covered a longer transition, to allow people to pursue apprenticeships and degree programs, which can take at least two years.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“In order to get back to a comparable wage, a person may need to learn a new skill set or transfer to a different industry. That takes time,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Extending the benefits would cost the state more, Brown said, but she thinks it’s a worthwhile investment. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Of the original $30 million in the fund, $18 million has yet to be spent.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The fund is due to sunset in July of 2027, but advocates are urging lawmakers to extend it, as tens of thousands more industry jobs face elimination over the next decade.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“ There’s folks in our system who have been displaced or know that they are going to be displaced and are going through training programs,” Brown said. “We need to be able to continue to support them.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A bill to make the fund permanent is moving through the state legislature. At a hearing in April, the bill’s author, State Assemblymember Damon Connolly, D-San Rafael, urged his colleagues to approve it. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Providing support for these workers during their time of need should not be controversial. Simply put, it’s the right thing to do.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium aligncenter\" style=\"width: 450px; margin: 20px auto 40px;\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/KQED-membership-photo-laura-klivans-450x298@2x.jpg\" alt=\"Your support makes this work possible.\" width=\"900\" height=\"596\" />\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 110%; margin-bottom: 1em;\">\u003cem>From Laura Klivans, Climate Reporter at KQED:\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 110%; margin-bottom: 1em;\">I know climate change is important to you. And it can feel overwhelming. This year, we want to empower the Bay Area to face our changing climate by bringing you stories about solutions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 110%; margin-bottom: 1em;\">If this story helped you today, please consider donating to support our work. It takes just a moment to make your tax-deductible donation, and your gift keeps articles like this from KQED accessible to everyone.\u003c/p>\n\u003ca href=\"https://donate.kqed.org/sojo?ms=W2510EANXXXX25\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" style=\"width: 272px; margin: 40px auto;\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/KQED-membership-support-kqed-journalism-272x57@2x.png\" alt=\"Button: Support KQED journalism\" width=\"544\" height=\"114\" />\u003c/a>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story is part of KQED’s series “Flipping the Switch,” examining California’s transition to clean energy and what it means for you. Find the series and more of our climate coverage \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/climate\">\u003cem>here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Joe Villarreal spent his second day at Northwest Metrology honing a new skill: calibrating torque wrenches. The company’s Bakersfield headquarters is packed with pressure gauges, weights, and other specialized tools — all designed to ensure that everything from defibrillators to scales for weighing aircraft work without fail. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Joe Villarreal spent his second day at Northwest Metrology honing a new skill: calibrating torque wrenches. The company’s Bakersfield headquarters is packed with pressure gauges, weights, and other specialized tools — all designed to ensure that everything from defibrillators to scales for weighing aircraft work without fail. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“People come in, give us resumes that look great,” Moule said, “but they just don’t have the work ethic. They don’t care about the accuracy. They say they calibrate a piece of equipment, and they don’t. And then I find out about it from a customer.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Later, he switched to the administrative side, working out of the sun. In his final job as an engineering technician, Villarreal applied for new drilling permits, kept records and filed reports. He was laid off last year.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Later, he switched to the administrative side, working out of the sun. In his final job as an engineering technician, Villarreal applied for new drilling permits, kept records and filed reports. He was laid off last year.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9441-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001225\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9441-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9441-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9441-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9441-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Joe Villarreal’s second day in his new job at Northwest Metrology in Bakersfield on May 27, 2026. Villarreal was displaced as an oil worker and got connected to a program helping oil workers find new careers. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Lauren Justice for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9441-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001225\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Joe Villarreal’s second day in his new job at Northwest Metrology in Bakersfield on May 27, 2026. Villarreal was displaced as an oil worker and got connected to a program helping oil workers find new careers. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Lauren Justice for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The oil industry has always had its up and downs,” Villarreal said. “I’m not really sure what happened this time … I thought we were doing good, the oil industry, and just, it just changed overnight for me.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Villarreal landed his new job at Northwest Metrology in May through a state program designed to mitigate the impact on oil and gas workers as California transitions away from fossil fuels.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The program connected Villarreal with three case managers who invited him to weekly “job hubs” that featured presentations from employers looking to hire. With no experience in calibration, he was reluctant to apply for the job but decided, “I should at least go talk to them ’cause it don’t hurt.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The program connected Villarreal with three case managers who invited him to weekly “job hubs” that featured presentations from employers looking to hire. With no experience in calibration, he was reluctant to apply for the job but decided, “I should at least go talk to them ’cause it don’t hurt.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>California’s goal to achieve net zero emissions by 2045 has accelerated the decline of the oil and gas industry, which employs an estimated 94,000 people in high-paying, often unionized jobs with benefits.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Since 2020, the closure or conversion of six refineries has eliminated roughly 2,000 jobs, dislodging highly skilled workers from decadeslong careers spent extracting and refining crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt and petrochemicals.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Since 2020, the closure or conversion of six refineries has eliminated roughly 2,000 jobs, dislodging highly skilled workers from decadeslong careers spent extracting and refining crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt and petrochemicals.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9275-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001222\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9275-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9275-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9275-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9275-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Wayne Moule, Owner at Northwest Metrology, has utilized a program helping to employ displaced oil workers in new jobs in Bakersfield on May 27, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Lauren Justice for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9275-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001222\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Wayne Moule, Owner at Northwest Metrology, has utilized a program helping to employ displaced oil workers in new jobs in Bakersfield on May 27, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Lauren Justice for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Displaced Oil and Gas Workers Fund is California’s most tangible effort to help workers transition to comparable jobs in other industries. The $30 million fund, created through a state law in 2022, provides grants to local workforce development boards, unions, and other groups in the most affected areas of the state: Kern, Contra Costa and Los Angeles counties.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Displaced Oil and Gas Workers Fund is California’s most tangible effort to help workers transition to comparable jobs in other industries. The $30 million fund, created through a state law in 2022, provides grants to local workforce development boards, unions, and other groups in the most affected areas of the state: Kern, Contra Costa and Los Angeles counties.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>State records indicate the fund has helped more than 630 workers transition to new careers. And that could be an undercount, as grant recipients say they’ve helped closer to a thousand workers like Villarreal get training and find new jobs.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>State records indicate the fund has helped more than 630 workers transition to new careers. And that could be an undercount, as grant recipients say they’ve helped closer to a thousand workers like Villarreal get training and find new jobs.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Even with its successes, proponents of the program say it’s falling short. They are urging the state to extend it beyond the current end date in 2027 and provide new benefits, including wage replacement during transitions, college credits for on-the-job experience and at least two years of financial support during apprenticeships.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Some of the biggest job losses from the energy transition are expected in Bakersfield, where the oil and gas industry employs an estimated 6100 people, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/publication/californias-energy-workforce-needs-and-opportunities/\">report\u003c/a> from the Public Policy Institute of California. The nonprofit think tank predicts that 40% of those jobs are likely to disappear in the next decade or so and warns that the city’s small labor market provides few new opportunities. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Some of the biggest job losses from the energy transition are expected in Bakersfield, where the oil and gas industry employs an estimated 6100 people, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/publication/californias-energy-workforce-needs-and-opportunities/\">report\u003c/a> from the Public Policy Institute of California. The nonprofit think tank predicts that 40% of those jobs are likely to disappear in the next decade or so and warns that the city’s small labor market provides few new opportunities. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Bakersfield office of the Kern and Inyo counties workforce development board received $11.3 million, the largest distribution from the state fund, and pledged to provide job search and placement services to 900 oil and gas workers. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Bakersfield office of the Kern and Inyo counties workforce development board received $11.3 million, the largest distribution from the state fund, and pledged to provide job search and placement services to 900 oil and gas workers. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>By the end of May, more than 650 eligible people enrolled and nearly 200 found new jobs, according to Susana Vasquez, program manager for Kern County’s Employer Training Resource.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>By the end of May, more than 650 eligible people enrolled and nearly 200 found new jobs, according to Susana Vasquez, program manager for Kern County’s Employer Training Resource.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Eligible workers can receive $15,000 in state funding to pay for education, a certificate or licensing program, or on-the-job training. They can also get up to $2,500 for job-related costs, such as transportation, work clothes, tools or relocation.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Eligible workers can receive $15,000 in state funding to pay for education, a certificate or licensing program, or on-the-job training. They can also get up to $2,500 for job-related costs, such as transportation, work clothes, tools or relocation.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Convincing workers to accept help, though, is not always easy. Many in the industry view California’s turn away from fossil fuel as inconceivable, and they doubt the state’s promise that new jobs will offer comparable pay and benefits.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Convincing workers to accept help, though, is not always easy. Many in the industry view California’s turn away from fossil fuel as inconceivable, and they doubt the state’s promise that new jobs will offer comparable pay and benefits.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0726-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001217\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0726-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0726-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0726-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0726-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Career Planner Francisco J. Avila works with Jose Vicente Arroyo, 58, as he navigates the next phase of his career in Bakersfield on May 27, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Lauren Justice for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0726-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001217\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Career Planner Francisco J. Avila works with Jose Vicente Arroyo, 58, as he navigates the next phase of his career in Bakersfield on May 27, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Lauren Justice for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>One morning in late May, a dozen men gathered at the job center in Bakersfield, where they listened with a mixture of skepticism and guarded hope as job counselor Francisco Avila described why California employers want to hire former oil and gas workers.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>One morning in late May, a dozen men gathered at the job center in Bakersfield, where they listened with a mixture of skepticism and guarded hope as job counselor Francisco Avila described why California employers want to hire former oil and gas workers.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“They’re looking for you,” Avila said. “Your experience, your knowledge, your skill set, they want to apply that to their industry.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Anthony Strauss, 45, worked for years mixing chemical mud, which makes it easier to extract oil from wells. He lost his job in 2025 when the company he worked for moved to another state.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Anthony Strauss, 45, worked for years mixing chemical mud, which makes it easier to extract oil from wells. He lost his job in 2025 when the company he worked for moved to another state.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“ When I was first laid off, they [the employer] had told me about this program,” said Strauss, who has been out of work for nearly a year. “However, in my personal life, I had taken on some other opportunities that didn’t pan out as well as what they said that they would provide. So I came back here.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“ When I was first laid off, they [the employer] had told me about this program,” said Strauss, who has been out of work for nearly a year. “However, in my personal life, I had taken on some other opportunities that didn’t pan out as well as what they said that they would provide. So I came back here.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The idea for the Displaced Oil and Gas Workers Fund grew out of the abrupt 2020 closure of the Marathon Refinery in Contra Costa County.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Marathon gave employees just 60 days’ notice and prohibited them from transferring to their other refineries, according to a 2025 \u003ca href=\"https://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/fossil-fuel-layoff/\">report \u003c/a>by the UC Berkeley Labor Center.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Marathon gave employees just 60 days’ notice and prohibited them from transferring to their other refineries, according to a 2025 \u003ca href=\"https://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/fossil-fuel-layoff/\">report \u003c/a>by the UC Berkeley Labor Center.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The company laid off over 750 workers, including 345 unionized staff who received only short-term severance. A year after the layoff, UC Labor Center surveyed the union workers and found nearly a third had taken early withdrawals from their retirement accounts to sustain themselves.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The company laid off over 750 workers, including 345 unionized staff who received only short-term severance. A year after the layoff, UC Labor Center surveyed the union workers and found nearly a third had taken early withdrawals from their retirement accounts to sustain themselves.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9005-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001218\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9005-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9005-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9005-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9005-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pamphlets and paperwork are seen at a presentation for displaced oil workers as they navigate the next phase of their careers in Bakersfield on May 27, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Lauren Justice for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9005-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001218\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pamphlets and paperwork are seen at a presentation for displaced oil workers as they navigate the next phase of their careers in Bakersfield on May 27, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Lauren Justice for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The United Steel Workers union, whose members comprise the majority of people employed by refineries in California, anticipated members would need help taking the next step. The union lobbied state lawmakers to establish the displaced workers fund, and created the California Oil and Refinery Workers Readiness Program, or CORP, to help members use the resources.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The United Steel Workers union, whose members comprise the majority of people employed by refineries in California, anticipated members would need help taking the next step. The union lobbied state lawmakers to establish the displaced workers fund, and created the California Oil and Refinery Workers Readiness Program, or CORP, to help members use the resources.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We needed something that the members were gonna be able to grasp,” said Rosi Romo, program director for CORP.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We needed something that the members were gonna be able to grasp,” said Rosi Romo, program director for CORP.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>CORP received $9 million of the new funds, enough to help at least 650 people, and recruited a handful of union members to act as navigators, who could help their coworkers consider their options and take action. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>CORP received $9 million of the new funds, enough to help at least 650 people, and recruited a handful of union members to act as navigators, who could help their coworkers consider their options and take action. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>When Phillips 66 announced in October 2024 that it was closing its refineries in Carson and Wilmington, Romo said, “We were able to have them [navigators] on the ground talking to people, enrolling them, and so they were gaining momentum.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>When Phillips 66 announced in October 2024 that it was closing its refineries in Carson and Wilmington, Romo said, “We were able to have them [navigators] on the ground talking to people, enrolling them, and so they were gaining momentum.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Statewide, USW navigators have counseled 400 members, and by June, half of them were enrolled in courses paid for by the state. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Statewide, USW navigators have counseled 400 members, and by June, half of them were enrolled in courses paid for by the state. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0609-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001215\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0609-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0609-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0609-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0609-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Career Planner Francisco J. Avila leads a presentation and discussion with displaced oil workers as they navigate the next phase of their careers in Bakersfield on May 27, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Lauren Justice for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0609-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001215\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Career Planner Francisco J. Avila leads a presentation and discussion with displaced oil workers as they navigate the next phase of their careers in Bakersfield on May 27, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Lauren Justice for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Wilfredo Cruz, a 37-year-old industrial mechanic at the Phillips 66 Wilmington refinery, became a navigator. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Wilfredo Cruz, a 37-year-old industrial mechanic at the Phillips 66 Wilmington refinery, became a navigator. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I could help myself and my coworkers to be able to find something new or at least get some sort of training, so we can find our next job,” said Cruz, who had seen his dad become a respiratory therapist after getting laid off from a refinery job.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I could help myself and my coworkers to be able to find something new or at least get some sort of training, so we can find our next job,” said Cruz, who had seen his dad become a respiratory therapist after getting laid off from a refinery job.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Some union members transitioned to careers in radiology, wastewater treatment and as EMTS. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Cruz enrolled in a cybersecurity program at UC San Diego while he worked at the refinery, listening to lectures while commuting. Though he was laid off in March 2026, months before he expected to complete his education, his wife works a good job, and they have been able to swing it so far.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0672-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001216\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0672-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0672-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0672-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0672-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jose Vicente Arroyo, 58, left, and Anthony Strauss, 45, right, listen to a presentation for displaced oil workers as they navigate the next phase of their careers in Bakersfield on May 27, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Lauren Justice for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Laurie Wallace, another union navigator at the Wilmington refinery, has pressed state lawmakers to extend the lifetime of the fund to give oil and gas workers more time to transition. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As the 50-year-old process technician urged coworkers to take care of their medical check-ups and treatment before they lost their insurance, she did the same. That’s when her doctor told her she had breast cancer.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I call it divine intervention,” Wallace said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Early detection allowed her to undergo treatment and make a full recovery. She returned to work to help shut down the refinery and counsel her colleagues. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>She said a lot of them were terrified about losing a career in an industry that had afforded them and their families a comfortable life.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Wallace said she had a different reaction to the closure. “I felt relieved,” she said, excited about the possibilities of working in another industry.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The refinery laid her off in April. She has since started to earn an associate’s degree and is thinking about becoming a grant writer or driving a forklift.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I always believe that when a door closes, a window opens,” Wallace said. “I just gotta figure out how to crawl through it.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"text": "Lessons from Marathon’s refinery closure ",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Lessons from Marathon’s refinery closure \u003c/h2>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Refinery workers in Contra Costa County have also benefited from the Displaced Oil and Gas Workers Fund.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>When Marathon closed its refinery there in 2020, existing benefits weren’t sufficient for laid-off employees, said Tamia Brown, executive director of the county’s workforce development board. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But by last year, when Valero announced it would close its Benicia refinery and lay off 282 nonunion employees, the county agency was ready to help with a \u003ca href=\"https://www.wdbccc.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Laid-Off-Oil-Gas-Workers-Program-2_Fact-Sheet_ADA-Compliant.pdf\">grant \u003c/a>of $4.3 million from the fund. They met with roughly 50 Valero workers by June.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Brown expects that number to climb as severance and unemployment benefits dwindle. But she said people don’t have to wait until that happens to access benefits and other resources. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>She said the funds are a huge help but would be even more effective if they covered a longer transition, to allow people to pursue apprenticeships and degree programs, which can take at least two years.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“In order to get back to a comparable wage, a person may need to learn a new skill set or transfer to a different industry. That takes time,” she said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Extending the benefits would cost the state more, Brown said, but she thinks it’s a worthwhile investment. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Of the original $30 million in the fund, $18 million has yet to be spent.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The fund is due to sunset in July of 2027, but advocates are urging lawmakers to extend it, as tens of thousands more industry jobs face elimination over the next decade.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“ There’s folks in our system who have been displaced or know that they are going to be displaced and are going through training programs,” Brown said. “We need to be able to continue to support them.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A bill to make the fund permanent is moving through the state legislature. At a hearing in April, the bill’s author, State Assemblymember Damon Connolly, D-San Rafael, urged his colleagues to approve it. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Providing support for these workers during their time of need should not be controversial. Simply put, it’s the right thing to do.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"headline": "California’s Displaced Oil and Gas Workers’ Fund Is a Lifeline. Now Advocates Say It’s Time to Expand",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story is part of KQED’s series “Flipping the Switch,” examining California’s transition to clean energy and what it means for you. Find the series and more of our climate coverage \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/climate\">\u003cem>here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Joe Villarreal spent his second day at Northwest Metrology honing a new skill: calibrating torque wrenches. The company’s Bakersfield headquarters is packed with pressure gauges, weights, and other specialized tools — all designed to ensure that everything from defibrillators to scales for weighing aircraft work without fail. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We have an extensive client list,” said owner Wayne Moule, who has been serving hospitals, refineries and aerospace companies for decades.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Moule has a hard time finding employees who are a good fit for the painstaking work.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“People come in, give us resumes that look great,” Moule said, “but they just don’t have the work ethic. They don’t care about the accuracy. They say they calibrate a piece of equipment, and they don’t. And then I find out about it from a customer.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9173-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001220\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9173-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9173-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9173-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9173-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Joe Villarreal’s second day in his new job at Northwest Metrology in Bakersfield on May 27, 2026. Villarreal was displaced as an oil worker and got connected to a program helping oil workers find new careers. (Lauren Justice for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The work is highly technical, requiring up to three years of training and the ability to read and follow 2-inch-thick manuals with detailed instructions for using each piece of equipment.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Do you know how hard it is to get somebody to read a manual?” Moule said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But the job was a good fit for Villarreal, a 55-year-old father of three who spent 30 years working in the oil and gas industry.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the early days of his career, he worked gritty, hands-on jobs in Bakersfield’s scorching hot oil fields, checking equipment for leaks.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Later, he switched to the administrative side, working out of the sun. In his final job as an engineering technician, Villarreal applied for new drilling permits, kept records and filed reports. He was laid off last year.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9441-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001225\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9441-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9441-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9441-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9441-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Joe Villarreal’s second day in his new job at Northwest Metrology in Bakersfield on May 27, 2026. Villarreal was displaced as an oil worker and got connected to a program helping oil workers find new careers. (Lauren Justice for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The oil industry has always had its up and downs,” Villarreal said. “I’m not really sure what happened this time … I thought we were doing good, the oil industry, and just, it just changed overnight for me.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Villarreal landed his new job at Northwest Metrology in May through a state program designed to mitigate the impact on oil and gas workers as California transitions away from fossil fuels.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The program connected Villarreal with three case managers who invited him to weekly “job hubs” that featured presentations from employers looking to hire. With no experience in calibration, he was reluctant to apply for the job but decided, “I should at least go talk to them ’cause it don’t hurt.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>California’s goal to achieve net zero emissions by 2045 has accelerated the decline of the oil and gas industry, which employs an estimated 94,000 people in high-paying, often unionized jobs with benefits.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Since 2020, the closure or conversion of six refineries has eliminated roughly 2,000 jobs, dislodging highly skilled workers from decadeslong careers spent extracting and refining crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt and petrochemicals.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9275-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001222\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9275-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9275-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9275-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9275-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Wayne Moule, Owner at Northwest Metrology, has utilized a program helping to employ displaced oil workers in new jobs in Bakersfield on May 27, 2026. (Lauren Justice for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Displaced Oil and Gas Workers Fund is California’s most tangible effort to help workers transition to comparable jobs in other industries. The $30 million fund, created through a state law in 2022, provides grants to local workforce development boards, unions, and other groups in the most affected areas of the state: Kern, Contra Costa and Los Angeles counties.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>State records indicate the fund has helped more than 630 workers transition to new careers. And that could be an undercount, as grant recipients say they’ve helped closer to a thousand workers like Villarreal get training and find new jobs.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Even with its successes, proponents of the program say it’s falling short. They are urging the state to extend it beyond the current end date in 2027 and provide new benefits, including wage replacement during transitions, college credits for on-the-job experience and at least two years of financial support during apprenticeships.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some of the biggest job losses from the energy transition are expected in Bakersfield, where the oil and gas industry employs an estimated 6100 people, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/publication/californias-energy-workforce-needs-and-opportunities/\">report\u003c/a> from the Public Policy Institute of California. The nonprofit think tank predicts that 40% of those jobs are likely to disappear in the next decade or so and warns that the city’s small labor market provides few new opportunities. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Bakersfield office of the Kern and Inyo counties workforce development board received $11.3 million, the largest distribution from the state fund, and pledged to provide job search and placement services to 900 oil and gas workers. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>By the end of May, more than 650 eligible people enrolled and nearly 200 found new jobs, according to Susana Vasquez, program manager for Kern County’s Employer Training Resource.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Eligible workers can receive $15,000 in state funding to pay for education, a certificate or licensing program, or on-the-job training. They can also get up to $2,500 for job-related costs, such as transportation, work clothes, tools or relocation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Convincing workers to accept help, though, is not always easy. Many in the industry view California’s turn away from fossil fuel as inconceivable, and they doubt the state’s promise that new jobs will offer comparable pay and benefits.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0726-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001217\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0726-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0726-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0726-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0726-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Career Planner Francisco J. Avila works with Jose Vicente Arroyo, 58, as he navigates the next phase of his career in Bakersfield on May 27, 2026. (Lauren Justice for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One morning in late May, a dozen men gathered at the job center in Bakersfield, where they listened with a mixture of skepticism and guarded hope as job counselor Francisco Avila described why California employers want to hire former oil and gas workers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“They’re looking for you,” Avila said. “Your experience, your knowledge, your skill set, they want to apply that to their industry.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Anthony Strauss, 45, worked for years mixing chemical mud, which makes it easier to extract oil from wells. He lost his job in 2025 when the company he worked for moved to another state.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“ When I was first laid off, they [the employer] had told me about this program,” said Strauss, who has been out of work for nearly a year. “However, in my personal life, I had taken on some other opportunities that didn’t pan out as well as what they said that they would provide. So I came back here.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The wake-up call\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The idea for the Displaced Oil and Gas Workers Fund grew out of the abrupt 2020 closure of the Marathon Refinery in Contra Costa County.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Marathon gave employees just 60 days’ notice and prohibited them from transferring to their other refineries, according to a 2025 \u003ca href=\"https://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/fossil-fuel-layoff/\">report \u003c/a>by the UC Berkeley Labor Center.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The company laid off over 750 workers, including 345 unionized staff who received only short-term severance. A year after the layoff, UC Labor Center surveyed the union workers and found nearly a third had taken early withdrawals from their retirement accounts to sustain themselves.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9005-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001218\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9005-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9005-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9005-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_9005-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pamphlets and paperwork are seen at a presentation for displaced oil workers as they navigate the next phase of their careers in Bakersfield on May 27, 2026. (Lauren Justice for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The United Steel Workers union, whose members comprise the majority of people employed by refineries in California, anticipated members would need help taking the next step. The union lobbied state lawmakers to establish the displaced workers fund, and created the California Oil and Refinery Workers Readiness Program, or CORP, to help members use the resources.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We needed something that the members were gonna be able to grasp,” said Rosi Romo, program director for CORP.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>CORP received $9 million of the new funds, enough to help at least 650 people, and recruited a handful of union members to act as navigators, who could help their coworkers consider their options and take action. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When Phillips 66 announced in October 2024 that it was closing its refineries in Carson and Wilmington, Romo said, “We were able to have them [navigators] on the ground talking to people, enrolling them, and so they were gaining momentum.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Statewide, USW navigators have counseled 400 members, and by June, half of them were enrolled in courses paid for by the state. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0609-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001215\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0609-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0609-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0609-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0609-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Career Planner Francisco J. Avila leads a presentation and discussion with displaced oil workers as they navigate the next phase of their careers in Bakersfield on May 27, 2026. (Lauren Justice for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Wilfredo Cruz, a 37-year-old industrial mechanic at the Phillips 66 Wilmington refinery, became a navigator. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I could help myself and my coworkers to be able to find something new or at least get some sort of training, so we can find our next job,” said Cruz, who had seen his dad become a respiratory therapist after getting laid off from a refinery job.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Many asked Cruz if they should get started while still on the job. He told them to start as early as possible. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some union members transitioned to careers in radiology, wastewater treatment and as EMTS. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Cruz enrolled in a cybersecurity program at UC San Diego while he worked at the refinery, listening to lectures while commuting. Though he was laid off in March 2026, months before he expected to complete his education, his wife works a good job, and they have been able to swing it so far.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0672-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001216\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0672-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0672-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0672-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/052726_DISPLACEDOIL_0672-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jose Vicente Arroyo, 58, left, and Anthony Strauss, 45, right, listen to a presentation for displaced oil workers as they navigate the next phase of their careers in Bakersfield on May 27, 2026. (Lauren Justice for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As a navigator, Cruz heard his coworkers’ frustrations with the displaced workers’ program and its limitations.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some who were working 12- to 16-hour days to wind down refinery operations did not have time for training programs.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Others who were sole breadwinners for their families faced a dilemma that forced them to consider a lower-paying job or one that doesn’t utilize their technical skills and knowledge. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“You kinda have to choose,” Cruz said. “Do I go to school? Or do I need a job now? It’s very hard to do both.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A lot of workers over the age of 55 took early retirement, Cruz said. The prospect of going back to school and starting in a brand new industry didn’t seem worth it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Laurie Wallace, another union navigator at the Wilmington refinery, has pressed state lawmakers to extend the lifetime of the fund to give oil and gas workers more time to transition. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As the 50-year-old process technician urged coworkers to take care of their medical check-ups and treatment before they lost their insurance, she did the same. That’s when her doctor told her she had breast cancer.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I call it divine intervention,” Wallace said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Early detection allowed her to undergo treatment and make a full recovery. She returned to work to help shut down the refinery and counsel her colleagues. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She said a lot of them were terrified about losing a career in an industry that had afforded them and their families a comfortable life.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Wallace said she had a different reaction to the closure. “I felt relieved,” she said, excited about the possibilities of working in another industry.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The refinery laid her off in April. She has since started to earn an associate’s degree and is thinking about becoming a grant writer or driving a forklift.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I always believe that when a door closes, a window opens,” Wallace said. “I just gotta figure out how to crawl through it.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Lessons from Marathon’s refinery closure \u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Refinery workers in Contra Costa County have also benefited from the Displaced Oil and Gas Workers Fund.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When Marathon closed its refinery there in 2020, existing benefits weren’t sufficient for laid-off employees, said Tamia Brown, executive director of the county’s workforce development board. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But by last year, when Valero announced it would close its Benicia refinery and lay off 282 nonunion employees, the county agency was ready to help with a \u003ca href=\"https://www.wdbccc.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Laid-Off-Oil-Gas-Workers-Program-2_Fact-Sheet_ADA-Compliant.pdf\">grant \u003c/a>of $4.3 million from the fund. They met with roughly 50 Valero workers by June.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/230921-VALERO-BENICIA-REFINERY-MD-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2000873\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/230921-VALERO-BENICIA-REFINERY-MD-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/230921-VALERO-BENICIA-REFINERY-MD-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/230921-VALERO-BENICIA-REFINERY-MD-01-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/230921-VALERO-BENICIA-REFINERY-MD-01-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Valero refinery in Benicia on Sept. 21, 2023. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Brown expects that number to climb as severance and unemployment benefits dwindle. But she said people don’t have to wait until that happens to access benefits and other resources. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She said the funds are a huge help but would be even more effective if they covered a longer transition, to allow people to pursue apprenticeships and degree programs, which can take at least two years.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“In order to get back to a comparable wage, a person may need to learn a new skill set or transfer to a different industry. That takes time,” she said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Extending the benefits would cost the state more, Brown said, but she thinks it’s a worthwhile investment. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Of the original $30 million in the fund, $18 million has yet to be spent.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The fund is due to sunset in July of 2027, but advocates are urging lawmakers to extend it, as tens of thousands more industry jobs face elimination over the next decade.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“ There’s folks in our system who have been displaced or know that they are going to be displaced and are going through training programs,” Brown said. “We need to be able to continue to support them.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A bill to make the fund permanent is moving through the state legislature. At a hearing in April, the bill’s author, State Assemblymember Damon Connolly, D-San Rafael, urged his colleagues to approve it. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Providing support for these workers during their time of need should not be controversial. Simply put, it’s the right thing to do.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium aligncenter\" style=\"width: 450px; margin: 20px auto 40px;\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/KQED-membership-photo-laura-klivans-450x298@2x.jpg\" alt=\"Your support makes this work possible.\" width=\"900\" height=\"596\" />\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 110%; margin-bottom: 1em;\">\u003cem>From Laura Klivans, Climate Reporter at KQED:\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 110%; margin-bottom: 1em;\">I know climate change is important to you. And it can feel overwhelming. This year, we want to empower the Bay Area to face our changing climate by bringing you stories about solutions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 110%; margin-bottom: 1em;\">If this story helped you today, please consider donating to support our work. It takes just a moment to make your tax-deductible donation, and your gift keeps articles like this from KQED accessible to everyone.\u003c/p>\n\u003ca href=\"https://donate.kqed.org/sojo?ms=W2510EANXXXX25\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" style=\"width: 272px; margin: 40px auto;\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/KQED-membership-support-kqed-journalism-272x57@2x.png\" alt=\"Button: Support KQED journalism\" width=\"544\" height=\"114\" />\u003c/a>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "this-tiny-oyster-once-thrived-in-california-now-scientists-are-bringing-it-back",
"title": "This Tiny Oyster Once Thrived in California. Now, Scientists Are Bringing It Back",
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"content": "\u003cp>On a cool July morning, the scent of burning sage drifted across Elkhorn Slough as a quiet circle of more than a dozen volunteers and conservationists, including \u003ca href=\"https://amahmutsun.org/\">Amah Mutsun Tribal Band\u003c/a> members, introduced themselves.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>They passed around the smoldering bundle in an Indigenous ritual of cleansing and renewal, known as smudging.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Afterward, the group set out on a 20-minute trek to Oak Marsh, passing by a great blue heron, rabbits, patches of blooming yellow lupine, following a boardwalk that extends over mudflats at low tide. There, laid out on folding tables, were recycled clamshells studded with tiny \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11713665/can-scientists-save-californias-only-native-oysters-new-technique-shows-promise\">Olympia oysters\u003c/a> — the only native oyster on the West Coast of North America.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-05-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001411\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-05-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-05-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-05-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-05-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Hatchery-raised baby oysters growing atop clamshells sit in a bucket prior to being reintroduced to Elkhorn Slough on July 1, 2026. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The group’s task was straightforward: measure each oyster, record its size and secure the shells to biodegradable stakes to carry to a nearby gravel bar. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Once abundant along the West Coast, Olympia oysters formed reefs that filtered water for eelgrass, sheltered marine life like shrimp, crab, worms and juvenile fish and sustained Indigenous communities for thousands of years.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Humans used to touch the oysters at this exact spot on low tides for millennia,” said Kerstin Wasson, research coordinator at \u003ca href=\"https://elkhornslough.org/reserve/\">Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Today, those reefs have nearly disappeared. Scientists, conservation groups and the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band are working together to bring them back to Elkhorn Slough.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For at least 7,000 years, Indigenous peoples harvested Olympia oysters in Elkhorn Slough. By the 1920s, commercial harvesting, altered tidal flows and agricultural runoff drove the population into collapse.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Levees and agricultural runoff leave parts of the estuary covered in thick mud, where young oysters struggle to survive, Wasson said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-13-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001415\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-13-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-13-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-13-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-13-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jasmine Castro stakes clamshells with hatchery-raised baby oysters growing on them into the mud in Elkhorn Slough in an effort to reintroduce the oysters to the ecosystem on July 1, 2026. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For Amah Mutsun Tribal Band member Esak Ordoñez, the gathering was about much more than restoring shellfish.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s a special feeling to be able to come out here surrounded by our elders, our tribal community and friends to relearn this ancient practice of stewardship,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Olympia oysters are functionally extinct across much of California, existing only in scattered individuals rather than dense reefs. As of 2018, fewer than 1,000 oysters remained at Elkhorn Slough, putting the population on the brink of disappearance. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bringing back a reef\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For more than 20 years, Wasson and others at the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve have worked to reverse that decline. Over the past decade, the effort has grown into a partnership with the \u003ca href=\"https://amlt.org/\">Amah Mutsun Land Trust\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://caseagrant.ucsd.edu/\">California Sea Grant\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://mlml.sjsu.edu/\">Moss Landing Marine Laboratories\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.nature.org/en-us/\">The Nature Conservancy\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The restoration strategy tackles two challenges at once.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>First, researchers are rebuilding oyster numbers through \u003ca href=\"https://elkhornslough.org/reserve/research/olympia-oysters-coastwide/\">conservation aquaculture\u003c/a>. At Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, scientists spawn local Olympia oysters in hatcheries, raising juveniles before transplanting them into the estuary, much like growing native plants in a greenhouse before restoring a prairie.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-17-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001417\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-17-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-17-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-17-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-17-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">As the tide comes in, Native Stewardship Corps members and tribal elders sing a blessing after helping to reintroduce baby oysters to Elkhorn Slough on July 1, 2026. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hatchery-raised oysters are grown until they’re about the size of a dime, then transplanted into the estuary during the summer, when survival rates are much higher. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Scientists are also experimenting with where to place oysters along the shoreline, said Luke Gardner, research faculty and California Sea Grant aquaculture specialist at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s a bit of a balance to find that optimum,” Gardner said. Oysters higher in the intertidal zone avoid competitors that can smother them but spend more time exposed to air, making them vulnerable during extreme heat.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Climate change is another factor to consider. Gardner pointed to the Pacific Northwest’s 2021 “heat dome,” when extreme heat and unusually low tides exposed oysters to the sun, causing \u003ca href=\"https://environment.uw.edu/news/2022/06/new-study-2021-heat-wave-created-perfect-storm-for-shellfish-die-off/\">catastrophic die-offs\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The second challenge is rebuilding the habitat itself.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>During this summer’s restoration event, volunteers attached hatchery-raised oysters growing on recycled clam shells, many left behind by hungry sea otters, to biodegradable stakes. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Then they placed them on a gravel bar, mimicking how natural oyster reefs form. Wasson called the larvae “gregarious settlers.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“They like to settle where there’s existing oysters,” Wasson said. “By putting these out, we should be attracting more settlement to the area. It’s sort of a two-for-one.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘We’re trying to recover the oysters and the people both’\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Colonization transformed the estuary through levees, altered waterways and polluted runoff while simultaneously disrupting thousands of years of Indigenous stewardship. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re trying to recover the oysters and the people both,” Wasson said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Oysters are a really important pathway to build community and recover the tribe’s relationship with the landscape more broadly,” said Jacob Harris, coastal and oceans stewardship program manager at Amah Mutsun Land Trust. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-11-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001414\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-11-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-11-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-11-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-11-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Native Stewardship Corps member Esak Ordoñez Garcia (center) prepares clamshells with hatchery-raised baby oysters growing on them to be placed in Elkhorn Slough in an effort to reintroduce the oysters to the ecosystem on July 1, 2026. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Through the Amah Mutsun Land Trust’s \u003ca href=\"https://amlt.org/native-stewardship-corps\">Native Stewardship Corps\u003c/a>, Tribal members train in aquaculture, ecological monitoring, habitat restoration and more. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For Ordoñez, the restoration is also about relearning how people once cared for the landscape. “Back then, our human presence worked with nature,” he said. “Now we’re impeding on nature.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Phoebe Racine, estuarine project director at The Nature Conservancy, said the project reflects a broader effort to restore Indigenous stewardship throughout California. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“As an indigenous person, it’s important for me to better steward the lands I live on,” Racine said. “Having tribal stewardship expand throughout California is critical to restoration work.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Signs of recovery\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Since conservation aquaculture began in 2018, researchers have released hundreds of thousands of hatchery-raised oysters into Elkhorn Slough. Scientists are now finding \u003ca href=\"https://library.elkhornslough.org/attachments/Harris_2024_Experiments_In_Conservation_Aquaculture.pdf\">increasing numbers of wild juvenile oysters settling naturally\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re starting to see more wild recruitment. And we think that is a direct result of our intervention, which is just amazing,” Gardner said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The long-term goal is ambitious: to rebuild the estuary to 10 million oysters, enough to create self-sustaining reefs that can withstand changing environmental conditions.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-07-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001412\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-07-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-07-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-07-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-07-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Elizabeth Rodriguez (center left) and Kerstin Wasson (center right) count the hatchery-raised baby oysters growing on a clamshell prior to placing the shell in Elkhorn Slough in an effort to reintroduce the oysters to the ecosystem on July 1, 2026. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Every reef creates a habitat for hundreds of small marine organisms that can make the entire estuary more resilient. But the biggest challenge is helping Californians recognize what has been lost, Wasson said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Because native oyster reefs disappeared long before most people alive today were born, few realize California once had thriving oyster reefs in its own backyard, she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Wasson calls it “generational amnesia,” which she first read about in an \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25588455/\">Australian paper on oyster reefs\u003c/a>. It’s the idea that people can’t miss an ecosystem that they never knew existed.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After volunteers finished placing the oysters into the mud, everyone gathered on the boardwalk overlooking the estuary, while tribe members led the group in a traditional Indigenous song to honor and offer thanks to the Creator.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As the tide slowly crept back over the gravel bar, the tiny oysters disappeared beneath the water. If enough survive, they’ll grow into clusters that attract the next generation of larvae, eventually building reefs that can sustain themselves.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“About 7,500 hatchery-raised oysters got their first taste of estuary water today,” Wasson said.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Afterward, the group set out on a 20-minute trek to Oak Marsh, passing by a great blue heron, rabbits, patches of blooming yellow lupine, following a boardwalk that extends over mudflats at low tide. There, laid out on folding tables, were recycled clamshells studded with tiny \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11713665/can-scientists-save-californias-only-native-oysters-new-technique-shows-promise\">Olympia oysters\u003c/a> — the only native oyster on the West Coast of North America.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Once abundant along the West Coast, Olympia oysters formed reefs that filtered water for eelgrass, sheltered marine life like shrimp, crab, worms and juvenile fish and sustained Indigenous communities for thousands of years.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Humans used to touch the oysters at this exact spot on low tides for millennia,” said Kerstin Wasson, research coordinator at \u003ca href=\"https://elkhornslough.org/reserve/\">Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Humans used to touch the oysters at this exact spot on low tides for millennia,” said Kerstin Wasson, research coordinator at \u003ca href=\"https://elkhornslough.org/reserve/\">Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Today, those reefs have nearly disappeared. Scientists, conservation groups and the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band are working together to bring them back to Elkhorn Slough.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Today, those reefs have nearly disappeared. Scientists, conservation groups and the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band are working together to bring them back to Elkhorn Slough.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For at least 7,000 years, Indigenous peoples harvested Olympia oysters in Elkhorn Slough. By the 1920s, commercial harvesting, altered tidal flows and agricultural runoff drove the population into collapse.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Levees and agricultural runoff leave parts of the estuary covered in thick mud, where young oysters struggle to survive, Wasson said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Levees and agricultural runoff leave parts of the estuary covered in thick mud, where young oysters struggle to survive, Wasson said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-13-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001415\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-13-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-13-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-13-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-13-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jasmine Castro stakes clamshells with hatchery-raised baby oysters growing on them into the mud in Elkhorn Slough in an effort to reintroduce the oysters to the ecosystem on July 1, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-13-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001415\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jasmine Castro stakes clamshells with hatchery-raised baby oysters growing on them into the mud in Elkhorn Slough in an effort to reintroduce the oysters to the ecosystem on July 1, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For Amah Mutsun Tribal Band member Esak Ordoñez, the gathering was about much more than restoring shellfish.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s a special feeling to be able to come out here surrounded by our elders, our tribal community and friends to relearn this ancient practice of stewardship,” he said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“It’s a special feeling to be able to come out here surrounded by our elders, our tribal community and friends to relearn this ancient practice of stewardship,” he said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Olympia oysters are functionally extinct across much of California, existing only in scattered individuals rather than dense reefs. As of 2018, fewer than 1,000 oysters remained at Elkhorn Slough, putting the population on the brink of disappearance. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Olympia oysters are functionally extinct across much of California, existing only in scattered individuals rather than dense reefs. As of 2018, fewer than 1,000 oysters remained at Elkhorn Slough, putting the population on the brink of disappearance. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For more than 20 years, Wasson and others at the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve have worked to reverse that decline. Over the past decade, the effort has grown into a partnership with the \u003ca href=\"https://amlt.org/\">Amah Mutsun Land Trust\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://caseagrant.ucsd.edu/\">California Sea Grant\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://mlml.sjsu.edu/\">Moss Landing Marine Laboratories\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.nature.org/en-us/\">The Nature Conservancy\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For more than 20 years, Wasson and others at the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve have worked to reverse that decline. Over the past decade, the effort has grown into a partnership with the \u003ca href=\"https://amlt.org/\">Amah Mutsun Land Trust\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://caseagrant.ucsd.edu/\">California Sea Grant\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://mlml.sjsu.edu/\">Moss Landing Marine Laboratories\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.nature.org/en-us/\">The Nature Conservancy\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The restoration strategy tackles two challenges at once.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>First, researchers are rebuilding oyster numbers through \u003ca href=\"https://elkhornslough.org/reserve/research/olympia-oysters-coastwide/\">conservation aquaculture\u003c/a>. At Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, scientists spawn local Olympia oysters in hatcheries, raising juveniles before transplanting them into the estuary, much like growing native plants in a greenhouse before restoring a prairie.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>First, researchers are rebuilding oyster numbers through \u003ca href=\"https://elkhornslough.org/reserve/research/olympia-oysters-coastwide/\">conservation aquaculture\u003c/a>. At Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, scientists spawn local Olympia oysters in hatcheries, raising juveniles before transplanting them into the estuary, much like growing native plants in a greenhouse before restoring a prairie.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-17-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001417\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-17-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-17-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-17-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-17-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">As the tide comes in, Native Stewardship Corps members and tribal elders sing a blessing after helping to reintroduce baby oysters to Elkhorn Slough on July 1, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-17-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001417\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">As the tide comes in, Native Stewardship Corps members and tribal elders sing a blessing after helping to reintroduce baby oysters to Elkhorn Slough on July 1, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Hatchery-raised oysters are grown until they’re about the size of a dime, then transplanted into the estuary during the summer, when survival rates are much higher. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Hatchery-raised oysters are grown until they’re about the size of a dime, then transplanted into the estuary during the summer, when survival rates are much higher. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Scientists are also experimenting with where to place oysters along the shoreline, said Luke Gardner, research faculty and California Sea Grant aquaculture specialist at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Scientists are also experimenting with where to place oysters along the shoreline, said Luke Gardner, research faculty and California Sea Grant aquaculture specialist at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s a bit of a balance to find that optimum,” Gardner said. Oysters higher in the intertidal zone avoid competitors that can smother them but spend more time exposed to air, making them vulnerable during extreme heat.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“It’s a bit of a balance to find that optimum,” Gardner said. Oysters higher in the intertidal zone avoid competitors that can smother them but spend more time exposed to air, making them vulnerable during extreme heat.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Climate change is another factor to consider. Gardner pointed to the Pacific Northwest’s 2021 “heat dome,” when extreme heat and unusually low tides exposed oysters to the sun, causing \u003ca href=\"https://environment.uw.edu/news/2022/06/new-study-2021-heat-wave-created-perfect-storm-for-shellfish-die-off/\">catastrophic die-offs\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Climate change is another factor to consider. Gardner pointed to the Pacific Northwest’s 2021 “heat dome,” when extreme heat and unusually low tides exposed oysters to the sun, causing \u003ca href=\"https://environment.uw.edu/news/2022/06/new-study-2021-heat-wave-created-perfect-storm-for-shellfish-die-off/\">catastrophic die-offs\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The second challenge is rebuilding the habitat itself.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>During this summer’s restoration event, volunteers attached hatchery-raised oysters growing on recycled clam shells, many left behind by hungry sea otters, to biodegradable stakes. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>During this summer’s restoration event, volunteers attached hatchery-raised oysters growing on recycled clam shells, many left behind by hungry sea otters, to biodegradable stakes. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Then they placed them on a gravel bar, mimicking how natural oyster reefs form. Wasson called the larvae “gregarious settlers.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“They like to settle where there’s existing oysters,” Wasson said. “By putting these out, we should be attracting more settlement to the area. It’s sort of a two-for-one.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Then they placed them on a gravel bar, mimicking how natural oyster reefs form. Wasson called the larvae “gregarious settlers.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“They like to settle where there’s existing oysters,” Wasson said. “By putting these out, we should be attracting more settlement to the area. It’s sort of a two-for-one.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"text": "‘We’re trying to recover the oysters and the people both’",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Colonization transformed the estuary through levees, altered waterways and polluted runoff while simultaneously disrupting thousands of years of Indigenous stewardship. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Colonization transformed the estuary through levees, altered waterways and polluted runoff while simultaneously disrupting thousands of years of Indigenous stewardship. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We’re trying to recover the oysters and the people both,” Wasson said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We’re trying to recover the oysters and the people both,” Wasson said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Oysters are a really important pathway to build community and recover the tribe’s relationship with the landscape more broadly,” said Jacob Harris, coastal and oceans stewardship program manager at Amah Mutsun Land Trust. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Oysters are a really important pathway to build community and recover the tribe’s relationship with the landscape more broadly,” said Jacob Harris, coastal and oceans stewardship program manager at Amah Mutsun Land Trust. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-11-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001414\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-11-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-11-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-11-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-11-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Native Stewardship Corps member Esak Ordoñez Garcia (center) prepares clamshells with hatchery-raised baby oysters growing on them to be placed in Elkhorn Slough in an effort to reintroduce the oysters to the ecosystem on July 1, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-11-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001414\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Native Stewardship Corps member Esak Ordoñez Garcia (center) prepares clamshells with hatchery-raised baby oysters growing on them to be placed in Elkhorn Slough in an effort to reintroduce the oysters to the ecosystem on July 1, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Through the Amah Mutsun Land Trust’s \u003ca href=\"https://amlt.org/native-stewardship-corps\">Native Stewardship Corps\u003c/a>, Tribal members train in aquaculture, ecological monitoring, habitat restoration and more. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Through the Amah Mutsun Land Trust’s \u003ca href=\"https://amlt.org/native-stewardship-corps\">Native Stewardship Corps\u003c/a>, Tribal members train in aquaculture, ecological monitoring, habitat restoration and more. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For Ordoñez, the restoration is also about relearning how people once cared for the landscape. “Back then, our human presence worked with nature,” he said. “Now we’re impeding on nature.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For Ordoñez, the restoration is also about relearning how people once cared for the landscape. “Back then, our human presence worked with nature,” he said. “Now we’re impeding on nature.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Phoebe Racine, estuarine project director at The Nature Conservancy, said the project reflects a broader effort to restore Indigenous stewardship throughout California. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“As an indigenous person, it’s important for me to better steward the lands I live on,” Racine said. “Having tribal stewardship expand throughout California is critical to restoration work.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“As an indigenous person, it’s important for me to better steward the lands I live on,” Racine said. “Having tribal stewardship expand throughout California is critical to restoration work.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"text": "Signs of recovery",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Signs of recovery\u003c/h2>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Since conservation aquaculture began in 2018, researchers have released hundreds of thousands of hatchery-raised oysters into Elkhorn Slough. Scientists are now finding \u003ca href=\"https://library.elkhornslough.org/attachments/Harris_2024_Experiments_In_Conservation_Aquaculture.pdf\">increasing numbers of wild juvenile oysters settling naturally\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Since conservation aquaculture began in 2018, researchers have released hundreds of thousands of hatchery-raised oysters into Elkhorn Slough. Scientists are now finding \u003ca href=\"https://library.elkhornslough.org/attachments/Harris_2024_Experiments_In_Conservation_Aquaculture.pdf\">increasing numbers of wild juvenile oysters settling naturally\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We’re starting to see more wild recruitment. And we think that is a direct result of our intervention, which is just amazing,” Gardner said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The long-term goal is ambitious: to rebuild the estuary to 10 million oysters, enough to create self-sustaining reefs that can withstand changing environmental conditions.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The long-term goal is ambitious: to rebuild the estuary to 10 million oysters, enough to create self-sustaining reefs that can withstand changing environmental conditions.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-07-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001412\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-07-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-07-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-07-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-07-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Elizabeth Rodriguez (center left) and Kerstin Wasson (center right) count the hatchery-raised baby oysters growing on a clamshell prior to placing the shell in Elkhorn Slough in an effort to reintroduce the oysters to the ecosystem on July 1, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-07-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001412\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Elizabeth Rodriguez (center left) and Kerstin Wasson (center right) count the hatchery-raised baby oysters growing on a clamshell prior to placing the shell in Elkhorn Slough in an effort to reintroduce the oysters to the ecosystem on July 1, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Every reef creates a habitat for hundreds of small marine organisms that can make the entire estuary more resilient. But the biggest challenge is helping Californians recognize what has been lost, Wasson said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Because native oyster reefs disappeared long before most people alive today were born, few realize California once had thriving oyster reefs in its own backyard, she said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Because native oyster reefs disappeared long before most people alive today were born, few realize California once had thriving oyster reefs in its own backyard, she said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Wasson calls it “generational amnesia,” which she first read about in an \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25588455/\">Australian paper on oyster reefs\u003c/a>. It’s the idea that people can’t miss an ecosystem that they never knew existed.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Wasson calls it “generational amnesia,” which she first read about in an \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25588455/\">Australian paper on oyster reefs\u003c/a>. It’s the idea that people can’t miss an ecosystem that they never knew existed.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>After volunteers finished placing the oysters into the mud, everyone gathered on the boardwalk overlooking the estuary, while tribe members led the group in a traditional Indigenous song to honor and offer thanks to the Creator.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>After volunteers finished placing the oysters into the mud, everyone gathered on the boardwalk overlooking the estuary, while tribe members led the group in a traditional Indigenous song to honor and offer thanks to the Creator.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As the tide slowly crept back over the gravel bar, the tiny oysters disappeared beneath the water. If enough survive, they’ll grow into clusters that attract the next generation of larvae, eventually building reefs that can sustain themselves.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>As the tide slowly crept back over the gravel bar, the tiny oysters disappeared beneath the water. If enough survive, they’ll grow into clusters that attract the next generation of larvae, eventually building reefs that can sustain themselves.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“About 7,500 hatchery-raised oysters got their first taste of estuary water today,” Wasson said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Researchers at Elkhorn Slough are using hatcheries, habitat restoration and Indigenous stewardship to help bring back the state’s only native oyster and the ecosystem it supports.",
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"title": "This Tiny Oyster Once Thrived in California. Now, Scientists Are Bringing It Back | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>On a cool July morning, the scent of burning sage drifted across Elkhorn Slough as a quiet circle of more than a dozen volunteers and conservationists, including \u003ca href=\"https://amahmutsun.org/\">Amah Mutsun Tribal Band\u003c/a> members, introduced themselves.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>They passed around the smoldering bundle in an Indigenous ritual of cleansing and renewal, known as smudging.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Afterward, the group set out on a 20-minute trek to Oak Marsh, passing by a great blue heron, rabbits, patches of blooming yellow lupine, following a boardwalk that extends over mudflats at low tide. There, laid out on folding tables, were recycled clamshells studded with tiny \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11713665/can-scientists-save-californias-only-native-oysters-new-technique-shows-promise\">Olympia oysters\u003c/a> — the only native oyster on the West Coast of North America.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-05-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001411\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-05-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-05-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-05-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-05-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Hatchery-raised baby oysters growing atop clamshells sit in a bucket prior to being reintroduced to Elkhorn Slough on July 1, 2026. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The group’s task was straightforward: measure each oyster, record its size and secure the shells to biodegradable stakes to carry to a nearby gravel bar. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Once abundant along the West Coast, Olympia oysters formed reefs that filtered water for eelgrass, sheltered marine life like shrimp, crab, worms and juvenile fish and sustained Indigenous communities for thousands of years.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Humans used to touch the oysters at this exact spot on low tides for millennia,” said Kerstin Wasson, research coordinator at \u003ca href=\"https://elkhornslough.org/reserve/\">Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Today, those reefs have nearly disappeared. Scientists, conservation groups and the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band are working together to bring them back to Elkhorn Slough.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For at least 7,000 years, Indigenous peoples harvested Olympia oysters in Elkhorn Slough. By the 1920s, commercial harvesting, altered tidal flows and agricultural runoff drove the population into collapse.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Levees and agricultural runoff leave parts of the estuary covered in thick mud, where young oysters struggle to survive, Wasson said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-13-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001415\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-13-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-13-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-13-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-13-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jasmine Castro stakes clamshells with hatchery-raised baby oysters growing on them into the mud in Elkhorn Slough in an effort to reintroduce the oysters to the ecosystem on July 1, 2026. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For Amah Mutsun Tribal Band member Esak Ordoñez, the gathering was about much more than restoring shellfish.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s a special feeling to be able to come out here surrounded by our elders, our tribal community and friends to relearn this ancient practice of stewardship,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Olympia oysters are functionally extinct across much of California, existing only in scattered individuals rather than dense reefs. As of 2018, fewer than 1,000 oysters remained at Elkhorn Slough, putting the population on the brink of disappearance. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bringing back a reef\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For more than 20 years, Wasson and others at the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve have worked to reverse that decline. Over the past decade, the effort has grown into a partnership with the \u003ca href=\"https://amlt.org/\">Amah Mutsun Land Trust\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://caseagrant.ucsd.edu/\">California Sea Grant\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://mlml.sjsu.edu/\">Moss Landing Marine Laboratories\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.nature.org/en-us/\">The Nature Conservancy\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The restoration strategy tackles two challenges at once.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>First, researchers are rebuilding oyster numbers through \u003ca href=\"https://elkhornslough.org/reserve/research/olympia-oysters-coastwide/\">conservation aquaculture\u003c/a>. At Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, scientists spawn local Olympia oysters in hatcheries, raising juveniles before transplanting them into the estuary, much like growing native plants in a greenhouse before restoring a prairie.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-17-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001417\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-17-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-17-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-17-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-17-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">As the tide comes in, Native Stewardship Corps members and tribal elders sing a blessing after helping to reintroduce baby oysters to Elkhorn Slough on July 1, 2026. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hatchery-raised oysters are grown until they’re about the size of a dime, then transplanted into the estuary during the summer, when survival rates are much higher. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Scientists are also experimenting with where to place oysters along the shoreline, said Luke Gardner, research faculty and California Sea Grant aquaculture specialist at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s a bit of a balance to find that optimum,” Gardner said. Oysters higher in the intertidal zone avoid competitors that can smother them but spend more time exposed to air, making them vulnerable during extreme heat.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Climate change is another factor to consider. Gardner pointed to the Pacific Northwest’s 2021 “heat dome,” when extreme heat and unusually low tides exposed oysters to the sun, causing \u003ca href=\"https://environment.uw.edu/news/2022/06/new-study-2021-heat-wave-created-perfect-storm-for-shellfish-die-off/\">catastrophic die-offs\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The second challenge is rebuilding the habitat itself.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>During this summer’s restoration event, volunteers attached hatchery-raised oysters growing on recycled clam shells, many left behind by hungry sea otters, to biodegradable stakes. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Then they placed them on a gravel bar, mimicking how natural oyster reefs form. Wasson called the larvae “gregarious settlers.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“They like to settle where there’s existing oysters,” Wasson said. “By putting these out, we should be attracting more settlement to the area. It’s sort of a two-for-one.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘We’re trying to recover the oysters and the people both’\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Colonization transformed the estuary through levees, altered waterways and polluted runoff while simultaneously disrupting thousands of years of Indigenous stewardship. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re trying to recover the oysters and the people both,” Wasson said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Oysters are a really important pathway to build community and recover the tribe’s relationship with the landscape more broadly,” said Jacob Harris, coastal and oceans stewardship program manager at Amah Mutsun Land Trust. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-11-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001414\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-11-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-11-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-11-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-11-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Native Stewardship Corps member Esak Ordoñez Garcia (center) prepares clamshells with hatchery-raised baby oysters growing on them to be placed in Elkhorn Slough in an effort to reintroduce the oysters to the ecosystem on July 1, 2026. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Through the Amah Mutsun Land Trust’s \u003ca href=\"https://amlt.org/native-stewardship-corps\">Native Stewardship Corps\u003c/a>, Tribal members train in aquaculture, ecological monitoring, habitat restoration and more. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For Ordoñez, the restoration is also about relearning how people once cared for the landscape. “Back then, our human presence worked with nature,” he said. “Now we’re impeding on nature.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Phoebe Racine, estuarine project director at The Nature Conservancy, said the project reflects a broader effort to restore Indigenous stewardship throughout California. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“As an indigenous person, it’s important for me to better steward the lands I live on,” Racine said. “Having tribal stewardship expand throughout California is critical to restoration work.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Signs of recovery\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Since conservation aquaculture began in 2018, researchers have released hundreds of thousands of hatchery-raised oysters into Elkhorn Slough. Scientists are now finding \u003ca href=\"https://library.elkhornslough.org/attachments/Harris_2024_Experiments_In_Conservation_Aquaculture.pdf\">increasing numbers of wild juvenile oysters settling naturally\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re starting to see more wild recruitment. And we think that is a direct result of our intervention, which is just amazing,” Gardner said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The long-term goal is ambitious: to rebuild the estuary to 10 million oysters, enough to create self-sustaining reefs that can withstand changing environmental conditions.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-07-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2001412\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-07-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-07-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-07-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260701-NATIVE-OYSTER-RESTORATION-MD-07-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Elizabeth Rodriguez (center left) and Kerstin Wasson (center right) count the hatchery-raised baby oysters growing on a clamshell prior to placing the shell in Elkhorn Slough in an effort to reintroduce the oysters to the ecosystem on July 1, 2026. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Every reef creates a habitat for hundreds of small marine organisms that can make the entire estuary more resilient. But the biggest challenge is helping Californians recognize what has been lost, Wasson said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Because native oyster reefs disappeared long before most people alive today were born, few realize California once had thriving oyster reefs in its own backyard, she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Wasson calls it “generational amnesia,” which she first read about in an \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25588455/\">Australian paper on oyster reefs\u003c/a>. It’s the idea that people can’t miss an ecosystem that they never knew existed.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After volunteers finished placing the oysters into the mud, everyone gathered on the boardwalk overlooking the estuary, while tribe members led the group in a traditional Indigenous song to honor and offer thanks to the Creator.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As the tide slowly crept back over the gravel bar, the tiny oysters disappeared beneath the water. If enough survive, they’ll grow into clusters that attract the next generation of larvae, eventually building reefs that can sustain themselves.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“About 7,500 hatchery-raised oysters got their first taste of estuary water today,” Wasson said.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "these-bay-area-renters-are-cutting-fossil-fuels-from-their-homes-and-commutes",
"title": "These Bay Area Renters Are Cutting Fossil Fuels From Their Homes and Commutes",
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"headTitle": "These Bay Area Renters Are Cutting Fossil Fuels From Their Homes and Commutes | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>California is transitioning to clean energy. KQED is reporting on what that means for you. What works? What doesn’t? How much does it cost? Help us find these answers and more by \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"http://donate.kqed.org/sojo?ms=W2510EANXXXX22\">\u003cem>donating today\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Writer Laura Fraser was interested in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2000695/california-is-transitioning-from-fossil-fuels-to-electric-power-its-going-to-get-messy\">climate change\u003c/a> but felt a sense of powerlessness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In the face of this enormous existential problem, what does recycling and riding a bicycle amount to?” Fraser said, sitting in her San Francisco apartment. “It just felt like nothing, just a drop in the ocean.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, a few years ago, she was hired to edit a book called \u003cem>Electrify\u003c/em>, by Saul Griffith. Working through it, she changed her perspective.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The book points out that 42% of energy-related emissions in the U.S. come from our homes and the vehicles we drive. Its core argument is that swapping polluting appliances and cars for electric versions can meaningfully and quickly bring down emissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People don’t understand how much power they have in the climate crisis to cut down on the amount of carbon that they as individuals are creating with their cars, their stoves, their heaters,” Fraser said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Fraser and her husband, Peter Eckart, faced an obstacle: they are renters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001148\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001148\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_004-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_004-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_004-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_004-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_004-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Copper induction stove in the kitchen of Laura Fraser and Peter Eckart’s Haight-Ashbury apartment in San Francisco on May 18, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Renters comprise \u003ca href=\"https://census.bayareametro.gov/households?location=bay_area&year=2020\">46% of Bay Area households\u003c/a>, according to the 2020 Census. For homeowners, changing out gas water heaters, HVAC systems, stoves and cars is doable, albeit expensive. Owners have the decision power to rewire homes and upgrade electric panels, while renters cannot make such large and permanent changes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recent innovations, however, are giving renters the power to substantially cut the pollution from their day-to-day routines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After learning more about what’s called “electrification,” Fraser and her husband Peter Eckart looked around their Haight-Ashbury apartment, where Fraser’s lived for more than 40 years, with fresh eyes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001149\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001149\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_005-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_005-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_005-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_005-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_005-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Gradient plug-in heat pump window unit sits in a bedroom office space in the home of Laura Fraser and Peter Eckart in San Francisco on May 18, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>They guessed the heating unit in front of the old living room fireplace was from the 1960s, and leaked gas, a hazard to both health and the environment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fraser tested this by turning off the gas, disconnecting the pipe from the appliance and placing a balloon tightly around it. The balloon inflated, confirming their suspicions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their six-burner Wolf gas stove emitted \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1995336/heres-what-happened-when-scientists-tested-the-air-with-my-gas-stove-on\">gas when it was off, too\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001151\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001151\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_009-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_009-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_009-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_009-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_009-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Peter Eckart lifts an ornate rug to show the Woo Warmer layer installed between the rug pad and the rug in his San Francisco home on May 18, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>First, the couple swapped out their heating and cooling. They installed a portable heat pump in a window, which plugged right into the wall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The unit was free as Fraser and Eckart were beta testers. They also put a $200 “hot carpet” — basically an electric blanket — beneath a living room rug to create radiant heating.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For cooking, the couple splurged and installed a high-end induction stove for around $7,000. It plugs into a standard wall outlet. Fraser and Eckart chose this stove over a portable induction cooktop because they never plan to move out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001185\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001185\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826Renters-Going-Electric-_GH_014_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826Renters-Going-Electric-_GH_014_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826Renters-Going-Electric-_GH_014_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826Renters-Going-Electric-_GH_014_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826Renters-Going-Electric-_GH_014_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A bumper sticker reading “This is my last gas car” is displayed on a vehicle owned by Laura Fraser and Peter Eckart in San Francisco on May 18, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001189\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001189\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826Renters-Going-Electric-_GH_011_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826Renters-Going-Electric-_GH_011_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826Renters-Going-Electric-_GH_011_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826Renters-Going-Electric-_GH_011_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826Renters-Going-Electric-_GH_011_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Laura Fraser enters the garage of near her Haight-Ashbury apartment building in San Francisco on May 18, 2026, where the household stores bicycles and other forms of transportation. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>To get around town, Fraser and Eckart take public transit and ride e-bikes. “We’ve had them for about five years and love them,” Fraser said. “I always say the best car for San Francisco is an e-bike.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For longer trips, the couple hops into Fraser’s gas-powered 2005 Mini-Cooper, which sports a bumper sticker that reads, “This is my last gas car.” They’re not sure how they’ll charge an electric vehicle, as there is no outlet in the garage they rent across the street from their apartment, but that’s a challenge they’ll take on in time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Collectively, if we can make the switch to electricity, we will address the climate problem,” Fraser said. “That feels very empowering to me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Everything but the water heater\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Jason Wexler and Karina van Schaardenburg live in a two-bedroom Mission apartment with their 5- and 1-year-old children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They switched nearly all of their gas-powered appliances to electric ones, except the water heater, which would require a substantial modification to the apartment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They are both motivated by climate change and work in clean energy and technology. But said they made these changes after reading about the \u003ca href=\"https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2025/12/gas-propane-stoves-nitrogen-dioxide-exposure-health-risks-switching-electric\">harmful health\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/4/12/pgaf341/8361964?login=false\">effects\u003c/a> from burning gas indoors, particularly for kids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001154\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001154\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/20260531-RENTERSELECTRIFY-JY-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/20260531-RENTERSELECTRIFY-JY-04-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/20260531-RENTERSELECTRIFY-JY-04-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/20260531-RENTERSELECTRIFY-JY-04-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/20260531-RENTERSELECTRIFY-JY-04-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An air quality sensor at Jason Wexler and Karina van Schaardenburg’s home in San Francisco on Sunday, May 31, 2026. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Before switching appliances, they bought a $300 air quality \u003ca href=\"https://www.airthings.com/view-plus\">monitor\u003c/a>, which showed a spike in fine particulate matter and carbon dioxide when they used their gas wall furnace and stove.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like Fraser and Eckart, they now use a window heat pump. But instead of replacing their gas stove, they’ve simply placed a $170, two-burner induction cooktop on its surface. They bake and roast food with a $130 small electric toaster oven.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While many clothes dryers are powered by gas, theirs is nonexistent: They line dry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001153\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001153\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/20260531-RENTERSELECTRIFY-JY-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/20260531-RENTERSELECTRIFY-JY-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/20260531-RENTERSELECTRIFY-JY-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/20260531-RENTERSELECTRIFY-JY-01-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/20260531-RENTERSELECTRIFY-JY-01-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Karina van Schaardenburg hangs laundry to dry alongside her son Isaac at their home in San Francisco on Sunday, May 31, 2026. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It took a little bit of getting used to,” van Schaardenburg said. They check the weather before hanging their wash. Their previous apartment had no washer and dryer at all, so “this actually just felt like an upgrade,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The couple has one e-bike and one Prius, which they use for kid drop-offs, grocery runs or other outings. They detach and charge their e-bike battery in their apartment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While most California apartments have 40-100 amps of power available, Wexler and van Schaardenburg made all these changes on just 35 amps and two electrical circuits. Their setup works well, but with one limit: no microwaving while the induction burners are on high or a fuse blows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001156\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001156\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/20260531-RENTERSELECTRIFY-JY-06-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/20260531-RENTERSELECTRIFY-JY-06-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/20260531-RENTERSELECTRIFY-JY-06-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/20260531-RENTERSELECTRIFY-JY-06-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/20260531-RENTERSELECTRIFY-JY-06-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Window inserts to keep the home warm in Jason Wexler and Karina van Schaardenburg’s flat in San Francisco on Sunday, May 31, 2026. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The couple also spent $1,500 to add customized, removable plexiglass to the front windows. The double panes block street noise and drafts from blowing in their 1899 Victorian apartment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although electricity is more expensive than gas in California, the couple spends slightly less on monthly utilities because they have been able to retire the inefficient space heaters they used to supplement their gas heating. They feel their investments have increased their comfort and keep their indoor air clean.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Plus, “everything that we have changed is completely reversible,” Wexler said. “When we move out, the apartment will be just as it was when we moved in.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>California is transitioning to clean energy. KQED is reporting on what that means for you. What works? What doesn’t? How much does it cost? Help us find these answers and more by \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"http://donate.kqed.org/sojo?ms=W2510EANXXXX22\">\u003cem>donating today\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Writer Laura Fraser was interested in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2000695/california-is-transitioning-from-fossil-fuels-to-electric-power-its-going-to-get-messy\">climate change\u003c/a> but felt a sense of powerlessness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In the face of this enormous existential problem, what does recycling and riding a bicycle amount to?” Fraser said, sitting in her San Francisco apartment. “It just felt like nothing, just a drop in the ocean.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, a few years ago, she was hired to edit a book called \u003cem>Electrify\u003c/em>, by Saul Griffith. Working through it, she changed her perspective.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The book points out that 42% of energy-related emissions in the U.S. come from our homes and the vehicles we drive. Its core argument is that swapping polluting appliances and cars for electric versions can meaningfully and quickly bring down emissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People don’t understand how much power they have in the climate crisis to cut down on the amount of carbon that they as individuals are creating with their cars, their stoves, their heaters,” Fraser said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Fraser and her husband, Peter Eckart, faced an obstacle: they are renters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001148\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001148\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_004-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_004-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_004-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_004-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_004-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Copper induction stove in the kitchen of Laura Fraser and Peter Eckart’s Haight-Ashbury apartment in San Francisco on May 18, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Renters comprise \u003ca href=\"https://census.bayareametro.gov/households?location=bay_area&year=2020\">46% of Bay Area households\u003c/a>, according to the 2020 Census. For homeowners, changing out gas water heaters, HVAC systems, stoves and cars is doable, albeit expensive. Owners have the decision power to rewire homes and upgrade electric panels, while renters cannot make such large and permanent changes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recent innovations, however, are giving renters the power to substantially cut the pollution from their day-to-day routines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After learning more about what’s called “electrification,” Fraser and her husband Peter Eckart looked around their Haight-Ashbury apartment, where Fraser’s lived for more than 40 years, with fresh eyes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001149\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001149\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_005-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_005-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_005-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_005-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_005-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Gradient plug-in heat pump window unit sits in a bedroom office space in the home of Laura Fraser and Peter Eckart in San Francisco on May 18, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>They guessed the heating unit in front of the old living room fireplace was from the 1960s, and leaked gas, a hazard to both health and the environment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fraser tested this by turning off the gas, disconnecting the pipe from the appliance and placing a balloon tightly around it. The balloon inflated, confirming their suspicions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their six-burner Wolf gas stove emitted \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1995336/heres-what-happened-when-scientists-tested-the-air-with-my-gas-stove-on\">gas when it was off, too\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001151\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001151\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_009-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_009-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_009-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_009-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_009-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Peter Eckart lifts an ornate rug to show the Woo Warmer layer installed between the rug pad and the rug in his San Francisco home on May 18, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>First, the couple swapped out their heating and cooling. They installed a portable heat pump in a window, which plugged right into the wall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The unit was free as Fraser and Eckart were beta testers. They also put a $200 “hot carpet” — basically an electric blanket — beneath a living room rug to create radiant heating.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For cooking, the couple splurged and installed a high-end induction stove for around $7,000. It plugs into a standard wall outlet. Fraser and Eckart chose this stove over a portable induction cooktop because they never plan to move out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001185\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001185\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826Renters-Going-Electric-_GH_014_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826Renters-Going-Electric-_GH_014_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826Renters-Going-Electric-_GH_014_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826Renters-Going-Electric-_GH_014_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826Renters-Going-Electric-_GH_014_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A bumper sticker reading “This is my last gas car” is displayed on a vehicle owned by Laura Fraser and Peter Eckart in San Francisco on May 18, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001189\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001189\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826Renters-Going-Electric-_GH_011_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826Renters-Going-Electric-_GH_011_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826Renters-Going-Electric-_GH_011_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826Renters-Going-Electric-_GH_011_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826Renters-Going-Electric-_GH_011_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Laura Fraser enters the garage of near her Haight-Ashbury apartment building in San Francisco on May 18, 2026, where the household stores bicycles and other forms of transportation. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>To get around town, Fraser and Eckart take public transit and ride e-bikes. “We’ve had them for about five years and love them,” Fraser said. “I always say the best car for San Francisco is an e-bike.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For longer trips, the couple hops into Fraser’s gas-powered 2005 Mini-Cooper, which sports a bumper sticker that reads, “This is my last gas car.” They’re not sure how they’ll charge an electric vehicle, as there is no outlet in the garage they rent across the street from their apartment, but that’s a challenge they’ll take on in time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Collectively, if we can make the switch to electricity, we will address the climate problem,” Fraser said. “That feels very empowering to me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Everything but the water heater\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Jason Wexler and Karina van Schaardenburg live in a two-bedroom Mission apartment with their 5- and 1-year-old children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They switched nearly all of their gas-powered appliances to electric ones, except the water heater, which would require a substantial modification to the apartment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They are both motivated by climate change and work in clean energy and technology. But said they made these changes after reading about the \u003ca href=\"https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2025/12/gas-propane-stoves-nitrogen-dioxide-exposure-health-risks-switching-electric\">harmful health\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/4/12/pgaf341/8361964?login=false\">effects\u003c/a> from burning gas indoors, particularly for kids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001154\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001154\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/20260531-RENTERSELECTRIFY-JY-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/20260531-RENTERSELECTRIFY-JY-04-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/20260531-RENTERSELECTRIFY-JY-04-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/20260531-RENTERSELECTRIFY-JY-04-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/20260531-RENTERSELECTRIFY-JY-04-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An air quality sensor at Jason Wexler and Karina van Schaardenburg’s home in San Francisco on Sunday, May 31, 2026. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Before switching appliances, they bought a $300 air quality \u003ca href=\"https://www.airthings.com/view-plus\">monitor\u003c/a>, which showed a spike in fine particulate matter and carbon dioxide when they used their gas wall furnace and stove.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like Fraser and Eckart, they now use a window heat pump. But instead of replacing their gas stove, they’ve simply placed a $170, two-burner induction cooktop on its surface. They bake and roast food with a $130 small electric toaster oven.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While many clothes dryers are powered by gas, theirs is nonexistent: They line dry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001153\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001153\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/20260531-RENTERSELECTRIFY-JY-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/20260531-RENTERSELECTRIFY-JY-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/20260531-RENTERSELECTRIFY-JY-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/20260531-RENTERSELECTRIFY-JY-01-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/20260531-RENTERSELECTRIFY-JY-01-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Karina van Schaardenburg hangs laundry to dry alongside her son Isaac at their home in San Francisco on Sunday, May 31, 2026. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It took a little bit of getting used to,” van Schaardenburg said. They check the weather before hanging their wash. Their previous apartment had no washer and dryer at all, so “this actually just felt like an upgrade,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The couple has one e-bike and one Prius, which they use for kid drop-offs, grocery runs or other outings. They detach and charge their e-bike battery in their apartment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While most California apartments have 40-100 amps of power available, Wexler and van Schaardenburg made all these changes on just 35 amps and two electrical circuits. Their setup works well, but with one limit: no microwaving while the induction burners are on high or a fuse blows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001156\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001156\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/20260531-RENTERSELECTRIFY-JY-06-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/20260531-RENTERSELECTRIFY-JY-06-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/20260531-RENTERSELECTRIFY-JY-06-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/20260531-RENTERSELECTRIFY-JY-06-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/20260531-RENTERSELECTRIFY-JY-06-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Window inserts to keep the home warm in Jason Wexler and Karina van Schaardenburg’s flat in San Francisco on Sunday, May 31, 2026. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The couple also spent $1,500 to add customized, removable plexiglass to the front windows. The double panes block street noise and drafts from blowing in their 1899 Victorian apartment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although electricity is more expensive than gas in California, the couple spends slightly less on monthly utilities because they have been able to retire the inefficient space heaters they used to supplement their gas heating. They feel their investments have increased their comfort and keep their indoor air clean.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Plus, “everything that we have changed is completely reversible,” Wexler said. “When we move out, the apartment will be just as it was when we moved in.”\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "as-waves-pound-pacifica-surfers-pitch-a-reef-to-defend-the-shore",
"title": "As Waves Pound Pacifica, Surfers Pitch a Reef to Defend the Shore",
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"headTitle": "As Waves Pound Pacifica, Surfers Pitch a Reef to Defend the Shore | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>A group of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12087577/after-pacifica-pier-damage-bay-area-leaders-urge-trump-to-restore-aid\">Pacifica\u003c/a> surfers is proposing the construction of an artificial reef to mitigate the erosion left by powerful waves pounding the shore.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area city’s fragile coast is battered by relentless waves for much of the year, one of the hardest-hit stretches being the iconic Beach Boulevard, just north of the city’s pier. That city landmark \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2001267/you-cant-beat-mother-nature-destroyed-cafe-gives-pacifica-look-at-climate-changed-future\">cracked\u003c/a> this month after decades of natural impacts — and is now closed indefinitely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s high velocity water,” said Bob Battalio, 67, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12080794/its-the-most-beautiful-taco-bell-in-the-world-heres-why-it-could-never-be-built-today\">Pacifica\u003c/a>-based surfer and civil engineer specializing in coastal hydraulics. “The waves land on roofs, blow out garage doors and knock people over. The city also closes the road fairly frequently in the winter because it’s not safe.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the strongest breakers that crash into Pacifica’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1996746/rising-tides-tough-choices-pacifica-allowed-bolster-seawalls-stopgap-plan\">aging seawall\u003c/a> can feel like an earthquake or sound like “somebody shooting off a cannon.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Battalio and his ocean-loving buds have come up with a potential solution that would work with nature and calm the pummeling waves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their proposal: build an artificial reef on the ocean floor that could slow the waves, which contribute to the estimated 2 feet of annual coastal erosion, collect sand as any natural reef would, create habitat for fish and restore the nonexistent beach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001342\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001342\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PACIFICAWAVE-03-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PACIFICAWAVE-03-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PACIFICAWAVE-03-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PACIFICAWAVE-03-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PACIFICAWAVE-03-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bob Battalio (right) speaks with George Domurat and Tom Kendall at the end of Carmel Avenue in Pacifica on June 17, 2026, near the proposed site of an artificial reef designed to reduce coastal erosion and help protect the shoreline. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>They also have a not-so-hidden agenda of potentially shaping a perfectly peeling surfing wave in an area that Battalio said is too dangerous to catch waves in today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The waves would break in a way that you could paddle into them, ride along in front of them and get a nice ride,” Battalio said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12087431/what-will-pacifica-do-about-its-iconic-but-crumbling-pier\">Pacifica\u003c/a> leaders and San Mateo County officials are on board with the idea and have applied for \u003ca href=\"https://robsreef.org/docs/oneshoreline-presentation.pdf\">state funding\u003c/a> to flesh out the concept with possible help from researchers at UC Santa Cruz and Stanford University. They hope that a successful pilot could serve as a model for other vulnerable coastal communities.[aside postID=news_12087823 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260615-PacificaPier-17-BL-KQED.jpg']But coastal experts are not as bullish on the idea. They agree that the solution could, in principle, slow waves and widen the beach, but caution the city to take a whole-shoreline approach rather than piecemeal projects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The wave riders named the somewhat nature-based adaptation project “\u003ca href=\"https://robsreef.org/#team\">Rob’s Reef\u003c/a>” in honor of their friend Rob Caughlan, the founding president of the Surfrider Foundation, who passed away in January.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He was our big driver, and he asked the really good questions that would then spin us up in terms of exchanging ideas,” said George Domurat, a long-time Pacifica resident, surfer and commissioner with the San Mateo County Harbor District.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Until recently, the group would plan over coffee at the Chit Chat Cafe, located on the Pacifica Municipal Pier. But the pier’s cracking led to the cafe’s forced demolition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The thrashing waves stole the group of dreamers’ gathering space while showcasing the very problem that their spitball sessions sought to solve.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In a way, it’s ironic, but it’s more ironic that people are surprised that things are failing,” Battalio said. “It wasn’t unexpected; that’s why we came together to come up with a solution, because time is not on our side.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Building walls is not working’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Their proposal calls for submerging the equivalent of around 20,000 truckloads of boulders in a triangular pattern — the pointy side facing the sea — 600 feet offshore. It would also restore a beach along the seawall, initially using roughly 50,000 dump-truck loads of sand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What we would like to do is create a new equilibrium by restoring the beach to its historical dimensions,” Battalio said. “Together they should reduce the wave height and the frequency of waves reaching the seawall.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001343\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001343\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PACIFICAWAVE-07-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PACIFICAWAVE-07-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PACIFICAWAVE-07-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PACIFICAWAVE-07-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PACIFICAWAVE-07-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bob Battalio points to a proposed artificial reef design in Pacifica on June 17, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Battalio said the proposal would cost around $100 million to expand the beach and build the offshore reef. That cost would be in addition to the city’s more than $80 million seawall plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, the Trump Administration shortlisted the city for a $50 million grant to help pay for the seawall’s replacement. But the federal government canceled the program that would have provided the grant. Now the city is seeking additional funding while awaiting the federal government’s restart of that program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Usually people look at the price tag and go, ‘That’s too big, we don’t wanna do that, why don’t we just build a wall?’” Battalio said. “But just building walls is not working.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001347\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001347\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PacificaWave-02-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PacificaWave-02-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PacificaWave-02-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PacificaWave-02-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PacificaWave-02-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(From left) Bob Battalio, Tom Kendall, and George Domurat sit at the end of Carmel Avenue in Pacifica on June 17, 2026, near the proposed site of an artificial reef designed to reduce coastal erosion and help protect the shoreline. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The locals said that the combination, while an expensive suite of solutions, could benefit the coastal ecosystem and the high-dollar real estate that sits behind the existing seawall. And then there’s the possibility of creating a “world-class surfable wave” in Pacifica, said Adam Libert, an area surfer and engineer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that would create real economic value of coming to Pacifica and watching surf competitions from the pier,” Libert said. “It’s a vision of not just this kind of dystopian world where sea level rise happens, and we get in big fights about managed retreat, but rather how do we actually build a world we want to live in and achieve positive outcomes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tom Kendall, a Pacifica surfer and retired civil engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, hopes “it becomes very popular with local interests,” who could encourage the city to pursue it.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Pacifica is the canary in the coal mine’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.cityofpacifica.org/departments/public-works/engineering/capital-improvement-projects/beach-boulevard-infrastructure-resiliency-project\">city’s plan to rebuild the seawall\u003c/a> 4 feet higher along Beach Boulevard would slow erosion and reduce, but not eliminate, all overtopping and flooding in the short term.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While engineers finish the design of the seawall, Pacifica’s Mayor Christine Boles is concerned that a taller seawall could mean “more wave energy,” which “could cause more overtopping and impact the roadway, homes and people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A reef would help dissipate that energy so we don’t have all that dangerous overtopping,” Boles added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001338\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001338\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260615-PACIFICAPIER-11-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260615-PACIFICAPIER-11-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260615-PACIFICAPIER-11-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260615-PACIFICAPIER-11-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260615-PACIFICAPIER-11-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pacifica Mayor Christine Boles speaks during a news conference calling for federal aid for the Pacifica Municipal Pier on June 15, 2026, after structural damage led to the pier’s closure and the demolition of the Chit Chat Cafe. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The pilot project could show the city how to slow erosion elsewhere in Pacifica. Over the last decade, Boles said, the city has lost 11 homes and three apartment buildings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The city is limited in time to be creative,” Boles said. “To have people who are willing to step back and look a little bit more creatively about what other options might be available is super exciting.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several artificial reefs have been built in Australia and New Zealand. Another, constructed in Southern California, was ultimately removed because waves deteriorated it. Oceanside is currently testing a \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADuU_3iKISQ\">physical model\u003c/a> of a potential buildout.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Artificial reefs “haven’t been tested in such an active, strong ocean environment as we have here,” Boles said. She hopes Pacifica, home to fewer than 40,000 people, can become a proving ground for this protection that includes some nature-based principles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Pacifica is the canary in the coal mine for the effects of a warming ocean,” Boles said. “So wouldn’t it be great if the reef did work?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She’s less sure that the project will create an epic surf break. But if the possibility motivates the community, she said she’ll encourage it.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘I don’t think we are looking at a silver bullet’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Pacifica still needs to study the reef’s scale, how much sand is needed and its environmental impacts, said Borja Gonzalez Reguero, a professor with the Coastal Science and Policy Program at UC Santa Cruz.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So far it’s a concept, but it could be a viable one,” Gonzalez Reguero said. He qualified that by saying the reef is not a “silver bullet” solution on its own.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The beach on its own won’t be a solution,” he said. “Or the rock armory or the flood wall. Altogether, that could be a solution.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001340\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001340\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260615-PACIFICAWAVE-13-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260615-PACIFICAWAVE-13-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260615-PACIFICAWAVE-13-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260615-PACIFICAWAVE-13-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260615-PACIFICAWAVE-13-BL-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The coastline in Pacifica on June 15, 2026, where erosion remains an ongoing concern. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Gonzalez Reguero said that Pacifica needs fixes, as larger waves and rising sea levels will only worsen the city’s challenges due to climate hazards and sea level rise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s bad news for Pacifica,” Gonzalez Reguero said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Gonzalez Reguero said that slowing waves with a mostly underwater network of boulders or other materials could reduce pressure on the seawall and lower repair costs. He suggests the city further develop a strategy to adapt its entire coastline for future waves and higher tides. Boles said that Pacifica plans to launch a visioning process for the entire coastline this fall, with significant public input.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the goal is to reduce erosion beating up the seawall, Gonzalez Reguero said, slowing waves is an integral step to consider.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Mateo County has discussed the feasibility of the artificial reef with the Center for Coastal Climate Resilience at UC Santa Cruz. Patrick Barnard, the group’s research director, said he has questions about the project’s scale and its potential effects on nearby beaches, water levels, and wave energy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The gap with a lot of these solutions is that there hasn’t been enough testing to understand how well they perform,” Barnard said. “These are the kinds of solutions that, if they work, could be worth pursuing, but they need to be evaluated thoroughly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A group of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12087577/after-pacifica-pier-damage-bay-area-leaders-urge-trump-to-restore-aid\">Pacifica\u003c/a> surfers is proposing the construction of an artificial reef to mitigate the erosion left by powerful waves pounding the shore.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area city’s fragile coast is battered by relentless waves for much of the year, one of the hardest-hit stretches being the iconic Beach Boulevard, just north of the city’s pier. That city landmark \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2001267/you-cant-beat-mother-nature-destroyed-cafe-gives-pacifica-look-at-climate-changed-future\">cracked\u003c/a> this month after decades of natural impacts — and is now closed indefinitely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s high velocity water,” said Bob Battalio, 67, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12080794/its-the-most-beautiful-taco-bell-in-the-world-heres-why-it-could-never-be-built-today\">Pacifica\u003c/a>-based surfer and civil engineer specializing in coastal hydraulics. “The waves land on roofs, blow out garage doors and knock people over. The city also closes the road fairly frequently in the winter because it’s not safe.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the strongest breakers that crash into Pacifica’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1996746/rising-tides-tough-choices-pacifica-allowed-bolster-seawalls-stopgap-plan\">aging seawall\u003c/a> can feel like an earthquake or sound like “somebody shooting off a cannon.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Battalio and his ocean-loving buds have come up with a potential solution that would work with nature and calm the pummeling waves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their proposal: build an artificial reef on the ocean floor that could slow the waves, which contribute to the estimated 2 feet of annual coastal erosion, collect sand as any natural reef would, create habitat for fish and restore the nonexistent beach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001342\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001342\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PACIFICAWAVE-03-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PACIFICAWAVE-03-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PACIFICAWAVE-03-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PACIFICAWAVE-03-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PACIFICAWAVE-03-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bob Battalio (right) speaks with George Domurat and Tom Kendall at the end of Carmel Avenue in Pacifica on June 17, 2026, near the proposed site of an artificial reef designed to reduce coastal erosion and help protect the shoreline. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>They also have a not-so-hidden agenda of potentially shaping a perfectly peeling surfing wave in an area that Battalio said is too dangerous to catch waves in today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The waves would break in a way that you could paddle into them, ride along in front of them and get a nice ride,” Battalio said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12087431/what-will-pacifica-do-about-its-iconic-but-crumbling-pier\">Pacifica\u003c/a> leaders and San Mateo County officials are on board with the idea and have applied for \u003ca href=\"https://robsreef.org/docs/oneshoreline-presentation.pdf\">state funding\u003c/a> to flesh out the concept with possible help from researchers at UC Santa Cruz and Stanford University. They hope that a successful pilot could serve as a model for other vulnerable coastal communities.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>But coastal experts are not as bullish on the idea. They agree that the solution could, in principle, slow waves and widen the beach, but caution the city to take a whole-shoreline approach rather than piecemeal projects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The wave riders named the somewhat nature-based adaptation project “\u003ca href=\"https://robsreef.org/#team\">Rob’s Reef\u003c/a>” in honor of their friend Rob Caughlan, the founding president of the Surfrider Foundation, who passed away in January.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He was our big driver, and he asked the really good questions that would then spin us up in terms of exchanging ideas,” said George Domurat, a long-time Pacifica resident, surfer and commissioner with the San Mateo County Harbor District.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Until recently, the group would plan over coffee at the Chit Chat Cafe, located on the Pacifica Municipal Pier. But the pier’s cracking led to the cafe’s forced demolition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The thrashing waves stole the group of dreamers’ gathering space while showcasing the very problem that their spitball sessions sought to solve.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In a way, it’s ironic, but it’s more ironic that people are surprised that things are failing,” Battalio said. “It wasn’t unexpected; that’s why we came together to come up with a solution, because time is not on our side.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Building walls is not working’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Their proposal calls for submerging the equivalent of around 20,000 truckloads of boulders in a triangular pattern — the pointy side facing the sea — 600 feet offshore. It would also restore a beach along the seawall, initially using roughly 50,000 dump-truck loads of sand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What we would like to do is create a new equilibrium by restoring the beach to its historical dimensions,” Battalio said. “Together they should reduce the wave height and the frequency of waves reaching the seawall.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001343\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001343\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PACIFICAWAVE-07-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PACIFICAWAVE-07-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PACIFICAWAVE-07-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PACIFICAWAVE-07-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PACIFICAWAVE-07-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bob Battalio points to a proposed artificial reef design in Pacifica on June 17, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Battalio said the proposal would cost around $100 million to expand the beach and build the offshore reef. That cost would be in addition to the city’s more than $80 million seawall plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, the Trump Administration shortlisted the city for a $50 million grant to help pay for the seawall’s replacement. But the federal government canceled the program that would have provided the grant. Now the city is seeking additional funding while awaiting the federal government’s restart of that program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Usually people look at the price tag and go, ‘That’s too big, we don’t wanna do that, why don’t we just build a wall?’” Battalio said. “But just building walls is not working.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001347\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001347\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PacificaWave-02-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PacificaWave-02-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PacificaWave-02-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PacificaWave-02-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PacificaWave-02-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(From left) Bob Battalio, Tom Kendall, and George Domurat sit at the end of Carmel Avenue in Pacifica on June 17, 2026, near the proposed site of an artificial reef designed to reduce coastal erosion and help protect the shoreline. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The locals said that the combination, while an expensive suite of solutions, could benefit the coastal ecosystem and the high-dollar real estate that sits behind the existing seawall. And then there’s the possibility of creating a “world-class surfable wave” in Pacifica, said Adam Libert, an area surfer and engineer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that would create real economic value of coming to Pacifica and watching surf competitions from the pier,” Libert said. “It’s a vision of not just this kind of dystopian world where sea level rise happens, and we get in big fights about managed retreat, but rather how do we actually build a world we want to live in and achieve positive outcomes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tom Kendall, a Pacifica surfer and retired civil engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, hopes “it becomes very popular with local interests,” who could encourage the city to pursue it.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Pacifica is the canary in the coal mine’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.cityofpacifica.org/departments/public-works/engineering/capital-improvement-projects/beach-boulevard-infrastructure-resiliency-project\">city’s plan to rebuild the seawall\u003c/a> 4 feet higher along Beach Boulevard would slow erosion and reduce, but not eliminate, all overtopping and flooding in the short term.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While engineers finish the design of the seawall, Pacifica’s Mayor Christine Boles is concerned that a taller seawall could mean “more wave energy,” which “could cause more overtopping and impact the roadway, homes and people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A reef would help dissipate that energy so we don’t have all that dangerous overtopping,” Boles added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001338\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001338\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260615-PACIFICAPIER-11-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260615-PACIFICAPIER-11-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260615-PACIFICAPIER-11-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260615-PACIFICAPIER-11-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260615-PACIFICAPIER-11-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pacifica Mayor Christine Boles speaks during a news conference calling for federal aid for the Pacifica Municipal Pier on June 15, 2026, after structural damage led to the pier’s closure and the demolition of the Chit Chat Cafe. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The pilot project could show the city how to slow erosion elsewhere in Pacifica. Over the last decade, Boles said, the city has lost 11 homes and three apartment buildings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The city is limited in time to be creative,” Boles said. “To have people who are willing to step back and look a little bit more creatively about what other options might be available is super exciting.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several artificial reefs have been built in Australia and New Zealand. Another, constructed in Southern California, was ultimately removed because waves deteriorated it. Oceanside is currently testing a \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADuU_3iKISQ\">physical model\u003c/a> of a potential buildout.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Artificial reefs “haven’t been tested in such an active, strong ocean environment as we have here,” Boles said. She hopes Pacifica, home to fewer than 40,000 people, can become a proving ground for this protection that includes some nature-based principles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Pacifica is the canary in the coal mine for the effects of a warming ocean,” Boles said. “So wouldn’t it be great if the reef did work?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She’s less sure that the project will create an epic surf break. But if the possibility motivates the community, she said she’ll encourage it.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘I don’t think we are looking at a silver bullet’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Pacifica still needs to study the reef’s scale, how much sand is needed and its environmental impacts, said Borja Gonzalez Reguero, a professor with the Coastal Science and Policy Program at UC Santa Cruz.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So far it’s a concept, but it could be a viable one,” Gonzalez Reguero said. He qualified that by saying the reef is not a “silver bullet” solution on its own.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The beach on its own won’t be a solution,” he said. “Or the rock armory or the flood wall. Altogether, that could be a solution.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001340\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001340\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260615-PACIFICAWAVE-13-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260615-PACIFICAWAVE-13-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260615-PACIFICAWAVE-13-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260615-PACIFICAWAVE-13-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260615-PACIFICAWAVE-13-BL-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The coastline in Pacifica on June 15, 2026, where erosion remains an ongoing concern. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Gonzalez Reguero said that Pacifica needs fixes, as larger waves and rising sea levels will only worsen the city’s challenges due to climate hazards and sea level rise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s bad news for Pacifica,” Gonzalez Reguero said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Gonzalez Reguero said that slowing waves with a mostly underwater network of boulders or other materials could reduce pressure on the seawall and lower repair costs. He suggests the city further develop a strategy to adapt its entire coastline for future waves and higher tides. Boles said that Pacifica plans to launch a visioning process for the entire coastline this fall, with significant public input.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the goal is to reduce erosion beating up the seawall, Gonzalez Reguero said, slowing waves is an integral step to consider.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Mateo County has discussed the feasibility of the artificial reef with the Center for Coastal Climate Resilience at UC Santa Cruz. Patrick Barnard, the group’s research director, said he has questions about the project’s scale and its potential effects on nearby beaches, water levels, and wave energy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The gap with a lot of these solutions is that there hasn’t been enough testing to understand how well they perform,” Barnard said. “These are the kinds of solutions that, if they work, could be worth pursuing, but they need to be evaluated thoroughly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Iván Higuera-Mendieta had never experienced a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/wildfires\">wildfire \u003c/a>season before arriving in California as a Stanford University Ph.D. student. Then, during a bike ride around Palo Alto in the summer of 2021, the Colombian-born researcher noticed what smelled like a neighborhood barbecue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He remarked to his colleagues how interesting it was that it smelled like wood outside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He recalls their response with a laugh: “People said, ‘Well, it’s fire season, dummy. You shouldn’t be outside. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1969739/smoke-from-californias-record-wildfires-is-its-own-disaster\">It’s bad for you\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The experience prompted Higuera-Mendieta to investigate a question that has become increasingly urgent in California: How can we reduce smoke from future wildfires?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His research, published in the June 11 issue of \u003cem>Science,\u003c/em> found that a sustained campaign of yearly prescribed burning — in line with \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2019/12/31/california-certifies-statewide-programmatic-environmental-impact-review-to-protect-californians-from-catastrophic-wildfires/\">pre-existing state goals\u003c/a> — could reduce smoke severity during bad wildfire years by 25%. Averaged over a decade of good, normal and bad fire years, the net reduction in smoke pollution is about 10%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The study, conducted with co-author Marshall Burke, examined two decades of fire and smoke data and provides the first large-scale estimate of how prescribed-fire-like burns influence future smoke exposure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We know that smoke is killing a lot of people. Any reduction in that is meaningful,” said Burke, \u003ca href=\"https://sustainability.stanford.edu/people/marshall-burke\">professor\u003c/a> in the Doerr School of Sustainability at Stanford and Higuera-Mendieta’s advisor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999165\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999165\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_257_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_257_QED-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_257_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_257_QED-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_257_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Participants in the prescribed burn add fuel to fires as part of a CAL-TREX prescribed burn in Berry Creek on Nov. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Andri Tambunan for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Prescribed fire, or the intentional and cautious burning of land at low severity, is a smoke solution that comes with trade-offs. A prescribed burn produces its own smoke, so the net benefits to air pollution are felt during the next wildfire, which may be soon or may be years away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You’re not eliminating the problem,” Burke said. “But you’re making a meaningful dent in the problem, particularly in the worst years, and to me, that’s important.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In past research, Burke’s group at Stanford has estimated that wildfire smoke will be the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1972725/wildfire-smoke-could-be-the-main-way-californians-experience-climate-change\">key way most Californians\u003c/a> will feel the harmful effects of climate change. A drying, heating atmosphere, caused primarily by the burning of fossil fuel, is leading us to more severe wildfires, which are reversing decades of air quality improvements in California and across the West.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wildfire smoke will kill an estimated \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12056655/wildfire-smoke-could-kill-over-5000-californians-a-year-by-2050-study-shows\">70,000 Americans each year by 2050\u003c/a>, if the planet continues to warm at its current rate, according to research Burke and colleagues published last September.[aside postID=news_12086933 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-21603288801.jpg']California has set a goal of treating half a million acres annually with low-severity fire. The state is about 20% of the way towards that goal, depending on how you count the progress. But such fires don’t have unalloyed support from the public. Some people complain about the smoke they inevitably produce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the implications of Burke and Higuera-Mendieta’s research is that policymakers who support prescribed fires should emphasize educating the public about the delayed benefits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A message to all of us living in California that we are probably going to have to tolerate some low-severity smoke during parts of the year when we’re not used to seeing it,” Burke said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve been putting out fires for a century. This has caused a big problem. We’ve got a warming climate, and these put us in a world of hard trade-offs. We just have to be clear-eyed about those trade-offs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the study, researchers mined decades of satellite readings, from data sources like the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. national parks and the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Working in such a data-rich environment stood out to Higuera-Mendieta as one of the best things about studying a scientific problem in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wish people knew that part of America’s greatness is this investment in all the open data,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Building on earlier work done by Burke’s group, they used models to trace smoke detected by satellites to the originating fire. They could then simulate how much less smoke those fires would have produced if they’d been less severe because there was a history of prescribed fire in the area. They used natural low-severity fire as a proxy for prescribed fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1996121\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1996121\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo.jpg\" alt=\"A before and after picture of a small, one-story, nicely kept home, and the remains of it after it was burned down.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"990\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-800x396.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-1020x505.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-160x79.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-768x380.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-1536x760.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-1920x950.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A family home in Altadena, California, before and after the Eaton Fire ravaged the community. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of the Moreno family)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A parallel, but not novel, finding was that low-severity fire reduced the chance of very severe fires in the area by more than 90%, with reductions trailing off over a decade. This finding is backed by a large body of pre-existing research.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One interesting wrinkle was that the greatest benefits were found in conifer forests, the site of many of the most severe fires, but not all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But if you think of the L.A. fires,” Higuera-Mendieta said, “that’s a completely different animal.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Southern California’s brushy, chaparral landscapes, low-severity fires were not very protective from future fires and future smoke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to find solutions for that second half [of the state],” Higuera-Mendieta said. “I think that opens new research avenues for me, asking what interventions work for Southern California.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Iván Higuera-Mendieta had never experienced a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/wildfires\">wildfire \u003c/a>season before arriving in California as a Stanford University Ph.D. student. Then, during a bike ride around Palo Alto in the summer of 2021, the Colombian-born researcher noticed what smelled like a neighborhood barbecue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He remarked to his colleagues how interesting it was that it smelled like wood outside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He recalls their response with a laugh: “People said, ‘Well, it’s fire season, dummy. You shouldn’t be outside. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1969739/smoke-from-californias-record-wildfires-is-its-own-disaster\">It’s bad for you\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The experience prompted Higuera-Mendieta to investigate a question that has become increasingly urgent in California: How can we reduce smoke from future wildfires?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His research, published in the June 11 issue of \u003cem>Science,\u003c/em> found that a sustained campaign of yearly prescribed burning — in line with \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2019/12/31/california-certifies-statewide-programmatic-environmental-impact-review-to-protect-californians-from-catastrophic-wildfires/\">pre-existing state goals\u003c/a> — could reduce smoke severity during bad wildfire years by 25%. Averaged over a decade of good, normal and bad fire years, the net reduction in smoke pollution is about 10%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The study, conducted with co-author Marshall Burke, examined two decades of fire and smoke data and provides the first large-scale estimate of how prescribed-fire-like burns influence future smoke exposure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We know that smoke is killing a lot of people. Any reduction in that is meaningful,” said Burke, \u003ca href=\"https://sustainability.stanford.edu/people/marshall-burke\">professor\u003c/a> in the Doerr School of Sustainability at Stanford and Higuera-Mendieta’s advisor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999165\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999165\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_257_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_257_QED-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_257_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_257_QED-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_257_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Participants in the prescribed burn add fuel to fires as part of a CAL-TREX prescribed burn in Berry Creek on Nov. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Andri Tambunan for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Prescribed fire, or the intentional and cautious burning of land at low severity, is a smoke solution that comes with trade-offs. A prescribed burn produces its own smoke, so the net benefits to air pollution are felt during the next wildfire, which may be soon or may be years away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You’re not eliminating the problem,” Burke said. “But you’re making a meaningful dent in the problem, particularly in the worst years, and to me, that’s important.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In past research, Burke’s group at Stanford has estimated that wildfire smoke will be the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1972725/wildfire-smoke-could-be-the-main-way-californians-experience-climate-change\">key way most Californians\u003c/a> will feel the harmful effects of climate change. A drying, heating atmosphere, caused primarily by the burning of fossil fuel, is leading us to more severe wildfires, which are reversing decades of air quality improvements in California and across the West.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wildfire smoke will kill an estimated \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12056655/wildfire-smoke-could-kill-over-5000-californians-a-year-by-2050-study-shows\">70,000 Americans each year by 2050\u003c/a>, if the planet continues to warm at its current rate, according to research Burke and colleagues published last September.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>California has set a goal of treating half a million acres annually with low-severity fire. The state is about 20% of the way towards that goal, depending on how you count the progress. But such fires don’t have unalloyed support from the public. Some people complain about the smoke they inevitably produce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the implications of Burke and Higuera-Mendieta’s research is that policymakers who support prescribed fires should emphasize educating the public about the delayed benefits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A message to all of us living in California that we are probably going to have to tolerate some low-severity smoke during parts of the year when we’re not used to seeing it,” Burke said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve been putting out fires for a century. This has caused a big problem. We’ve got a warming climate, and these put us in a world of hard trade-offs. We just have to be clear-eyed about those trade-offs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the study, researchers mined decades of satellite readings, from data sources like the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. national parks and the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Working in such a data-rich environment stood out to Higuera-Mendieta as one of the best things about studying a scientific problem in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wish people knew that part of America’s greatness is this investment in all the open data,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Building on earlier work done by Burke’s group, they used models to trace smoke detected by satellites to the originating fire. They could then simulate how much less smoke those fires would have produced if they’d been less severe because there was a history of prescribed fire in the area. They used natural low-severity fire as a proxy for prescribed fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1996121\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1996121\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo.jpg\" alt=\"A before and after picture of a small, one-story, nicely kept home, and the remains of it after it was burned down.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"990\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-800x396.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-1020x505.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-160x79.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-768x380.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-1536x760.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-1920x950.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A family home in Altadena, California, before and after the Eaton Fire ravaged the community. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of the Moreno family)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A parallel, but not novel, finding was that low-severity fire reduced the chance of very severe fires in the area by more than 90%, with reductions trailing off over a decade. This finding is backed by a large body of pre-existing research.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One interesting wrinkle was that the greatest benefits were found in conifer forests, the site of many of the most severe fires, but not all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But if you think of the L.A. fires,” Higuera-Mendieta said, “that’s a completely different animal.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Southern California’s brushy, chaparral landscapes, low-severity fires were not very protective from future fires and future smoke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to find solutions for that second half [of the state],” Higuera-Mendieta said. “I think that opens new research avenues for me, asking what interventions work for Southern California.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "‘You Can’t Beat Mother Nature’: Destroyed Cafe Gives Pacifica Look at Climate-Changed Future",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1996746/rising-tides-tough-choices-pacifica-allowed-bolster-seawalls-stopgap-plan\">Pacifica\u003c/a> tore down a beloved local cafe on Tuesday as frustrated residents debated the future of the city’s coastline, which is slipping toward the sea amid a constant barrage of waves and erosion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several hundred stood in silence as excavators ripped the Chit Chat Cafe’s sign off its facade at the base of the Pacifica Municipal Pier, the Pacific Ocean steadily pummeling the rocks below.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pacifica resident Kirk Edison stood on a concrete barrier to film the machines tearing apart the cafe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I feel bad for the owners,” said Edison, who brought his kids to the pier growing up. “I will be shocked if they fix it. You can’t beat Mother Nature — she will win.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After officials announced the cafe’s demolition, about a dozen people spoke out at a city council meeting on Monday, voicing their anger over the cafe’s closure. Others expressed concern about rebuilding the historic pier, which cracked last week and slanted toward the ocean, as rising seas from human-caused climate change continue to threaten the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mayor Christine Boles said the pier and the tearing down of the cafe are examples of what’s at risk here because of global emissions causing the sea to rise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re on the forefront of climate change with sea level rise and erosion,” Boles said. “The ocean is going to win in the end.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001293\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001293\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PacificaPierUpdate-27-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PacificaPierUpdate-27-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PacificaPierUpdate-27-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PacificaPierUpdate-27-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PacificaPierUpdate-27-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Construction crews demolish the Chit Chat Cafe on the Pacifica Municipal Pier on June 9, 2026, after severe structural damage and widening cracks forced the closure of the pier. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The council unanimously voted to declare a state of local emergency around the pier, and is seeking a state of emergency from the governor. Officials said a third party will prepare a formal report, but aren’t sure when the final product will come out. Boles said previous reviews found that seawater and sea spray had weakened the concrete pier, which required $19 million in repairs before the latest damage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The more deeply we look at the assessments, the more money that is needed before [the pier broke],” Boles said at the meeting. “These have been long-term issues we’ve been trying to deal with, but it’s really hard to find the money.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supporters of the cafe owners started a \u003ca href=\"https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-chit-chat-cafe-owners-after-pier-closure\">GoFundMe\u003c/a> to help them cover the cost of materials they may lose during the teardown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001276\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001276\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PACIFICAPIERUPDATE-06-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PACIFICAPIERUPDATE-06-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PACIFICAPIERUPDATE-06-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PACIFICAPIERUPDATE-06-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PACIFICAPIERUPDATE-06-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Construction crews demolish the Chit Chat Cafe on the Pacifica Municipal Pier on June 9, 2026, after severe structural damage and widening cracks forced the closure of the pier. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Unfortunately, for safety reasons, no one is currently allowed to enter the building to recover any of these items, and it is uncertain if they ever will be able to,” organizers wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local surfer Bob Battalio met with his friends at the coffee shop every week for years. He said he’s mourning the loss of his favorite spot to meet up with his buds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The pier is closed, and I don’t know when they’re going to be able to open it, if ever,” Battalio said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The L-shaped, 1,140-foot-long pier opened in 1973, becoming famous for Dungeness crabbing and attracting anglers worldwide, according to the city’s website. The end of the pier was closed in 2021 due to collapsing handrails, and then, in 2023, waves and high tides closed part of the pier through part of 2024.[aside postID=science_2001255 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/10/BayAreaHeatAP.jpg']Patrick James Cavanaugh, executive director of the Pacific Beach Coalition, said the need to tear down the cafe is an example of acting rather than adequately planning for the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We no longer have time to plan,” Cavanaugh said. “Is the pier the asset, or is our ability to live and thrive in a healthy living environment part of the investment as well?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jolie Bauman has lived in Pacifica for four decades. She told the council that she thinks the pier is worth saving.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Today, we’re seeing the consequences of deferred maintenance,” Bauman said. “I urge the city council to view the pier not as an expense, but as an investment in Pacifica’s future.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Moss Beach resident David Belkin said he has fished off the pier and brought his kids there. He thinks a public-private partnership could save the pier and the city should consider creating a charitable trust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m heavily invested in the idea of the pier being here for future generations and not necessarily waiting for me to pass to get to that point,” Belkin said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But others questioned whether permanently retreating from the ocean and its constant waves and potentially not rebuilding the pier is a better option than reconstructing or strengthening the existing concrete structure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This whole anti-managed retreat position is just really irresponsible; whether we want to admit it or not, we are ground zero for climate change,” Sam C., who did not give a last name, said. “Now that we have to basically take down the Chit Cafe in an emergency declaration, we’re left with unmanaged retreat. Is that what we’re going to continue to do?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001289\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001289\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PacificaPierUpdate-12-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PacificaPierUpdate-12-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PacificaPierUpdate-12-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PacificaPierUpdate-12-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PacificaPierUpdate-12-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A crowd of people watch construction crews demolish the Chit Chat Cafe on the Pacifica Municipal Pier on June 9, 2026, after severe structural damage and widening cracks forced the closure of the pier. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Every year, high tides eat away at the sea wall protecting Beach Boulevard and the homes behind it. The Pacific Ocean has risen by about 8 inches since the 1880s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State scientists project an additional rise of over a foot by 2050, and up to 6 feet or more by the end of the century in worst-case scenarios.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This year’s potential \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12083376/an-incoming-super-el-nino-may-bring-california-a-wet-hot-winter\">super El Niño\u003c/a> could result in a temporary sea level rise of around 6 inches in California, said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, in a recent YouTube office hours.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You have to add that number to climate change-caused sea level rise, which — depending on where you are in California — ranges from about 6 inches to a foot over the past century,” Swain said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001279\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001279\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PACIFICAPIERUPDATE-17-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PACIFICAPIERUPDATE-17-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PACIFICAPIERUPDATE-17-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PACIFICAPIERUPDATE-17-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PACIFICAPIERUPDATE-17-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Construction crews demolish the Chit Chat Cafe on the Pacifica Municipal Pier on June 9, 2026, after severe structural damage and widening cracks forced the closure of the pier. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Boles, the city’s mayor, said the possibility of regular and high tides being even higher this fall and winter is very concerning for flooding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have a lot that’s vulnerable closer than 40 feet to the edge right now,” Boles said. “It is terrifying.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The project to rebuild Pacifica’s sea wall, known as Pacifica’s Beach Boulevard Infrastructure Resiliency Project, could cost between $80 million and $114 million. The city is still searching for funding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After officials announced the cafe’s demolition, about a dozen people spoke out at a city council meeting on Monday, voicing their anger over the cafe’s closure. Others expressed concern about rebuilding the historic pier, which cracked last week and slanted toward the ocean, as rising seas from human-caused climate change continue to threaten the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mayor Christine Boles said the pier and the tearing down of the cafe are examples of what’s at risk here because of global emissions causing the sea to rise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re on the forefront of climate change with sea level rise and erosion,” Boles said. “The ocean is going to win in the end.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001293\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001293\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PacificaPierUpdate-27-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PacificaPierUpdate-27-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PacificaPierUpdate-27-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PacificaPierUpdate-27-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PacificaPierUpdate-27-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Construction crews demolish the Chit Chat Cafe on the Pacifica Municipal Pier on June 9, 2026, after severe structural damage and widening cracks forced the closure of the pier. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The council unanimously voted to declare a state of local emergency around the pier, and is seeking a state of emergency from the governor. Officials said a third party will prepare a formal report, but aren’t sure when the final product will come out. Boles said previous reviews found that seawater and sea spray had weakened the concrete pier, which required $19 million in repairs before the latest damage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The more deeply we look at the assessments, the more money that is needed before [the pier broke],” Boles said at the meeting. “These have been long-term issues we’ve been trying to deal with, but it’s really hard to find the money.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supporters of the cafe owners started a \u003ca href=\"https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-chit-chat-cafe-owners-after-pier-closure\">GoFundMe\u003c/a> to help them cover the cost of materials they may lose during the teardown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001276\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001276\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PACIFICAPIERUPDATE-06-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PACIFICAPIERUPDATE-06-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PACIFICAPIERUPDATE-06-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PACIFICAPIERUPDATE-06-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PACIFICAPIERUPDATE-06-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Construction crews demolish the Chit Chat Cafe on the Pacifica Municipal Pier on June 9, 2026, after severe structural damage and widening cracks forced the closure of the pier. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Unfortunately, for safety reasons, no one is currently allowed to enter the building to recover any of these items, and it is uncertain if they ever will be able to,” organizers wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local surfer Bob Battalio met with his friends at the coffee shop every week for years. He said he’s mourning the loss of his favorite spot to meet up with his buds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The pier is closed, and I don’t know when they’re going to be able to open it, if ever,” Battalio said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The L-shaped, 1,140-foot-long pier opened in 1973, becoming famous for Dungeness crabbing and attracting anglers worldwide, according to the city’s website. The end of the pier was closed in 2021 due to collapsing handrails, and then, in 2023, waves and high tides closed part of the pier through part of 2024.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Patrick James Cavanaugh, executive director of the Pacific Beach Coalition, said the need to tear down the cafe is an example of acting rather than adequately planning for the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We no longer have time to plan,” Cavanaugh said. “Is the pier the asset, or is our ability to live and thrive in a healthy living environment part of the investment as well?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jolie Bauman has lived in Pacifica for four decades. She told the council that she thinks the pier is worth saving.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Today, we’re seeing the consequences of deferred maintenance,” Bauman said. “I urge the city council to view the pier not as an expense, but as an investment in Pacifica’s future.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Moss Beach resident David Belkin said he has fished off the pier and brought his kids there. He thinks a public-private partnership could save the pier and the city should consider creating a charitable trust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m heavily invested in the idea of the pier being here for future generations and not necessarily waiting for me to pass to get to that point,” Belkin said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But others questioned whether permanently retreating from the ocean and its constant waves and potentially not rebuilding the pier is a better option than reconstructing or strengthening the existing concrete structure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This whole anti-managed retreat position is just really irresponsible; whether we want to admit it or not, we are ground zero for climate change,” Sam C., who did not give a last name, said. “Now that we have to basically take down the Chit Cafe in an emergency declaration, we’re left with unmanaged retreat. Is that what we’re going to continue to do?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001289\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001289\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PacificaPierUpdate-12-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PacificaPierUpdate-12-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PacificaPierUpdate-12-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PacificaPierUpdate-12-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PacificaPierUpdate-12-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A crowd of people watch construction crews demolish the Chit Chat Cafe on the Pacifica Municipal Pier on June 9, 2026, after severe structural damage and widening cracks forced the closure of the pier. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Every year, high tides eat away at the sea wall protecting Beach Boulevard and the homes behind it. The Pacific Ocean has risen by about 8 inches since the 1880s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State scientists project an additional rise of over a foot by 2050, and up to 6 feet or more by the end of the century in worst-case scenarios.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This year’s potential \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12083376/an-incoming-super-el-nino-may-bring-california-a-wet-hot-winter\">super El Niño\u003c/a> could result in a temporary sea level rise of around 6 inches in California, said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, in a recent YouTube office hours.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You have to add that number to climate change-caused sea level rise, which — depending on where you are in California — ranges from about 6 inches to a foot over the past century,” Swain said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001279\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001279\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PACIFICAPIERUPDATE-17-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PACIFICAPIERUPDATE-17-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PACIFICAPIERUPDATE-17-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PACIFICAPIERUPDATE-17-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PACIFICAPIERUPDATE-17-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Construction crews demolish the Chit Chat Cafe on the Pacifica Municipal Pier on June 9, 2026, after severe structural damage and widening cracks forced the closure of the pier. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Boles, the city’s mayor, said the possibility of regular and high tides being even higher this fall and winter is very concerning for flooding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have a lot that’s vulnerable closer than 40 feet to the edge right now,” Boles said. “It is terrifying.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The project to rebuild Pacifica’s sea wall, known as Pacifica’s Beach Boulevard Infrastructure Resiliency Project, could cost between $80 million and $114 million. The city is still searching for funding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Northern California Warms Up This Week, With Heat Advisory and Red Flag Warnings",
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"content": "\u003cp>By the end of the week, forecasters expect \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/summer-guide-2026\">summer\u003c/a>-like temperatures across much of the\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/bay-area\"> Bay Area\u003c/a>, with dry, windy conditions leading PG&E to warn of potential power shutoffs across Northern California due to wildfire risk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>High temperatures could reach the 100-degree mark across the North and South Bay. The trend begins Tuesday after possible showers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Temperatures “will rise dramatically” on Wednesday as a ridge of high pressure builds over the region, Bay Area National Weather Service meteorologists wrote in their \u003ca href=\"https://forecast.weather.gov/product.php?format=ci&glossary=1&issuedby=mtr&product=afd&site=mtr&version=1\">daily\u003c/a> forecast discussion. Inland areas like Livermore could reach into the triple digits by Thursday before dipping into the 80s and 90s this weekend, adding to forecasters’ fire concerns as the region heats up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Thursday is our hottest day of the week,” said Karleisa Rogacheski, a lead meteorologist with the weather service’s Bay Area office. “We may have a couple of 100-degree spots sitting up in the North Bay and East Bay areas.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The service has issued a red flag warning for the North Bay mountains and the East Bay Hills. The warning starts Wednesday at 11 a.m. and continues through Thursday morning due to gusty winds and critically dry conditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a really strong setup for if a spark starts a fire, that fire is going to have the opportunity to grow very quickly in those areas,” said Brayden Murdock, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Bay Area office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000321\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1949px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000321\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/20240711_HeatFeatures-7_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1949\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/20240711_HeatFeatures-7_qed.jpg 1949w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/20240711_HeatFeatures-7_qed-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/20240711_HeatFeatures-7_qed-768x525.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/20240711_HeatFeatures-7_qed-1536x1051.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1949px) 100vw, 1949px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Siblings Mason, 7, and Jordan Dewitt, 8, enjoy the spray grounds at Prince Gateway Park in Santa Rosa as the temperature reached 100 degrees on July 11, 2024. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The service has also issued a heat advisory through Thursday evening for most of the region, extending from the North Bay to San Francisco to San José. Temperatures could reach near triple digits in inland areas like Santa Rosa and Livermore, while San Francisco and Oakland are expected to reach the low 80s by Thursday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Wednesday is going to be a pretty warm day and one of the warmest we’ve seen so far this year,” Murdock said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rogacheski said the warm-up isn’t considered a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2000299/a-delight-mare-bay-area-sizzles-march-heat-wave-could-shatter-records\">heat wave\u003c/a>, but forecasters expect to reach the low 80s in San Francisco and the 90s and low 100s in the North, South and East Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000292\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000292\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/250821-FRUITVALE-HEAT-MD-01_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/250821-FRUITVALE-HEAT-MD-01_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/250821-FRUITVALE-HEAT-MD-01_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/250821-FRUITVALE-HEAT-MD-01_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/250821-FRUITVALE-HEAT-MD-01_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">People walk down International Boulevard in Oakland during a heat wave on Aug. 21, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Rogacheski’s office is warning the public, especially in inland areas, that a moderate heat risk will begin Wednesday. That level of heat poses a risk of heat-related illness for sensitive populations, including children, the elderly and people who work or live outdoors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Pay attention to your body during these times because that’s kind of going to be an indicator of what might help,” Rogacheski said. “Take frequent breaks, rest in shade, stay hydrated and wear sunscreen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The warm temperatures, winds up to 45 mph and decreasing relative humidity could create prime wildfire conditions if a spark were to ignite, Rogacheski said, for areas such as the eastern Napa Hills and the interior East Bay valleys and mountains.[aside postID=science_2001063 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260527-BEE-SWARMS-MD-06-KQED.jpg']“This isn’t a slam dunk red flag warning because all of our fuels aren’t fully cured and dried out,” Rogacheski said. “If there are locations that are dry, there could be easier fire starts and spreads, but there are areas that are still kind of green and moist. It’ll be a little bit harder for fires to start there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The weather service’s Sacramento office has issued a \u003ca href=\"https://forecast.weather.gov/wwamap/wwatxtget.php?cwa=STO&wwa=red%20flag%20warning\">red flag warning\u003c/a> for a large portion of the Sacramento Valley on Wednesday through Thursday evening, said Courtney Carpenter, the office’s warning coordination meteorologist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There could be a problem if anything gets started,” Carpenter said. “Fuels are drying out, and we’ve got gusty winds and low humidity, so that makes firefighting conditions challenging.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In response, PG&E announced Monday that it may shut off power in parts of at least eight counties this week. The warning includes potential \u003ca href=\"https://pgealerts.alerts.pge.com/psps-updates/7day/\">public safety power shutoffs \u003c/a>through Friday in parts of Colusa, Glenn, Lake, Napa, Sonoma, Sutter, Tehama and Yolo counties. The utility shuts off power in order to limit the risk of wildfire from its equipment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company notes that only “some parts” of each county may be affected and that specific addresses are usually available two days before a shutoff occurs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>By the end of the week, forecasters expect \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/summer-guide-2026\">summer\u003c/a>-like temperatures across much of the\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/bay-area\"> Bay Area\u003c/a>, with dry, windy conditions leading PG&E to warn of potential power shutoffs across Northern California due to wildfire risk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>High temperatures could reach the 100-degree mark across the North and South Bay. The trend begins Tuesday after possible showers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Temperatures “will rise dramatically” on Wednesday as a ridge of high pressure builds over the region, Bay Area National Weather Service meteorologists wrote in their \u003ca href=\"https://forecast.weather.gov/product.php?format=ci&glossary=1&issuedby=mtr&product=afd&site=mtr&version=1\">daily\u003c/a> forecast discussion. Inland areas like Livermore could reach into the triple digits by Thursday before dipping into the 80s and 90s this weekend, adding to forecasters’ fire concerns as the region heats up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Thursday is our hottest day of the week,” said Karleisa Rogacheski, a lead meteorologist with the weather service’s Bay Area office. “We may have a couple of 100-degree spots sitting up in the North Bay and East Bay areas.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The service has issued a red flag warning for the North Bay mountains and the East Bay Hills. The warning starts Wednesday at 11 a.m. and continues through Thursday morning due to gusty winds and critically dry conditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a really strong setup for if a spark starts a fire, that fire is going to have the opportunity to grow very quickly in those areas,” said Brayden Murdock, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Bay Area office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000321\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1949px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000321\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/20240711_HeatFeatures-7_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1949\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/20240711_HeatFeatures-7_qed.jpg 1949w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/20240711_HeatFeatures-7_qed-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/20240711_HeatFeatures-7_qed-768x525.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/20240711_HeatFeatures-7_qed-1536x1051.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1949px) 100vw, 1949px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Siblings Mason, 7, and Jordan Dewitt, 8, enjoy the spray grounds at Prince Gateway Park in Santa Rosa as the temperature reached 100 degrees on July 11, 2024. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The service has also issued a heat advisory through Thursday evening for most of the region, extending from the North Bay to San Francisco to San José. Temperatures could reach near triple digits in inland areas like Santa Rosa and Livermore, while San Francisco and Oakland are expected to reach the low 80s by Thursday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Wednesday is going to be a pretty warm day and one of the warmest we’ve seen so far this year,” Murdock said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rogacheski said the warm-up isn’t considered a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2000299/a-delight-mare-bay-area-sizzles-march-heat-wave-could-shatter-records\">heat wave\u003c/a>, but forecasters expect to reach the low 80s in San Francisco and the 90s and low 100s in the North, South and East Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000292\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000292\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/250821-FRUITVALE-HEAT-MD-01_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/250821-FRUITVALE-HEAT-MD-01_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/250821-FRUITVALE-HEAT-MD-01_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/250821-FRUITVALE-HEAT-MD-01_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/250821-FRUITVALE-HEAT-MD-01_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">People walk down International Boulevard in Oakland during a heat wave on Aug. 21, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Rogacheski’s office is warning the public, especially in inland areas, that a moderate heat risk will begin Wednesday. That level of heat poses a risk of heat-related illness for sensitive populations, including children, the elderly and people who work or live outdoors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Pay attention to your body during these times because that’s kind of going to be an indicator of what might help,” Rogacheski said. “Take frequent breaks, rest in shade, stay hydrated and wear sunscreen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The warm temperatures, winds up to 45 mph and decreasing relative humidity could create prime wildfire conditions if a spark were to ignite, Rogacheski said, for areas such as the eastern Napa Hills and the interior East Bay valleys and mountains.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“This isn’t a slam dunk red flag warning because all of our fuels aren’t fully cured and dried out,” Rogacheski said. “If there are locations that are dry, there could be easier fire starts and spreads, but there are areas that are still kind of green and moist. It’ll be a little bit harder for fires to start there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The weather service’s Sacramento office has issued a \u003ca href=\"https://forecast.weather.gov/wwamap/wwatxtget.php?cwa=STO&wwa=red%20flag%20warning\">red flag warning\u003c/a> for a large portion of the Sacramento Valley on Wednesday through Thursday evening, said Courtney Carpenter, the office’s warning coordination meteorologist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There could be a problem if anything gets started,” Carpenter said. “Fuels are drying out, and we’ve got gusty winds and low humidity, so that makes firefighting conditions challenging.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In response, PG&E announced Monday that it may shut off power in parts of at least eight counties this week. The warning includes potential \u003ca href=\"https://pgealerts.alerts.pge.com/psps-updates/7day/\">public safety power shutoffs \u003c/a>through Friday in parts of Colusa, Glenn, Lake, Napa, Sonoma, Sutter, Tehama and Yolo counties. The utility shuts off power in order to limit the risk of wildfire from its equipment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company notes that only “some parts” of each county may be affected and that specific addresses are usually available two days before a shutoff occurs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "how-you-can-mostly-cut-using-fossil-fuels-as-a-renter-in-the-bay-area",
"title": "Hot Rugs, Heat Pumps and Induction Cooktops: How Renters Can Go Electric",
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"headTitle": "Hot Rugs, Heat Pumps and Induction Cooktops: How Renters Can Go Electric | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>California is transitioning to clean energy. KQED is reporting on what that means for you. What works? What doesn’t? How much does it cost? Help us find these answers and more by \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"http://donate.kqed.org/sojo?ms=W2510EANXXXX22\">\u003cem>donating today\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An increasing number of people are swapping gas appliances for electric ones to improve their indoor air quality and to reduce their carbon footprint.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But for people who rent, making the switch can seem out of reach: they are not the ones deciding what new appliance will replace the last, or when to rewire a home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recent, creative uses of existing technologies are removing these barriers. A market is opening for renters, who comprise almost half of Bay Area households, to go electric. These solutions can also work for owners who want to cut fossil fuels without major electrical work or service upgrades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s your guide for how to do that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jump to:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#Cooking\">Cooking\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#Warmingandcoolingyourhome\">Warming and cooling your home\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#Generatingsomeofyourownelectricity\">Generating some of your own electricity\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#Storingenergy\">Storing energy\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#Chargingyourcar\">Charging your car\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#Dryingyourclothes\">Drying your clothes\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#Talkingtoyourpropertyowner\">Talking to your property owner\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#Payingforyourutilitybills\">Paying for your utility bills\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Cooking\">\u003c/a>Cooking\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Studies show gas stoves expose people to \u003ca href=\"https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2025/12/gas-propane-stoves-nitrogen-dioxide-exposure-health-risks-switching-electric\">unhealthy air\u003c/a> and emit \u003ca href=\"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.est.1c04707\">methane\u003c/a>, the main component in natural gas. Methane warms the climate at nearly 80 times the rate of carbon dioxide, although it stays in the atmosphere for a far shorter time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Switching to an electric or induction stove can dramatically \u003ca href=\"https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/4/12/pgaf341/8361964?login=false\">cut pollution\u003c/a>. Induction appliances also tend to heat up faster and be more energy efficient.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are two induction options: cooktops and stoves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001207\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001207\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260417-climatesolutionsinduction02210_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260417-climatesolutionsinduction02210_TV_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260417-climatesolutionsinduction02210_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260417-climatesolutionsinduction02210_TV_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260417-climatesolutionsinduction02210_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An induction stove available for checkout at the San Mateo Public Library in San Mateo on April 17, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Induction cooktops\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Induction cooktops are fairly flat rectangles that can rest on any countertop or table. Many people simply place them on their gas stove (remember not to ignite your gas stove with the cooktop there).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Induction cooktops provide even heat and boil water quickly. They offer a kitchen upgrade without a remodel or thumbs up from a property owner. They’re portable and easy to pack when you move.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Large retailers like IKEA sell single, plug-in burners, and other companies offer four-burner cooktops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keep in mind:\u003c/strong> Buy an induction cooktop that plugs into a standard 120-volt outlet to avoid the need for wiring upgrades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Induction requires compatible cookware like stainless steel and cast iron. Aluminum pots and pans do not work with induction — they simply won’t heat up. To test pots and pans to see if they are compatible, hold a fridge magnet up to them. If it sticks, they will work!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cost:\u003c/strong> Induction cooktops start around $75 for a single burner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Induction stoves that plug into a standard outlet \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While many induction stoves require home rewiring to provide enough electricity, there’s a burgeoning market of stoves that plug into a standard 120-volt outlet. They have an internal battery that charges when not in use and provides extra oomph when needed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This option is more appropriate for people planning to stay in their rental for a while.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001147\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001147\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_002-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_002-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_002-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_002-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_002-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Laura Fraser demonstrates the efficiency of boiling water on a Copper induction stove in the kitchen of her Haight-Ashbury apartment in San Francisco on May 18, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keep in mind:\u003c/strong> A stove with a backup battery will allow you to keep cooking during a power outage, at least for a few meals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Induction stoves also require compatible stainless steel and cast-iron cookware.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You’ll need to switch off the gas valve behind the old gas stove to prevent any gas from flowing into your home. It’s a good idea to talk to your property owner before making this kind of change, especially to be sure you’re properly dealing with the gas valve.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A large stove will be hard to take with you when you move. Some renters have reported storing the gas stove that came with the rental, and plan to take their induction stove to their next house.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cost:\u003c/strong> Induction stoves range from \u003ca href=\"https://www.wattsipper.com/products\">$2,000\u003c/a>-$7,000. Bay Area author and celebrity chef Samin Nosrat loves \u003ca href=\"https://copperhome.com/products/charlie\">this one\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Other kitchen appliances\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even if you don’t replace your gas cooktop, you can use it far less with the help of other appliances like electric water kettles, toaster ovens, slow cookers, microwaves, and air fryers.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Warmingandcoolingyourhome\">\u003c/a>Warming and cooling your home\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The median cost for an HVAC heat pump installation in California is \u003ca href=\"https://techcleanca.com/heat-pump-data/heat-pump-data-visuals/\">$18,816\u003c/a>, which includes equipment and upgrades to existing ductwork, labor, and removing the old appliance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But a renter, or a homeowner for that matter, can pull this off for far less.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001149\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001149\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_005-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_005-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_005-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_005-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_005-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Gradient plug-in heat pump window unit sits in a bedroom office space in the home of Laura Fraser and Peter Eckart in San Francisco on May 18, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Like recent innovations in stoves, there are now fairly portable, affordable window heat pumps that will plug into a standard outlet. They’re similar to AC units, but without the water drips and with far less noise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keep in mind: \u003c/strong>Most models are meant to warm or cool a single room, and most only work in sash windows that open up and down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cost: \u003c/strong>Popular models start at \u003ca href=\"https://www.geappliances.com/appliance/GE-ENERGY-STAR-8-000-BTU-Smart-Heat-Cool-with-Heat-Pump-Electronic-Window-Air-Conditioner-for-Medium-Rooms-up-to-350-sq-ft-AWGP08WWF\">$550\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Generatingsomeofyourownelectricity\">\u003c/a>Generating some of your own electricity\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Plug-in solar consists of just a few panels that people set up themselves and connect to a wall outlet. In under an hour, people can start generating enough power to keep an efficient refrigerator humming. Panels can be propped in yards or hung from balconies or windows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keep in mind: \u003c/strong>According to safety certification organization UL Solutions, \u003ca href=\"https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/05/07/1136933/balcony-solar-boom/\">risks\u003c/a> with current plug-in solar systems include overloading a circuit and damaging equipment or even starting a fire, and a plug may shock a person if they touch it immediately after unplugging.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001208\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001208\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-12_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-12_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-12_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-12_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-12_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rupert Mayer installs power inverters on the solar panels at Matthew Milner’s home in Kensington on May 23, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Distributors say they have solved these issues, however, and that their systems are safe. Some recommend dedicating a circuit specifically to plug-in solar panels to avoid any overloading issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, plug-in solar panels must be registered with your utility as if they were a full rooftop solar array. Proponents of the technology argue that this kind of registration process defeats the goal of plug-and-play systems, making them too expensive and slow to set up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There is current \u003ca href=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB868\">legislation\u003c/a> to change California’s plug-in solar registration; however, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1997918/forget-rooftops-bay-area-residents-are-plugging-solar-into-the-wall\">some people are already installing the panels without registering them\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cost:\u003c/strong> Smaller systems range in size and cost from around \u003ca href=\"https://www.brightsaver.org/product-page/flex180\">$500\u003c/a> to \u003ca href=\"https://www.ecoflow.com/us/stream-microinverter\">$1,900\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Storingenergy\">\u003c/a>Storing energy\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While a whole-home battery system is out of the question for a renter, smaller \u003ca href=\"https://www.pilaenergy.com/products/mesh-home-battery\">portable batteries\u003c/a> are hitting the market. It’s a good option for people needing to keep medicines cool, or mobility devices charged in the case of a power outage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cost:\u003c/strong> $1,299\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Chargingyourcar\">\u003c/a>Charging your car\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Should you go the electric vehicle route, you’d most likely want to charge where you park. While some dogged EV fans have made it work charging at public and fast chargers, this takes commitment and money. Fast chargers are more expensive than charging at home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you have a garage, many EV drivers use the method of “trickle charging,” which means just plugging into an existing 120-volt outlet. In EV-speak, this is considered “Level 1” charging and provides enough energy to meet the average Bay Area household commute of \u003ca href=\"https://vitalsigns.mtc.ca.gov/indicators/daily-miles-traveled\">20 miles per day\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"mceTemp\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001185\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001185\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826Renters-Going-Electric-_GH_014_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826Renters-Going-Electric-_GH_014_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826Renters-Going-Electric-_GH_014_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826Renters-Going-Electric-_GH_014_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826Renters-Going-Electric-_GH_014_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A bumper sticker reading “This is my last gas car” is displayed on a vehicle owned by Laura Fraser and Peter Eckart in San Francisco on May 18, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A Level 1 charger adds about \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/how-charge-electric-vehicles\">5 miles\u003c/a> to a car’s range in an hour, per the Department of Energy. Paying for this extra electricity is a conversation to have with your property owner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For people with too few or no outlets in their garage, start-ups are popping up to solve this problem. \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/ev-charging-multifamily-buildings\">Orange\u003c/a> can install Level 1 chargers in larger parking garages at each spot. The lower-level chargers make the upgrade faster and more affordable for the building owner. The start-up \u003ca href=\"https://www.moonfive.tech/\">Moon Five\u003c/a> promises to install an EV charger that the tenant pays back monthly, at no cost to the property owner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cost: \u003c/strong>This depends on each project.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Dryingyourclothes\">\u003c/a>Drying your clothes\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The majority of clothes dryers in California are powered by gas. Recently, several electric, heat-pump dryers have come out that do not require rewiring and can be plugged into a 120-volt outlet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keep in mind:\u003c/strong> The lower amount of electricity going into these dryers means the cycle will typically take longer than a gas dryer or one that plugs into a 240-volt outlet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of these dryers are ventless, which means they collect water internally and do not require an outside steam vent. You’d need to dump out the water the machine collects each time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cost:\u003c/strong> Compact dryers go for a few hundred dollars, and fancier versions top $1,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Talkingtoyourpropertyowner\">\u003c/a>Talking to your property owner\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Some of the changes to cut planet-warming pollution from your home involve smaller appliances, and are a matter of personal choice, like a toaster oven.[aside postID=science_2000695 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-08-KQED.jpg']But some larger changes would be worth bringing up with your property owner, said Ted Tiffany, Senior Technical Lead for advocacy group the \u003ca href=\"https://www.switchison.org/electric-solutions/cooking/renters\">Building Decarbonization Coalition\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If someone plans to turn off the gas valve behind their heater or stove, they’d want to be sure to do it right, Tiffany said. He also recommended people consult their property owner for more visible changes, like a heat pump, heater, and air conditioner window unit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here are some tips for talking to your property owner:\u003c/p>\n\u003col>\n\u003cli>Discuss health benefits. Gas that vents indoors, like a gas stove, emits unhealthy indoor air pollution. You can track your indoor air quality with air sensors that \u003ca href=\"https://lifebasis.com/products/lifebasis-10-in-1-air-quality-monitor-real-time-air-quality-tester\">start around $70\u003c/a> to document what changes you see when you turn on your gas appliances.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Propose cost sharing. For a larger appliance that may stay with the unit when you move, you could take on some of the cost, too.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Talk about climate benefits. Research shows that 42% of planet-warming emissions come from fossil fuels burned in our personal homes and vehicles.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Help find incentives. There are several websites that \u003ca href=\"https://www.switchison.org/incentive-finder\">identify incentives\u003c/a> depending on your address.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Talk about property value. There is \u003ca href=\"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-020-00706-4\">some research\u003c/a> showing that installing a heat pump can increase the value of your property significantly. Another advocacy group, Rewiring America, has \u003ca href=\"https://homes.rewiringamerica.org/projects/landlord/talk-to-your-landlord-about-electrification-renter\">more talking points\u003c/a> along these lines on its website.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ol>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Payingforyourutilitybills\">\u003c/a>Paying for your utility bills\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While swapping out gas appliances for electric ones will improve indoor air quality and reduce emissions, in most cases, it will increase your utility bill because electricity rates in California are higher than gas ones.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Replacing window air conditioners and/or plug-in space heaters with heat pumps may cut expenses, as heat pumps are more efficient.\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "“Climate technology” — innovations that address the climate crisis — is exploding. Here’s how you can take advantage of the gadgets to improve your indoor air quality and lower your carbon emissions.",
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"title": "Hot Rugs, Heat Pumps and Induction Cooktops: How Renters Can Go Electric | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>California is transitioning to clean energy. KQED is reporting on what that means for you. What works? What doesn’t? How much does it cost? Help us find these answers and more by \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"http://donate.kqed.org/sojo?ms=W2510EANXXXX22\">\u003cem>donating today\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An increasing number of people are swapping gas appliances for electric ones to improve their indoor air quality and to reduce their carbon footprint.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But for people who rent, making the switch can seem out of reach: they are not the ones deciding what new appliance will replace the last, or when to rewire a home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recent, creative uses of existing technologies are removing these barriers. A market is opening for renters, who comprise almost half of Bay Area households, to go electric. These solutions can also work for owners who want to cut fossil fuels without major electrical work or service upgrades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s your guide for how to do that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jump to:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#Cooking\">Cooking\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#Warmingandcoolingyourhome\">Warming and cooling your home\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#Generatingsomeofyourownelectricity\">Generating some of your own electricity\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#Storingenergy\">Storing energy\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#Chargingyourcar\">Charging your car\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#Dryingyourclothes\">Drying your clothes\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#Talkingtoyourpropertyowner\">Talking to your property owner\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#Payingforyourutilitybills\">Paying for your utility bills\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Cooking\">\u003c/a>Cooking\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Studies show gas stoves expose people to \u003ca href=\"https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2025/12/gas-propane-stoves-nitrogen-dioxide-exposure-health-risks-switching-electric\">unhealthy air\u003c/a> and emit \u003ca href=\"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.est.1c04707\">methane\u003c/a>, the main component in natural gas. Methane warms the climate at nearly 80 times the rate of carbon dioxide, although it stays in the atmosphere for a far shorter time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Switching to an electric or induction stove can dramatically \u003ca href=\"https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/4/12/pgaf341/8361964?login=false\">cut pollution\u003c/a>. Induction appliances also tend to heat up faster and be more energy efficient.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are two induction options: cooktops and stoves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001207\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001207\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260417-climatesolutionsinduction02210_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260417-climatesolutionsinduction02210_TV_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260417-climatesolutionsinduction02210_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260417-climatesolutionsinduction02210_TV_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260417-climatesolutionsinduction02210_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An induction stove available for checkout at the San Mateo Public Library in San Mateo on April 17, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Induction cooktops\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Induction cooktops are fairly flat rectangles that can rest on any countertop or table. Many people simply place them on their gas stove (remember not to ignite your gas stove with the cooktop there).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Induction cooktops provide even heat and boil water quickly. They offer a kitchen upgrade without a remodel or thumbs up from a property owner. They’re portable and easy to pack when you move.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Large retailers like IKEA sell single, plug-in burners, and other companies offer four-burner cooktops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keep in mind:\u003c/strong> Buy an induction cooktop that plugs into a standard 120-volt outlet to avoid the need for wiring upgrades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Induction requires compatible cookware like stainless steel and cast iron. Aluminum pots and pans do not work with induction — they simply won’t heat up. To test pots and pans to see if they are compatible, hold a fridge magnet up to them. If it sticks, they will work!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cost:\u003c/strong> Induction cooktops start around $75 for a single burner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Induction stoves that plug into a standard outlet \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While many induction stoves require home rewiring to provide enough electricity, there’s a burgeoning market of stoves that plug into a standard 120-volt outlet. They have an internal battery that charges when not in use and provides extra oomph when needed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This option is more appropriate for people planning to stay in their rental for a while.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001147\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001147\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_002-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_002-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_002-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_002-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_002-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Laura Fraser demonstrates the efficiency of boiling water on a Copper induction stove in the kitchen of her Haight-Ashbury apartment in San Francisco on May 18, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keep in mind:\u003c/strong> A stove with a backup battery will allow you to keep cooking during a power outage, at least for a few meals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Induction stoves also require compatible stainless steel and cast-iron cookware.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You’ll need to switch off the gas valve behind the old gas stove to prevent any gas from flowing into your home. It’s a good idea to talk to your property owner before making this kind of change, especially to be sure you’re properly dealing with the gas valve.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A large stove will be hard to take with you when you move. Some renters have reported storing the gas stove that came with the rental, and plan to take their induction stove to their next house.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cost:\u003c/strong> Induction stoves range from \u003ca href=\"https://www.wattsipper.com/products\">$2,000\u003c/a>-$7,000. Bay Area author and celebrity chef Samin Nosrat loves \u003ca href=\"https://copperhome.com/products/charlie\">this one\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Other kitchen appliances\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even if you don’t replace your gas cooktop, you can use it far less with the help of other appliances like electric water kettles, toaster ovens, slow cookers, microwaves, and air fryers.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Warmingandcoolingyourhome\">\u003c/a>Warming and cooling your home\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The median cost for an HVAC heat pump installation in California is \u003ca href=\"https://techcleanca.com/heat-pump-data/heat-pump-data-visuals/\">$18,816\u003c/a>, which includes equipment and upgrades to existing ductwork, labor, and removing the old appliance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But a renter, or a homeowner for that matter, can pull this off for far less.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001149\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001149\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_005-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_005-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_005-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_005-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_005-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Gradient plug-in heat pump window unit sits in a bedroom office space in the home of Laura Fraser and Peter Eckart in San Francisco on May 18, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Like recent innovations in stoves, there are now fairly portable, affordable window heat pumps that will plug into a standard outlet. They’re similar to AC units, but without the water drips and with far less noise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keep in mind: \u003c/strong>Most models are meant to warm or cool a single room, and most only work in sash windows that open up and down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cost: \u003c/strong>Popular models start at \u003ca href=\"https://www.geappliances.com/appliance/GE-ENERGY-STAR-8-000-BTU-Smart-Heat-Cool-with-Heat-Pump-Electronic-Window-Air-Conditioner-for-Medium-Rooms-up-to-350-sq-ft-AWGP08WWF\">$550\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Generatingsomeofyourownelectricity\">\u003c/a>Generating some of your own electricity\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Plug-in solar consists of just a few panels that people set up themselves and connect to a wall outlet. In under an hour, people can start generating enough power to keep an efficient refrigerator humming. Panels can be propped in yards or hung from balconies or windows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keep in mind: \u003c/strong>According to safety certification organization UL Solutions, \u003ca href=\"https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/05/07/1136933/balcony-solar-boom/\">risks\u003c/a> with current plug-in solar systems include overloading a circuit and damaging equipment or even starting a fire, and a plug may shock a person if they touch it immediately after unplugging.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001208\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001208\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-12_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-12_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-12_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-12_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-12_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rupert Mayer installs power inverters on the solar panels at Matthew Milner’s home in Kensington on May 23, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Distributors say they have solved these issues, however, and that their systems are safe. Some recommend dedicating a circuit specifically to plug-in solar panels to avoid any overloading issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, plug-in solar panels must be registered with your utility as if they were a full rooftop solar array. Proponents of the technology argue that this kind of registration process defeats the goal of plug-and-play systems, making them too expensive and slow to set up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There is current \u003ca href=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB868\">legislation\u003c/a> to change California’s plug-in solar registration; however, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1997918/forget-rooftops-bay-area-residents-are-plugging-solar-into-the-wall\">some people are already installing the panels without registering them\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cost:\u003c/strong> Smaller systems range in size and cost from around \u003ca href=\"https://www.brightsaver.org/product-page/flex180\">$500\u003c/a> to \u003ca href=\"https://www.ecoflow.com/us/stream-microinverter\">$1,900\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Storingenergy\">\u003c/a>Storing energy\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While a whole-home battery system is out of the question for a renter, smaller \u003ca href=\"https://www.pilaenergy.com/products/mesh-home-battery\">portable batteries\u003c/a> are hitting the market. It’s a good option for people needing to keep medicines cool, or mobility devices charged in the case of a power outage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cost:\u003c/strong> $1,299\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Chargingyourcar\">\u003c/a>Charging your car\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Should you go the electric vehicle route, you’d most likely want to charge where you park. While some dogged EV fans have made it work charging at public and fast chargers, this takes commitment and money. Fast chargers are more expensive than charging at home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you have a garage, many EV drivers use the method of “trickle charging,” which means just plugging into an existing 120-volt outlet. In EV-speak, this is considered “Level 1” charging and provides enough energy to meet the average Bay Area household commute of \u003ca href=\"https://vitalsigns.mtc.ca.gov/indicators/daily-miles-traveled\">20 miles per day\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"mceTemp\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001185\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001185\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826Renters-Going-Electric-_GH_014_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826Renters-Going-Electric-_GH_014_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826Renters-Going-Electric-_GH_014_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826Renters-Going-Electric-_GH_014_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826Renters-Going-Electric-_GH_014_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A bumper sticker reading “This is my last gas car” is displayed on a vehicle owned by Laura Fraser and Peter Eckart in San Francisco on May 18, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A Level 1 charger adds about \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/how-charge-electric-vehicles\">5 miles\u003c/a> to a car’s range in an hour, per the Department of Energy. Paying for this extra electricity is a conversation to have with your property owner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For people with too few or no outlets in their garage, start-ups are popping up to solve this problem. \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/ev-charging-multifamily-buildings\">Orange\u003c/a> can install Level 1 chargers in larger parking garages at each spot. The lower-level chargers make the upgrade faster and more affordable for the building owner. The start-up \u003ca href=\"https://www.moonfive.tech/\">Moon Five\u003c/a> promises to install an EV charger that the tenant pays back monthly, at no cost to the property owner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cost: \u003c/strong>This depends on each project.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Dryingyourclothes\">\u003c/a>Drying your clothes\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The majority of clothes dryers in California are powered by gas. Recently, several electric, heat-pump dryers have come out that do not require rewiring and can be plugged into a 120-volt outlet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keep in mind:\u003c/strong> The lower amount of electricity going into these dryers means the cycle will typically take longer than a gas dryer or one that plugs into a 240-volt outlet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of these dryers are ventless, which means they collect water internally and do not require an outside steam vent. You’d need to dump out the water the machine collects each time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cost:\u003c/strong> Compact dryers go for a few hundred dollars, and fancier versions top $1,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Talkingtoyourpropertyowner\">\u003c/a>Talking to your property owner\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Some of the changes to cut planet-warming pollution from your home involve smaller appliances, and are a matter of personal choice, like a toaster oven.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>But some larger changes would be worth bringing up with your property owner, said Ted Tiffany, Senior Technical Lead for advocacy group the \u003ca href=\"https://www.switchison.org/electric-solutions/cooking/renters\">Building Decarbonization Coalition\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If someone plans to turn off the gas valve behind their heater or stove, they’d want to be sure to do it right, Tiffany said. He also recommended people consult their property owner for more visible changes, like a heat pump, heater, and air conditioner window unit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here are some tips for talking to your property owner:\u003c/p>\n\u003col>\n\u003cli>Discuss health benefits. Gas that vents indoors, like a gas stove, emits unhealthy indoor air pollution. You can track your indoor air quality with air sensors that \u003ca href=\"https://lifebasis.com/products/lifebasis-10-in-1-air-quality-monitor-real-time-air-quality-tester\">start around $70\u003c/a> to document what changes you see when you turn on your gas appliances.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Propose cost sharing. For a larger appliance that may stay with the unit when you move, you could take on some of the cost, too.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Talk about climate benefits. Research shows that 42% of planet-warming emissions come from fossil fuels burned in our personal homes and vehicles.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Help find incentives. There are several websites that \u003ca href=\"https://www.switchison.org/incentive-finder\">identify incentives\u003c/a> depending on your address.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Talk about property value. There is \u003ca href=\"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-020-00706-4\">some research\u003c/a> showing that installing a heat pump can increase the value of your property significantly. Another advocacy group, Rewiring America, has \u003ca href=\"https://homes.rewiringamerica.org/projects/landlord/talk-to-your-landlord-about-electrification-renter\">more talking points\u003c/a> along these lines on its website.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ol>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Payingforyourutilitybills\">\u003c/a>Paying for your utility bills\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While swapping out gas appliances for electric ones will improve indoor air quality and reduce emissions, in most cases, it will increase your utility bill because electricity rates in California are higher than gas ones.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Replacing window air conditioners and/or plug-in space heaters with heat pumps may cut expenses, as heat pumps are more efficient.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Kim Leads Early as Insurance Commissioner Race Heads Toward General Election",
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"content": "\u003cp>Progressive activist Jane Kim appeared poised to advance to the general election in November, besting other candidates in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2000611/california-insurance-commissioner-candidates-debate-solutions-to-wildfire-driven-crisis\">insurance commissioners race\u003c/a>, with 24.1% of early returns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The second-place finisher, appearing to be Ben Allen, who garnered 20.2% of the early returns, will also advance to the general election.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If elected, Kim’s tenure as commissioner would likely mean far more government involvement in shaping the insurance industry. She proposes a statewide guaranteed, affordable disaster insurance program, modeled on systems in France and New Zealand. She also has promised to work for guaranteed health insurance for all children in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re feeling very optimistic,” Kim said late Tuesday. “Our message of taking on the insurance industry and the status quo is really resonating with voters across the state.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kim has the backing of notable progressive leaders, including Bernie Sanders, Dolores Huerta, SEIU California and the Working Families Party.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State Sen. Ben Allen represents areas affected by the Palisades Fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Allen has promised to work with local and state officials to make neighborhoods safer from fire, by designing programs that harden homes and reduce fire spread.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000650\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000650\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-25-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-25-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-25-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-25-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-25-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jane Kim, former San Francisco supervisor, speaks during a forum for candidates for California insurance commissioner at the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) in San Francisco on April 9, 2026. The event brought together candidates to discuss the state’s insurance market, including affordability and coverage challenges facing homeowners. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He also wants to expand financial help for homeowners preparing their properties for fire. He has said he would seek to modernize the Department of Insurance and make it work more efficiently.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s also said he wants fossil fuel companies to bear some costs for their role in driving up insurance prices due to human-caused climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re looking very strong to go into the second round,” Allen said. “We were able to tell a really good story statewide about my experience and record and my standing up for consumers. And I think it paid off. And ultimately, we’re going to head to a strong, robust runoff in the fall.”[aside label=\"Live 2026 Election Results\" link1='https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/california/insurance-commissioner,Learn about the results of the California Insurance Commissioner Election' hero=https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/80/2026/04/Aside-California-Insurance-Commissioner-2026-Primary-Election-1200x1200@2x.png]Allen’s campaign was backed by U.S. Sens. Padilla and Schiff, California Environmental Voters, California Professional Firefighters and the Sierra Club.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The once sleepy race for insurance commissioner has earned significant attention this year. Wildfires and inflation have thrown California into an insurance crisis, with many residents finding insurance hard to obtain or afford.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The commissioner is the chief regulator of the state’s $3 trillion insurance industry and holds considerable power over how companies process claims and set prices for coverage for properties, cars, life insurance and workers compensation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two years ago, the Department of Insurance, under Ricardo Lara, rolled out the biggest regulatory reforms in a generation, known as the Sustainable Insurance Strategy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Industry experts say the changes have led to some easing of the insurance market, but more needs to be done to drive down risk from disasters like fires, and increase coverage options while limiting rapidly rising prices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Early returns show progressive activist Jane Kim leading the insurance commissioner race while State Sen. Ben Allen appears to also advance, setting up a general election contest focused on California’s insurance crisis, wildfire risk and regulatory reform.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Progressive activist Jane Kim appeared poised to advance to the general election in November, besting other candidates in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2000611/california-insurance-commissioner-candidates-debate-solutions-to-wildfire-driven-crisis\">insurance commissioners race\u003c/a>, with 24.1% of early returns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The second-place finisher, appearing to be Ben Allen, who garnered 20.2% of the early returns, will also advance to the general election.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If elected, Kim’s tenure as commissioner would likely mean far more government involvement in shaping the insurance industry. She proposes a statewide guaranteed, affordable disaster insurance program, modeled on systems in France and New Zealand. She also has promised to work for guaranteed health insurance for all children in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re feeling very optimistic,” Kim said late Tuesday. “Our message of taking on the insurance industry and the status quo is really resonating with voters across the state.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kim has the backing of notable progressive leaders, including Bernie Sanders, Dolores Huerta, SEIU California and the Working Families Party.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State Sen. Ben Allen represents areas affected by the Palisades Fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Allen has promised to work with local and state officials to make neighborhoods safer from fire, by designing programs that harden homes and reduce fire spread.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000650\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000650\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-25-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-25-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-25-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-25-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-25-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jane Kim, former San Francisco supervisor, speaks during a forum for candidates for California insurance commissioner at the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) in San Francisco on April 9, 2026. The event brought together candidates to discuss the state’s insurance market, including affordability and coverage challenges facing homeowners. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He also wants to expand financial help for homeowners preparing their properties for fire. He has said he would seek to modernize the Department of Insurance and make it work more efficiently.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s also said he wants fossil fuel companies to bear some costs for their role in driving up insurance prices due to human-caused climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re looking very strong to go into the second round,” Allen said. “We were able to tell a really good story statewide about my experience and record and my standing up for consumers. And I think it paid off. And ultimately, we’re going to head to a strong, robust runoff in the fall.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Allen’s campaign was backed by U.S. Sens. Padilla and Schiff, California Environmental Voters, California Professional Firefighters and the Sierra Club.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The once sleepy race for insurance commissioner has earned significant attention this year. Wildfires and inflation have thrown California into an insurance crisis, with many residents finding insurance hard to obtain or afford.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The commissioner is the chief regulator of the state’s $3 trillion insurance industry and holds considerable power over how companies process claims and set prices for coverage for properties, cars, life insurance and workers compensation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two years ago, the Department of Insurance, under Ricardo Lara, rolled out the biggest regulatory reforms in a generation, known as the Sustainable Insurance Strategy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Industry experts say the changes have led to some easing of the insurance market, but more needs to be done to drive down risk from disasters like fires, and increase coverage options while limiting rapidly rising prices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "early-bay-area-honeybee-swarms-bring-new-questions-about-warming-winters",
"title": "Early Bay Area Honeybee Swarms Bring New Questions About Warming Winters",
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"content": "\u003cp>Steve Demkowski is a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11928638/a-sweet-deal-this-oakland-beekeeper-rescues-bees-from-bart-then-sells-the-honey\">honeybee\u003c/a> addict. But in January, when a swarm buzzed into his San José yard, the longtime beekeeper was stunned. Swarming had started nearly a month earlier than he expected.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wasn’t ready for it,” the 79-year-old said. “I have never gotten swarms in January before.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Swarms happen when a bee colony splits, and half of it leaves to find a new home. It’s a natural process that usually ramps up in spring, when flowers are in bloom en masse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two more swarms that month would take up residence in his wrap-around yard, which is full of flowers, trees and bait hives smeared with lemongrass oil.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Demkowski isn’t alone in his surprise. A new report published by \u003ca href=\"https://beeswarmed.org/season\">Swarmed\u003c/a>, a resource for bee removal and a tracking network of more than 10,000 beekeepers, found that this year’s swarm season began an average of 17 days earlier than last year nationwide. In Bay Area counties, including San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin, some swarms arrived more than a month ahead of schedule. But bee experts think Swarmed’s four-year dataset needs additional time to establish a trend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The change was most pronounced in California, where warmer winter temperatures meant that the bees may have never gone dormant for the winter,” said Swarmed’s managing director, Mateo Kaiser, a fifth-generation beekeeper based in Mountain View.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001106\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001106\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260527-BEE-SWARMS-MD-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260527-BEE-SWARMS-MD-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260527-BEE-SWARMS-MD-03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260527-BEE-SWARMS-MD-03-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260527-BEE-SWARMS-MD-03-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Steve Demkowski inspects a frame from a honey bee box at his home in San José on May 27, 2026. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Back at Demkowski’s residence, swarms kept arriving through February, until a cold snap slowed the South Bay buzz. He has kept bees for 35 years and said the warmer winter may have prompted the early swarms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I got more swarms than I have ever had,” Demkowski said. “But then it just stopped. Winter came back for a while, and it just messed everything up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This winter was historically warm across the Bay Area, with many areas \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2000299/a-delight-mare-bay-area-sizzles-march-heat-wave-could-shatter-records\">shattering daily and monthly high-temperature records\u003c/a>. Much of the West experienced the warmest winter on record “by a ridiculous margin,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with UC Agriculture and Natural Resources.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Early swarming worries beekeepers because they can lose part of their colonies, which they rely on for pollination and honey production.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If the winter is warmer, then maybe years of gut intuition are no longer serving you as well as they used to because it’s just harder to predict on your own,” Kaiser said. “Beekeepers are losing swarms that way and are worried about the health of their colonies later in the season.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaiser also said he’s nervous that warmer winters could help varroa mites reproduce longer. The mites feed on bees’ fat reserves and can transmit deadly viral infections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001105\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2001105 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260527-BEE-SWARMS-MD-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260527-BEE-SWARMS-MD-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260527-BEE-SWARMS-MD-02-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260527-BEE-SWARMS-MD-02-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260527-BEE-SWARMS-MD-02-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Steve Demkowski and Estella Eulate inspect a honey bee box of Demkowski’s at his home in San José on May 27, 2026. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“If there’s less of a break happening and the bees are laying more eggs early in the winter, then the season for these mites to reproduce is also longer, and the colonies will suffer more because the mite loads are higher,” Kaiser said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Demkowski fed his colonies a sugary syrup during the cold slump, determined not to lose any bees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They would’ve made it if we didn’t have almost two weeks of cold,” Demkowski said. “Because we have winter flowers like rosemary blooming about that time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘\u003cstrong>It is definitely a signal of a warming planet’\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>With swarming in San Francisco County starting 78 days earlier than usual, Swarmed’s data showed that the city had the Bay Area’s biggest shift this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Kaiser said the finding is “worth treating with a bit of caution” because the county’s distinct microclimates and weather patterns differ from the rest of the Bay Area, and fewer observations were collected across the county.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The smaller sample size could be due to the work of local swarm catchers, said Alex Unger, a board member of the San Francisco Beekeepers Association. The team fields hundreds of calls every year. The group verified its first swarm on Feb. 1, and then a second later that month. But then it was “pretty quiet” until May.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001107\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001107\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260527-BEE-SWARMS-MD-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260527-BEE-SWARMS-MD-04-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260527-BEE-SWARMS-MD-04-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260527-BEE-SWARMS-MD-04-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260527-BEE-SWARMS-MD-04-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Steve Demkowski inspects wild bee nesting tubes at his home in San José on May 27, 2026. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Our first swarm was slightly earlier than what we might call the typical swarm season,” Unger said. “The bulk of our swarms have been slightly later than usual.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Weather fluctuations from warm and sunny to cold and wet conditions could be part of why swarming slowed, Unger said, because bees love to forage on days warmer than 55 degrees. Unger said swarming suggests favorable foraging conditions and that bees are “doing really well.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is definitely a signal of a warming planet, but early swarming bees is not in itself a crisis,” Unger said.[aside postID=news_12083376 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/AP24036658778995-scaled.jpg']Scientists said the findings are compelling, but need more data.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Elina Niño, a University of California extension specialist in bees, has concerns about the report because many factors contribute to swarming, including human error, overcrowding, weather and regional ecosystem differences.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t know that early swarming is necessarily totally crazy, and we have seen it before on occasion,” Niño said. “Swarms really depend on the local climate.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Niño said she would have more confidence once Swarmed has collected data for at least a decade. A longer record is especially important for understanding climate change, particularly in California, which has a broad range of ecosystems and natural swings from drought to deluge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think this will be really super useful down the road,” Niño said. “It just needs a little bit more time before we start drawing extreme conclusions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>James Nieh, a UC San Diego professor who studies animal behavior and specializes in social bees, has multiple apiaries and didn’t see unusual swarm activity this winter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It may have been in these other areas that they just had more access to food because of warmer weather earlier on,” Nieh said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001110\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001110\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260527-BEE-SWARMS-MD-08-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260527-BEE-SWARMS-MD-08-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260527-BEE-SWARMS-MD-08-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260527-BEE-SWARMS-MD-08-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260527-BEE-SWARMS-MD-08-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Honey bee boxes at Steve Demkowski’s home in San José on May 27, 2026. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Nieh said more study is necessary to understand if the effects of human-caused climate change are behind a potential trend of early-season swarms. He is unaware of any peer-reviewed articles showing a long-term trend of honey bees in the U.S. swarming earlier due to climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Earlier swarming is consistent with what we know about climate-driven shifts in biological timing,” Nieh said, “but the specific connection between climate change and honey bee swarm timing still needs more direct study.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaiser said his goal is to eventually offer the data as open source, so researchers and citizen scientists can further analyze the findings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"title": "Early Bay Area Honeybee Swarms Bring New Questions About Warming Winters | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Steve Demkowski is a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11928638/a-sweet-deal-this-oakland-beekeeper-rescues-bees-from-bart-then-sells-the-honey\">honeybee\u003c/a> addict. But in January, when a swarm buzzed into his San José yard, the longtime beekeeper was stunned. Swarming had started nearly a month earlier than he expected.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wasn’t ready for it,” the 79-year-old said. “I have never gotten swarms in January before.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Swarms happen when a bee colony splits, and half of it leaves to find a new home. It’s a natural process that usually ramps up in spring, when flowers are in bloom en masse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two more swarms that month would take up residence in his wrap-around yard, which is full of flowers, trees and bait hives smeared with lemongrass oil.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Demkowski isn’t alone in his surprise. A new report published by \u003ca href=\"https://beeswarmed.org/season\">Swarmed\u003c/a>, a resource for bee removal and a tracking network of more than 10,000 beekeepers, found that this year’s swarm season began an average of 17 days earlier than last year nationwide. In Bay Area counties, including San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin, some swarms arrived more than a month ahead of schedule. But bee experts think Swarmed’s four-year dataset needs additional time to establish a trend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The change was most pronounced in California, where warmer winter temperatures meant that the bees may have never gone dormant for the winter,” said Swarmed’s managing director, Mateo Kaiser, a fifth-generation beekeeper based in Mountain View.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001106\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001106\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260527-BEE-SWARMS-MD-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260527-BEE-SWARMS-MD-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260527-BEE-SWARMS-MD-03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260527-BEE-SWARMS-MD-03-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260527-BEE-SWARMS-MD-03-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Steve Demkowski inspects a frame from a honey bee box at his home in San José on May 27, 2026. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Back at Demkowski’s residence, swarms kept arriving through February, until a cold snap slowed the South Bay buzz. He has kept bees for 35 years and said the warmer winter may have prompted the early swarms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I got more swarms than I have ever had,” Demkowski said. “But then it just stopped. Winter came back for a while, and it just messed everything up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This winter was historically warm across the Bay Area, with many areas \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2000299/a-delight-mare-bay-area-sizzles-march-heat-wave-could-shatter-records\">shattering daily and monthly high-temperature records\u003c/a>. Much of the West experienced the warmest winter on record “by a ridiculous margin,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with UC Agriculture and Natural Resources.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Early swarming worries beekeepers because they can lose part of their colonies, which they rely on for pollination and honey production.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If the winter is warmer, then maybe years of gut intuition are no longer serving you as well as they used to because it’s just harder to predict on your own,” Kaiser said. “Beekeepers are losing swarms that way and are worried about the health of their colonies later in the season.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaiser also said he’s nervous that warmer winters could help varroa mites reproduce longer. The mites feed on bees’ fat reserves and can transmit deadly viral infections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001105\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2001105 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260527-BEE-SWARMS-MD-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260527-BEE-SWARMS-MD-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260527-BEE-SWARMS-MD-02-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260527-BEE-SWARMS-MD-02-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260527-BEE-SWARMS-MD-02-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Steve Demkowski and Estella Eulate inspect a honey bee box of Demkowski’s at his home in San José on May 27, 2026. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“If there’s less of a break happening and the bees are laying more eggs early in the winter, then the season for these mites to reproduce is also longer, and the colonies will suffer more because the mite loads are higher,” Kaiser said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Demkowski fed his colonies a sugary syrup during the cold slump, determined not to lose any bees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They would’ve made it if we didn’t have almost two weeks of cold,” Demkowski said. “Because we have winter flowers like rosemary blooming about that time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘\u003cstrong>It is definitely a signal of a warming planet’\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>With swarming in San Francisco County starting 78 days earlier than usual, Swarmed’s data showed that the city had the Bay Area’s biggest shift this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Kaiser said the finding is “worth treating with a bit of caution” because the county’s distinct microclimates and weather patterns differ from the rest of the Bay Area, and fewer observations were collected across the county.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The smaller sample size could be due to the work of local swarm catchers, said Alex Unger, a board member of the San Francisco Beekeepers Association. The team fields hundreds of calls every year. The group verified its first swarm on Feb. 1, and then a second later that month. But then it was “pretty quiet” until May.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001107\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001107\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260527-BEE-SWARMS-MD-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260527-BEE-SWARMS-MD-04-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260527-BEE-SWARMS-MD-04-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260527-BEE-SWARMS-MD-04-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260527-BEE-SWARMS-MD-04-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Steve Demkowski inspects wild bee nesting tubes at his home in San José on May 27, 2026. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Our first swarm was slightly earlier than what we might call the typical swarm season,” Unger said. “The bulk of our swarms have been slightly later than usual.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Weather fluctuations from warm and sunny to cold and wet conditions could be part of why swarming slowed, Unger said, because bees love to forage on days warmer than 55 degrees. Unger said swarming suggests favorable foraging conditions and that bees are “doing really well.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is definitely a signal of a warming planet, but early swarming bees is not in itself a crisis,” Unger said.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Scientists said the findings are compelling, but need more data.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Elina Niño, a University of California extension specialist in bees, has concerns about the report because many factors contribute to swarming, including human error, overcrowding, weather and regional ecosystem differences.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t know that early swarming is necessarily totally crazy, and we have seen it before on occasion,” Niño said. “Swarms really depend on the local climate.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Niño said she would have more confidence once Swarmed has collected data for at least a decade. A longer record is especially important for understanding climate change, particularly in California, which has a broad range of ecosystems and natural swings from drought to deluge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think this will be really super useful down the road,” Niño said. “It just needs a little bit more time before we start drawing extreme conclusions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>James Nieh, a UC San Diego professor who studies animal behavior and specializes in social bees, has multiple apiaries and didn’t see unusual swarm activity this winter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It may have been in these other areas that they just had more access to food because of warmer weather earlier on,” Nieh said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001110\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001110\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260527-BEE-SWARMS-MD-08-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260527-BEE-SWARMS-MD-08-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260527-BEE-SWARMS-MD-08-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260527-BEE-SWARMS-MD-08-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260527-BEE-SWARMS-MD-08-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Honey bee boxes at Steve Demkowski’s home in San José on May 27, 2026. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Nieh said more study is necessary to understand if the effects of human-caused climate change are behind a potential trend of early-season swarms. He is unaware of any peer-reviewed articles showing a long-term trend of honey bees in the U.S. swarming earlier due to climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Earlier swarming is consistent with what we know about climate-driven shifts in biological timing,” Nieh said, “but the specific connection between climate change and honey bee swarm timing still needs more direct study.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaiser said his goal is to eventually offer the data as open source, so researchers and citizen scientists can further analyze the findings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Climate drag fans have taken to social media demanding that Patagonia drop its trademark infringement lawsuit against \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1997477/fishnets-and-fossil-fuels-meet-3-bay-area-climate-conscious-drag-artists\">drag artist\u003c/a> and environmental activist Pattie Gonia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2025, Pattie Gonia filed a trademark application for exclusive rights to use her brand to sell merchandise and to promote activism and online marketing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a suit filed in January, outdoor company \u003ca href=\"https://www.patagoniaworks.com/press/2026/1/21/protecting-our-brand-update-on-trademark-activity\">Patagonia said\u003c/a> that Pattie Gonia violated a previous agreement regarding the use of its name and logo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the artist, who goes by Wyn Wiley out of drag, said in a social media \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/pattiegonia/reel/DY2L725tVow/\">video\u003c/a> that the suit is about “a corporation trying to erase an activist.” Trademark experts, who acknowledged both sides, said Pattie Gonia is facing an uphill battle. But they said that the case is likely the first of many to come involving influencers and celebrities defending themselves as brands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an \u003ca href=\"https://www.pattiegonia.net/patagonia-open-letter\">open letter\u003c/a> on Wednesday, Pattie Gonia implored Patagonia to drop the lawsuit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a betrayal of Patagonia’s core mission,” Pattie Gonia said. “Because if they’re in business to save the home planet, why are they suing a climate activist?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001129\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1980px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001129\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/GettyImages-2210426372.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1317\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/GettyImages-2210426372.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/GettyImages-2210426372-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/GettyImages-2210426372-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/GettyImages-2210426372-1536x1022.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A pedestrian walks past the American outdoor clothing brand company Patagonia store. \u003ccite>(Sebastian Ng/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Pattie Gonia advocates for LGBTQ+ inclusivity and the protection of public land and the environment. In 2023, she started her nationwide climate drag show, Save Her, in San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She has employed Bay Area drag artists, raised $3.7 million for environmental causes, and has been recognized on the 2025 National Geographic 33 list, which honors people creating solutions to environmental issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If Patagonia wants to celebrate Pride Month this year by taking a queer climate activist to federal court, then I’m here to fight for myself, and I am here to fight for us,” Pattie Gonia said.[aside postID=science_1997477 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/06/20250604_ClimateDrag_GC-5_qed.jpg']Patagonia told KQED in a statement that it spent years trying to reach an agreement “that would allow Pattie Gonia to continue their work while also protecting the Patagonia trademark.” Officials said the efforts included multiple proposals, dialogue and “genuine efforts to avoid ending up in court.” But the two parties have not yet reached an agreement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want Pattie to have a long and successful career and make progress on issues that matter – but in a way that respects Patagonia’s intellectual property,” Patagonia officials wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Patagonia is seeking $1 in damages and legal fees. Officials wrote that it’s “not about seeking financial gain” or “challenging anyone’s identity or right to advocacy, protest, or creative expression.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The last thing we wanted was a legal fight with someone who shares our values, but we must protect our business and employees, the officials said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Pattie Gonia said that the lawsuit makes one thing clear: the company is “willing to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to grind me down so far that I can’t continue to operate.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘It’s not necessarily a good look for them to be suing her’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Patagonia’s lawsuit states that Pattie Gonia’s products “compete directly” with Patagonia’s products and brand “in a way that has already confused consumers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company wrote that “it supports advocacy and activism that promote the environment and inclusion in the outdoors.” But Patagonia officials said that they “repeatedly communicated with Pattie Gonia” and in the past “reached agreement about how that advocacy work might continue in a way that would not interfere with Patagonia’s brand.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Patagonia alleges that Pattie Gonia violated their agreement by seeking “exclusive ownership of a PATTIE GONIA trademark to commercialize products, endorsements, marketing campaigns, and advocacy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001130\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1980px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001130\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/GettyImages-2189516253.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1324\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/GettyImages-2189516253.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/GettyImages-2189516253-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/GettyImages-2189516253-768x514.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/GettyImages-2189516253-1536x1027.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pattie Gonia, right, and Cynthia Erivo, left, are seen during the Out100 Event 2024 at NeueHouse Hollywood on Dec. 11, 2024, in Hollywood, California. \u003ccite>(Presley Ann/Getty Images for Out.com/equalpride)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Victoria Schwartz, a professor of law at the Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, said the case is “incredibly interesting” because the company isn’t trying to get Pattie Gonia to change her name.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The strongest evidence of that, which is very unusual, is that [Patagonia] only asked for $1 in damages,” Schwartz said. “It’s almost a way of signaling we’re not trying to come after you for money.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, Schwartz said, the company is sending a PR signal that it wants a court order to prevent Pattie Gonia from using branding that resembles its own.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not necessarily a good look for them to be suing her,” Schwartz said. But the company is arguing “she’s crossed the line by selling merchandise and by trying to register the trademark herself.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the case doesn’t settle, Schwartz expects an expensive, lengthy case because it will take time to determine which party is in the clear.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>While I do think Pattie Gonia has an uphill battle, there are so many factors in the test that these are not the kind of cases that get resolved cheaply and easily,” Schwartz said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Schwartz said the suit is part of a larger story in which people — including celebrities and influencers — are filing trademarks for themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is going to be the first of many lawsuits where traditional brands are coming up against influencers who are going to be using trademarks,” Schwartz said. “Not in the way that Patagonia the company does trademarks for goods and services, but essentially they themselves are the brand.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001131\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1980px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001131\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/GettyImages-1243274789.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1320\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/GettyImages-1243274789.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/GettyImages-1243274789-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/GettyImages-1243274789-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/GettyImages-1243274789-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Patagonia logos are seen on a hanger and on a sweater in the store in Krakow, Poland, on Sept. 16, 2022. \u003ccite>(Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Tyler Ochoa, a professor at the Santa Clara University School of Law, said the dispute could go to a jury trial to decide whether consumers are confused, but said the company will push for a judge to decide the case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Interestingly, both parties claim to be interested in the environment and in safeguarding it,” Ochoa said. “Ironically, that makes it harder for Pattie Gonia, the drag artist, to prevail in the lawsuit because it makes her merchandise overlap in the marketplace with Patagonia’s merchandise.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ochoa said the lawsuit might push both sides to bend a little for a mutual outcome.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It sounds like they are willing to let her use [Pattie Gonia] as her drag queen name without opposition if there is no merchandise involved,” Ochoa said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Ochoa also said that there is a world where the injunction “might be broad enough to keep her from using the name.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Climate drag fans have taken to social media demanding that Patagonia drop its trademark infringement lawsuit against \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1997477/fishnets-and-fossil-fuels-meet-3-bay-area-climate-conscious-drag-artists\">drag artist\u003c/a> and environmental activist Pattie Gonia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2025, Pattie Gonia filed a trademark application for exclusive rights to use her brand to sell merchandise and to promote activism and online marketing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a suit filed in January, outdoor company \u003ca href=\"https://www.patagoniaworks.com/press/2026/1/21/protecting-our-brand-update-on-trademark-activity\">Patagonia said\u003c/a> that Pattie Gonia violated a previous agreement regarding the use of its name and logo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the artist, who goes by Wyn Wiley out of drag, said in a social media \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/pattiegonia/reel/DY2L725tVow/\">video\u003c/a> that the suit is about “a corporation trying to erase an activist.” Trademark experts, who acknowledged both sides, said Pattie Gonia is facing an uphill battle. But they said that the case is likely the first of many to come involving influencers and celebrities defending themselves as brands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an \u003ca href=\"https://www.pattiegonia.net/patagonia-open-letter\">open letter\u003c/a> on Wednesday, Pattie Gonia implored Patagonia to drop the lawsuit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a betrayal of Patagonia’s core mission,” Pattie Gonia said. “Because if they’re in business to save the home planet, why are they suing a climate activist?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001129\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1980px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001129\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/GettyImages-2210426372.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1317\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/GettyImages-2210426372.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/GettyImages-2210426372-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/GettyImages-2210426372-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/GettyImages-2210426372-1536x1022.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A pedestrian walks past the American outdoor clothing brand company Patagonia store. \u003ccite>(Sebastian Ng/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Pattie Gonia advocates for LGBTQ+ inclusivity and the protection of public land and the environment. In 2023, she started her nationwide climate drag show, Save Her, in San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She has employed Bay Area drag artists, raised $3.7 million for environmental causes, and has been recognized on the 2025 National Geographic 33 list, which honors people creating solutions to environmental issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If Patagonia wants to celebrate Pride Month this year by taking a queer climate activist to federal court, then I’m here to fight for myself, and I am here to fight for us,” Pattie Gonia said.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Patagonia told KQED in a statement that it spent years trying to reach an agreement “that would allow Pattie Gonia to continue their work while also protecting the Patagonia trademark.” Officials said the efforts included multiple proposals, dialogue and “genuine efforts to avoid ending up in court.” But the two parties have not yet reached an agreement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want Pattie to have a long and successful career and make progress on issues that matter – but in a way that respects Patagonia’s intellectual property,” Patagonia officials wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Patagonia is seeking $1 in damages and legal fees. Officials wrote that it’s “not about seeking financial gain” or “challenging anyone’s identity or right to advocacy, protest, or creative expression.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The last thing we wanted was a legal fight with someone who shares our values, but we must protect our business and employees, the officials said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Pattie Gonia said that the lawsuit makes one thing clear: the company is “willing to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to grind me down so far that I can’t continue to operate.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘It’s not necessarily a good look for them to be suing her’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Patagonia’s lawsuit states that Pattie Gonia’s products “compete directly” with Patagonia’s products and brand “in a way that has already confused consumers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company wrote that “it supports advocacy and activism that promote the environment and inclusion in the outdoors.” But Patagonia officials said that they “repeatedly communicated with Pattie Gonia” and in the past “reached agreement about how that advocacy work might continue in a way that would not interfere with Patagonia’s brand.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Patagonia alleges that Pattie Gonia violated their agreement by seeking “exclusive ownership of a PATTIE GONIA trademark to commercialize products, endorsements, marketing campaigns, and advocacy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001130\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1980px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001130\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/GettyImages-2189516253.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1324\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/GettyImages-2189516253.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/GettyImages-2189516253-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/GettyImages-2189516253-768x514.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/GettyImages-2189516253-1536x1027.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pattie Gonia, right, and Cynthia Erivo, left, are seen during the Out100 Event 2024 at NeueHouse Hollywood on Dec. 11, 2024, in Hollywood, California. \u003ccite>(Presley Ann/Getty Images for Out.com/equalpride)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Victoria Schwartz, a professor of law at the Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, said the case is “incredibly interesting” because the company isn’t trying to get Pattie Gonia to change her name.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The strongest evidence of that, which is very unusual, is that [Patagonia] only asked for $1 in damages,” Schwartz said. “It’s almost a way of signaling we’re not trying to come after you for money.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, Schwartz said, the company is sending a PR signal that it wants a court order to prevent Pattie Gonia from using branding that resembles its own.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not necessarily a good look for them to be suing her,” Schwartz said. But the company is arguing “she’s crossed the line by selling merchandise and by trying to register the trademark herself.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the case doesn’t settle, Schwartz expects an expensive, lengthy case because it will take time to determine which party is in the clear.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>While I do think Pattie Gonia has an uphill battle, there are so many factors in the test that these are not the kind of cases that get resolved cheaply and easily,” Schwartz said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Schwartz said the suit is part of a larger story in which people — including celebrities and influencers — are filing trademarks for themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is going to be the first of many lawsuits where traditional brands are coming up against influencers who are going to be using trademarks,” Schwartz said. “Not in the way that Patagonia the company does trademarks for goods and services, but essentially they themselves are the brand.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001131\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1980px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001131\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/GettyImages-1243274789.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1320\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/GettyImages-1243274789.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/GettyImages-1243274789-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/GettyImages-1243274789-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/GettyImages-1243274789-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Patagonia logos are seen on a hanger and on a sweater in the store in Krakow, Poland, on Sept. 16, 2022. \u003ccite>(Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Tyler Ochoa, a professor at the Santa Clara University School of Law, said the dispute could go to a jury trial to decide whether consumers are confused, but said the company will push for a judge to decide the case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Interestingly, both parties claim to be interested in the environment and in safeguarding it,” Ochoa said. “Ironically, that makes it harder for Pattie Gonia, the drag artist, to prevail in the lawsuit because it makes her merchandise overlap in the marketplace with Patagonia’s merchandise.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ochoa said the lawsuit might push both sides to bend a little for a mutual outcome.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It sounds like they are willing to let her use [Pattie Gonia] as her drag queen name without opposition if there is no merchandise involved,” Ochoa said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Ochoa also said that there is a world where the injunction “might be broad enough to keep her from using the name.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>On a recent plunge into \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12028741/rare-video-captures-super-pod-of-2000-dolphins-breaching-playing-off-monterey-coast\">Monterey Bay\u003c/a>, Dr. Anita Giraldo Ospina noticed the water was oddly warm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It definitely feels comfortable, let’s put it that way,” said Giraldo Ospina, principal investigator of coastal ecosystems at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12059734/monterey-bay-aquarium-revives-30-year-old-otter-tee-worn-by-taylor-swift\">Monterey Bay Aquarium\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She’s part of ongoing research projects into how kelp species are repopulating the area. She collects \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">kelp \u003c/span>spores and tiny baby urchin from glass slides and rectangular broom heads anchored to the seafloor and stores them in plastic bags.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It looks pretty green down there,” Giraldo Ospina said. “We try to keep all the water in the bag because that’s where larvae settle into the brushes and that might be what’s floating in the water.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Baby kelp need cold, nutrient rich water to mature into tall, strong adult stipes. \u003c/span> Giraldo Ospina worries that a massive, ongoing \u003ca href=\"https://omny.fm/shows/kqed-segmented-audio/a-heat-wave-in-the-pacific-ocean-is-killing-birds-on-cas-coast\">marine heat wave\u003c/a>, which has already raised coastal waters \u003ca href=\"https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/west-coast-waters-experiencing-another-large-marine-heatwave\">by 3 to 4 degrees Fahrenheit\u003c/a>, \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">could disrupt efforts to regrow kelp forests vital to the Monterey Bay ecosystem, depending on how warm it becomes. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001054\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001054\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MARINEHEATWAVE-14-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MARINEHEATWAVE-14-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MARINEHEATWAVE-14-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MARINEHEATWAVE-14-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MARINEHEATWAVE-14-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Conservation science director April Ridlon (left) and research scientist Dr. Anita Giraldo Ospina look at the Kelp Forest exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium on May 19, 2026. The exhibit is modeled after the kelp forests found along the Monterey Bay coast. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We have seen kelp recovering, and we don’t know if that trend is going to continue, if we continue to have these warm waters,” Giraldo Ospina said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s the seventh marine heat wave in seven years and could be amplified by a developing \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12083376/an-incoming-super-el-nino-may-bring-california-a-wet-hot-winter\">super El Niño\u003c/a>, which has the potential to raise sea surface temperatures even higher. This combined influence could disrupt ecosystems, harm or kill local marine life and attract other species north.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“With El Niño, the fear is that the kelp that persisted [past the marine heat wave] may now decline, and recovering kelp may not get a chance to get back to what they were before,” Giraldo Ospina said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘More dead birds than living ones being found’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Even a few degrees of warming can set an ecosystem out of whack and lead to the die-off of almost entire populations. As of May 20, the International Bird Rescue in Fairfield has treated \u003ca href=\"https://www.birdrescue.org/2026-california-starvation-event/\">288 starving birds\u003c/a>, including brown pelicans, cormorants and common murres.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They are the same birds people are reporting finding dead on beaches, especially in Southern California, but now in Northern California as well,” said JD Bergeron, the group’s CEO.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001051\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001051\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MARINEHEATWAVE-02-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MARINEHEATWAVE-02-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MARINEHEATWAVE-02-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MARINEHEATWAVE-02-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MARINEHEATWAVE-02-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kelp floats in a kelp forest in Monterey Bay outside the Monterey Bay Aquarium on May 19, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Bergeron said one theory is that small schooling fish — favorite food for shore birds — are seeking colder water deeper in the ocean, beyond the birds’ reach. So they do not have enough food to eat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have had very regular concerns with brown pelican starvation events, but this one does feel a little bit different,” Bergeron said. “We’re seeing a lot more dead birds than living ones being found.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A marine heat wave off the coast of California forms when southerly winds from a semi-permanent area of high pressure weaken between Hawaii and the state.[aside postID=news_12068644 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/MarinCountyFloodingAP.jpg']The winds normally help cool the top layer of the ocean through evaporation and by mixing it with deep, cold water. Without the wind, this thin top layer warms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The current ocean warming \u003ca href=\"https://www.integratedecosystemassessment.noaa.gov/regions/california-current/california-current-marine-heatwave-tracker-blobtracker\">began last May\u003c/a> near Eastern Asia and spread across the Pacific.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some waters have had little break since mid-2025, with more than 200 days of elevated temperatures, according to researchers with Climate Central, who said \u003ca href=\"https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-shift-index-alert/severe-marine-heatwave-climate-change-California-Mexico\">human-caused climate change has significantly intensified the marine heat wave\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Up to 45% of the ocean impacted “is experiencing conditions that are at least six times more likely due to human-caused warming,” Climate Central said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Without climate change, they wrote, the heat wave’s footprint would be 36% smaller.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How could El Niño make the marine heat wave worse?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>An El Niño event can weaken winds and slow the upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich water, which could further intensify the marine heat wave. Without that strong mixing, warm water lingers at the surface, causing temperatures to spike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All the ingredients are there for a strong El Niño,” said Tom Di Liberto, media director and climate scientist with Climate Central. “If you’re making cookies, you’ve already mixed the dough, but haven’t baked them yet. We still have to wait to see if, in the summer months, these cookies get put in the oven to see if we have that strong El Niño form.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001055\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001055\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MARINEHEATWAVE-27-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MARINEHEATWAVE-27-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MARINEHEATWAVE-27-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MARINEHEATWAVE-27-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MARINEHEATWAVE-27-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Kelp Forest exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, on May 19, 2026, modeled after the kelp forests found along the Monterey Bay coast. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, said in a recent live-streamed office hours series that while El Niño is not directly related to the marine heat wave, “later this year, it’s actually quite likely that El Niño will reinforce this tropical warming.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because El Niño refers to the “sloshing of water from the tropics to the Eastern Pacific it can and does impact sea surface temperatures along the California coast,” said Alexander Gershunov, a research meteorologist at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography at UC San Diego.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It can even result in very different species of fish appearing off the coast here as the upwelling shuts down,” Gershunov said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘They’re in a really, really fragile state’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>If waters get even warmer, \u003ca href=\"https://www.ucdavis.edu/climate/news/unprecedented-number-of-warm-water-species-moved-northward-during-marine-heatwave\">jellyfish, crabs, dolphins, sea turtles\u003c/a> and other species could move into colder habitats, said \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Dr. \u003c/span>April Ridlon, director of science for the U.S. Ocean Conservation at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The more we change the ecosystems, the more possible it is for those warm water species not just to arrive every once in a while and be a novelty and a news article, but for the fundamental composition of the ecosystems to change over time because the warm waters just don’t stop,” Ridlon said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ridlon said the current marine heat wave reminds her of “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1123047/the-blob-is-back-what-warm-ocean-mass-means-for-weather-wildlife\">The Blob\u003c/a>,” a warming event that ended about a decade ago. It decimated about \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1949757/massive-california-kelp-decline-linked-to-ocean-heat-wave-voracious-sea-urchins\">60% of kelp\u003c/a> along the Central Coast and nearly all of the kelp off the coast of Northern California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001057\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001057\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MarineHeatwave-25-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MarineHeatwave-25-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MarineHeatwave-25-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MarineHeatwave-25-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MarineHeatwave-25-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Purple sea urchins and giant kelp sit in a touch pool in the Kelp Forest exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey on May 19, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Warming water accelerates the metabolism of \u003ca href=\"https://news.berkeley.edu/2025/11/14/even-moderate-heat-waves-depress-sea-urchin-reproduction-along-the-pacific-coast/\">purple urchins\u003c/a>, causing the marine animal to voraciously devour kelp forests. \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Even after the kelp disappears, they can survive as “zombie urchins” in a low-energy state, said Daniel Okamoto, a professor in the Department of Integrative Biology at UC Berkeley.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They can sit there for decades and just hang out,” Okamoto said. “Anytime the kelp tries to come back, they have the potential to graze it down.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s also worried about red abalone, whose populations have declined by up to 95% off California’s North Coast. Unlike urchins, they can’t survive in starvation mode.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001052\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001052\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MARINEHEATWAVE-10-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MARINEHEATWAVE-10-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MARINEHEATWAVE-10-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MARINEHEATWAVE-10-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MARINEHEATWAVE-10-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kelp floats in a kelp forest in Monterey Bay outside the Monterey Bay Aquarium on May 19, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“They’re in a really, really fragile state,” Okamoto said. “The impending marine heat wave may cause some additional harm on top of what’s already been done.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sunflower sea stars nearly vanished off the California coast when an \u003ca href=\"https://www.ucdavis.edu/climate/news/falling-stars\">ocean warming\u003c/a> event accelerated the effects of a marine plant disease.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t even think anybody really appreciated their importance until they were gone,” Okamoto said. It was the “equivalent of their global pandemic that wiped out most of those organisms.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "A widespread marine heat wave and brewing El Niño could further threaten California kelp, sea birds and marine ecosystems.",
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"title": "Scientists Worry El Niño Could Supercharge Marine Heat Wave Roiling Coastal California | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>On a recent plunge into \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12028741/rare-video-captures-super-pod-of-2000-dolphins-breaching-playing-off-monterey-coast\">Monterey Bay\u003c/a>, Dr. Anita Giraldo Ospina noticed the water was oddly warm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It definitely feels comfortable, let’s put it that way,” said Giraldo Ospina, principal investigator of coastal ecosystems at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12059734/monterey-bay-aquarium-revives-30-year-old-otter-tee-worn-by-taylor-swift\">Monterey Bay Aquarium\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She’s part of ongoing research projects into how kelp species are repopulating the area. She collects \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">kelp \u003c/span>spores and tiny baby urchin from glass slides and rectangular broom heads anchored to the seafloor and stores them in plastic bags.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It looks pretty green down there,” Giraldo Ospina said. “We try to keep all the water in the bag because that’s where larvae settle into the brushes and that might be what’s floating in the water.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Baby kelp need cold, nutrient rich water to mature into tall, strong adult stipes. \u003c/span> Giraldo Ospina worries that a massive, ongoing \u003ca href=\"https://omny.fm/shows/kqed-segmented-audio/a-heat-wave-in-the-pacific-ocean-is-killing-birds-on-cas-coast\">marine heat wave\u003c/a>, which has already raised coastal waters \u003ca href=\"https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/west-coast-waters-experiencing-another-large-marine-heatwave\">by 3 to 4 degrees Fahrenheit\u003c/a>, \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">could disrupt efforts to regrow kelp forests vital to the Monterey Bay ecosystem, depending on how warm it becomes. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001054\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001054\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MARINEHEATWAVE-14-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MARINEHEATWAVE-14-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MARINEHEATWAVE-14-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MARINEHEATWAVE-14-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MARINEHEATWAVE-14-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Conservation science director April Ridlon (left) and research scientist Dr. Anita Giraldo Ospina look at the Kelp Forest exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium on May 19, 2026. The exhibit is modeled after the kelp forests found along the Monterey Bay coast. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We have seen kelp recovering, and we don’t know if that trend is going to continue, if we continue to have these warm waters,” Giraldo Ospina said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s the seventh marine heat wave in seven years and could be amplified by a developing \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12083376/an-incoming-super-el-nino-may-bring-california-a-wet-hot-winter\">super El Niño\u003c/a>, which has the potential to raise sea surface temperatures even higher. This combined influence could disrupt ecosystems, harm or kill local marine life and attract other species north.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“With El Niño, the fear is that the kelp that persisted [past the marine heat wave] may now decline, and recovering kelp may not get a chance to get back to what they were before,” Giraldo Ospina said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘More dead birds than living ones being found’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Even a few degrees of warming can set an ecosystem out of whack and lead to the die-off of almost entire populations. As of May 20, the International Bird Rescue in Fairfield has treated \u003ca href=\"https://www.birdrescue.org/2026-california-starvation-event/\">288 starving birds\u003c/a>, including brown pelicans, cormorants and common murres.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They are the same birds people are reporting finding dead on beaches, especially in Southern California, but now in Northern California as well,” said JD Bergeron, the group’s CEO.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001051\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001051\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MARINEHEATWAVE-02-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MARINEHEATWAVE-02-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MARINEHEATWAVE-02-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MARINEHEATWAVE-02-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MARINEHEATWAVE-02-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kelp floats in a kelp forest in Monterey Bay outside the Monterey Bay Aquarium on May 19, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Bergeron said one theory is that small schooling fish — favorite food for shore birds — are seeking colder water deeper in the ocean, beyond the birds’ reach. So they do not have enough food to eat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have had very regular concerns with brown pelican starvation events, but this one does feel a little bit different,” Bergeron said. “We’re seeing a lot more dead birds than living ones being found.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A marine heat wave off the coast of California forms when southerly winds from a semi-permanent area of high pressure weaken between Hawaii and the state.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The winds normally help cool the top layer of the ocean through evaporation and by mixing it with deep, cold water. Without the wind, this thin top layer warms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The current ocean warming \u003ca href=\"https://www.integratedecosystemassessment.noaa.gov/regions/california-current/california-current-marine-heatwave-tracker-blobtracker\">began last May\u003c/a> near Eastern Asia and spread across the Pacific.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some waters have had little break since mid-2025, with more than 200 days of elevated temperatures, according to researchers with Climate Central, who said \u003ca href=\"https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-shift-index-alert/severe-marine-heatwave-climate-change-California-Mexico\">human-caused climate change has significantly intensified the marine heat wave\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Up to 45% of the ocean impacted “is experiencing conditions that are at least six times more likely due to human-caused warming,” Climate Central said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Without climate change, they wrote, the heat wave’s footprint would be 36% smaller.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How could El Niño make the marine heat wave worse?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>An El Niño event can weaken winds and slow the upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich water, which could further intensify the marine heat wave. Without that strong mixing, warm water lingers at the surface, causing temperatures to spike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All the ingredients are there for a strong El Niño,” said Tom Di Liberto, media director and climate scientist with Climate Central. “If you’re making cookies, you’ve already mixed the dough, but haven’t baked them yet. We still have to wait to see if, in the summer months, these cookies get put in the oven to see if we have that strong El Niño form.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001055\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001055\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MARINEHEATWAVE-27-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MARINEHEATWAVE-27-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MARINEHEATWAVE-27-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MARINEHEATWAVE-27-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MARINEHEATWAVE-27-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Kelp Forest exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, on May 19, 2026, modeled after the kelp forests found along the Monterey Bay coast. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, said in a recent live-streamed office hours series that while El Niño is not directly related to the marine heat wave, “later this year, it’s actually quite likely that El Niño will reinforce this tropical warming.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because El Niño refers to the “sloshing of water from the tropics to the Eastern Pacific it can and does impact sea surface temperatures along the California coast,” said Alexander Gershunov, a research meteorologist at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography at UC San Diego.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It can even result in very different species of fish appearing off the coast here as the upwelling shuts down,” Gershunov said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘They’re in a really, really fragile state’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>If waters get even warmer, \u003ca href=\"https://www.ucdavis.edu/climate/news/unprecedented-number-of-warm-water-species-moved-northward-during-marine-heatwave\">jellyfish, crabs, dolphins, sea turtles\u003c/a> and other species could move into colder habitats, said \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Dr. \u003c/span>April Ridlon, director of science for the U.S. Ocean Conservation at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The more we change the ecosystems, the more possible it is for those warm water species not just to arrive every once in a while and be a novelty and a news article, but for the fundamental composition of the ecosystems to change over time because the warm waters just don’t stop,” Ridlon said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ridlon said the current marine heat wave reminds her of “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1123047/the-blob-is-back-what-warm-ocean-mass-means-for-weather-wildlife\">The Blob\u003c/a>,” a warming event that ended about a decade ago. It decimated about \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1949757/massive-california-kelp-decline-linked-to-ocean-heat-wave-voracious-sea-urchins\">60% of kelp\u003c/a> along the Central Coast and nearly all of the kelp off the coast of Northern California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001057\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001057\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MarineHeatwave-25-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MarineHeatwave-25-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MarineHeatwave-25-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MarineHeatwave-25-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MarineHeatwave-25-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Purple sea urchins and giant kelp sit in a touch pool in the Kelp Forest exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey on May 19, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Warming water accelerates the metabolism of \u003ca href=\"https://news.berkeley.edu/2025/11/14/even-moderate-heat-waves-depress-sea-urchin-reproduction-along-the-pacific-coast/\">purple urchins\u003c/a>, causing the marine animal to voraciously devour kelp forests. \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Even after the kelp disappears, they can survive as “zombie urchins” in a low-energy state, said Daniel Okamoto, a professor in the Department of Integrative Biology at UC Berkeley.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They can sit there for decades and just hang out,” Okamoto said. “Anytime the kelp tries to come back, they have the potential to graze it down.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s also worried about red abalone, whose populations have declined by up to 95% off California’s North Coast. Unlike urchins, they can’t survive in starvation mode.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001052\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001052\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MARINEHEATWAVE-10-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MARINEHEATWAVE-10-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MARINEHEATWAVE-10-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MARINEHEATWAVE-10-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260519-MARINEHEATWAVE-10-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kelp floats in a kelp forest in Monterey Bay outside the Monterey Bay Aquarium on May 19, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“They’re in a really, really fragile state,” Okamoto said. “The impending marine heat wave may cause some additional harm on top of what’s already been done.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sunflower sea stars nearly vanished off the California coast when an \u003ca href=\"https://www.ucdavis.edu/climate/news/falling-stars\">ocean warming\u003c/a> event accelerated the effects of a marine plant disease.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t even think anybody really appreciated their importance until they were gone,” Okamoto said. It was the “equivalent of their global pandemic that wiped out most of those organisms.”\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
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"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
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"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
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"politicalbreakdown": {
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"title": "Political Breakdown",
"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
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"possible": {
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"title": "Possible",
"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
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"pri-the-world": {
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"title": "PRI's The World: Latest Edition",
"info": "Each weekday, host Marco Werman and his team of producers bring you the world's most interesting stories in an hour of radio that reminds us just how small our planet really is.",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-World-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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},
"radiolab": {
"id": "radiolab",
"title": "Radiolab",
"info": "A two-time Peabody Award-winner, Radiolab is an investigation told through sounds and stories, and centered around one big idea. In the Radiolab world, information sounds like music and science and culture collide. Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, the show is designed for listeners who demand skepticism, but appreciate wonder. WNYC Studios is the producer of other leading podcasts including Freakonomics Radio, Death, Sex & Money, On the Media and many more.",
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},
"reveal": {
"id": "reveal",
"title": "Reveal",
"info": "Created by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, Reveal is public radios first one-hour weekly radio show and podcast dedicated to investigative reporting. Credible, fact based and without a partisan agenda, Reveal combines the power and artistry of driveway moment storytelling with data-rich reporting on critically important issues. The result is stories that inform and inspire, arming our listeners with information to right injustices, hold the powerful accountable and improve lives.Reveal is hosted by Al Letson and showcases the award-winning work of CIR and newsrooms large and small across the nation. In a radio and podcast market crowded with choices, Reveal focuses on important and often surprising stories that illuminate the world for our listeners.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/",
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},
"rightnowish": {
"id": "rightnowish",
"title": "Rightnowish",
"tagline": "Art is where you find it",
"info": "Rightnowish digs into life in the Bay Area right now… ish. Journalist Pendarvis Harshaw takes us to galleries painted on the sides of liquor stores in West Oakland. We'll dance in warehouses in the Bayview, make smoothies with kids in South Berkeley, and listen to classical music in a 1984 Cutlass Supreme in Richmond. Every week, Pen talks to movers and shakers about how the Bay Area shapes what they create, and how they shape the place we call home.",
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"order": 16
},
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