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"content": "\u003cp>[dropcap]A[/dropcap]nyone riding the gondola lift at Sugar Bowl Ski Resort one bright day in January might have seen something unexpected in the glade below them: A series of figures energetically digging pits in the snow by hand — deep enough for them to then jump inside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These pit diggers intently studied the walls of their newly carved chambers before pressing bright yellow sensors into the ice. They were, in fact, student scientists receiving training from the Central Sierra Snow Lab close by.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And while most visitors to the Sierra would never have a reason to come across this stocky, unassuming 1940s cabin nestled on a nearby backroad, the Snow Lab has been at the forefront of snow science for almost 80 years, maintaining the data that has huge implications for California’s water supply.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995844\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995844\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01549_duo-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"845\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01549_duo-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01549_duo-800x264.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01549_duo-1020x337.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01549_duo-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01549_duo-768x253.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01549_duo-1536x507.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01549_duo-2048x676.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01549_duo-1920x634.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Measuring implements to gauge the layers and depth of the Sierra snowpack (left) in use at the Snow Science School. Anne Nolin (right), professor of geography at the University of Nevada, Reno and a snow school attendee, marks the edge of where to dig a pit in the snowpack. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Now, this event, its first-ever Snow Science School, saw the Snow Lab open its doors to teach a new generation the tools of their trade — almost 7,000 feet above sea level in the mountains of Tahoe National Forest.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Hidden history on Donner Summit\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Though now managed by UC Berkeley, the Central Sierra Snow Lab in Soda Springs began life in 1946 as a collaboration between the Army Corps of Engineers and what’s now known as the National Weather Service. But while the Snow Lab’s own snowfall and snow depth measurements date back to its birth, this cabin beneath towering pine trees near Donner Summit also maintains much older records from the area going back to 1878 documenting the Central Pacific Railroad’s own efforts — making these the longest such climatological records in the world when it comes to snow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And for the scientists working up here in 2025, the job is essentially “to play in the snow and learn more about it,” said Andrew Schwartz, its director.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995851\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995851\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04876_duo-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1585\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04876_duo-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04876_duo-800x495.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04876_duo-1020x632.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04876_duo-160x99.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04876_duo-768x476.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04876_duo-1536x951.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04876_duo-2048x1268.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04876_duo-1920x1189.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Andrew Schwartz, director of UC Berkeley’s Central Sierra Snow Lab, holds a decades-old printout of snow measurements (left) and a black-and-white photograph (right) in the lab’s archives. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For the three days in January that saw 20 students from across the U.S. arrive at the Snow Science School, Tahoe was in the middle of a sunny, dry spell, with the snowpack at Donner Summit at 94% of the average for this time of year. But at an elevation of over 6,700 feet, the Snow Lab has seen its share of wild winters and momentous snowfall — making it an apt place to study snow science any time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Schwartz, who took over the Snow Lab in 2021 and lived inside the building for his first two years, recalled how, in 2023, the snow was so deep that he and his colleagues could “walk directly into the third-floor windows.” That year, the Snow Lab received a total of 63 feet of snow, its second-biggest winter accumulation on record — precipitation that would eventually become the snowmelt that’s crucial for California’s water supply.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995837\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995837\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00729.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00729.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00729-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00729-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00729-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00729-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00729-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00729-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Participants listen during a morning lecture at the Clair Tappan Lodge during the Snow Science School organized by UC Berkeley’s Central Sierra Snow Lab. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For Schwartz, his “number one” hope for the Snow Lab’s inaugural school is that the students leave “with an appreciation of snow and a better understanding of how it works, really — because it’s so important to the world.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Roughly two billion people [around the world] use water obtained from snowpack. And we tend to take it for granted,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The school’s student body included a large handful of people from the California Department of Water Resources — one of the Snow Lab’s partners in this work — but also graduate students, researchers, snow modelers and teachers, as well as folks sent by the National Parks Service and the National Forest Service.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995836\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995836\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00032.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00032.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00032-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00032-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00032-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00032-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00032-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00032-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Participants gather for a morning lecture during Snow Science School. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The breadth of experience and background among the Snow Science School’s students is a testimony to the wide range of applications this work can have — and to the disciplines that snow brings together. “It’s a very close-knit community,” said Preetika Kaur, a Snow Lab student attending from the University of Wyoming. “I love to meet people who are pros.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>All work and no play? Not at the Snow Lab\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>After climbing up the steep hill to the Snow Lab on their first day, students were shown past the bright red snowcat — the exact same model that’s featured in the movie \u003cem>The Shining\u003c/em>, noted Schwartz approvingly — and into the warren-like building. Above their heads, the top floor holds sleeping quarters for the scientists who board overnight to conduct research or who’ve been trapped inside by an impenetrable Sierra storm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995838\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00955_duo-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1104\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00955_duo-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00955_duo-800x345.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00955_duo-1020x440.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00955_duo-160x69.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00955_duo-768x331.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00955_duo-1536x662.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00955_duo-2048x883.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00955_duo-1920x828.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995839\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995839\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00964.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00964.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00964-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00964-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00964-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00964-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00964-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00964-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">UC Berkeley’s Central Sierra Snow Lab, based in Soda Springs near Donner Summit. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The first floor and basement, where the lab’s scientists work throughout the day, was full not just of computer screens and boxes full of measuring tools but also handwritten logs, archive photography depicting their Snow Lab predecessors out on the job, vintage road signs and instruments saved from the building’s past.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s even an oscilloscope — an instrument that once measured voltage — with a large “NASA AMES” sticker on it, and even though Schwartz admits they “have no clue” what the Snow Lab scientists of previous years used it for up here, “I’d be lying if I still don’t like to play with the knobs on it,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995849\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995849\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04870.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04870.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04870-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04870-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04870-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04870-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04870-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04870-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Type 555 Dual-beam Oscilloscope, circa 1960s, at the Central Sierra Snow Lab. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995848\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995848\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04694_duo-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1102\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04694_duo-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04694_duo-800x344.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04694_duo-1020x439.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04694_duo-160x69.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04694_duo-768x330.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04694_duo-1536x661.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04694_duo-2048x881.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04694_duo-1920x826.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Spatulas and rulers (right) are some of the tools used to measure snowfall at the Snow Lab. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Outside, the students tour Snow Lab’s network of remote snow equipment, like the fluid-filled “snow pillow” that detects the weight of the snow falling on it and the sensors submerged in the creek behind the lab that will gauge the height of the icy water as it starts to rise with spring snowmelt. Other remote sensors constantly assess solar radiation — in a region where sunlight can contribute to up to 95% of snowmelt — and soil temperature to get an idea of just how fast the snowpack could melt this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But as this data collection hums in the background, Schwartz still maintains the lab’s twice-daily manual measurement tradition, which sees him and his colleagues crunch out onto the snow with “our very fancy ruler” — work that on some days, depending on conditions, can feel more like a polar expedition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995840\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995840\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01055.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01055.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01055-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01055-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01055-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01055-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01055-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01055-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gaby May Lagunes, a Ph.D. student in the Environmental Science, Policy, and Management Department at UC Berkeley, puts on her snowshoes to head into the field. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/UCB_CSSL\">the Snow Lab’s social media presence\u003c/a> has gained in popularity in the last few years, the snow measurements that Schwartz and his team make public are also watched eagerly by a different group of California enthusiasts: skiers and snowboarders desperate to know when to hit the Tahoe slopes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I love the different uses of our data in our information,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The impact of the snowpack on water supply\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The snowpack can contain clues of the past as well as the future — which is why the snow analysis techniques being taught at the Snow Science School go way beyond just assessing depth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A key concept hydrology students are taught about is “snow water equivalent,” or SWE (usually pronounced “swee” by snow scientists): A measurement that tells scientists just how much water is contained in an area of snow versus the air it also contains alongside its ice crystals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995841\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995841\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01224.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01224.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01224-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01224-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01224-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01224-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01224-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01224-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Andrew Schwartz, right, director of the Central Sierra Snow Lab, leads instructors and participants of the Snow Science School into the field. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“A lot of the water in California originally falls as snow, and it’s really valuable to humans because there’s a lot of it and because it stores itself for free in places where it’s cold and then melts in the spring, which is when we need it for agriculture,” said Marianne Cowherd, research associate at the Snow Lab and one of the instructors. “Having a good understanding of how much water we have available upstream lets us do things like manage our reservoir levels — so we still have enough water, but we don’t have dangerous operations or overflow.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The next piece of the snow science puzzle is working out when and how the state can expect that snow to melt. At the school, the students learn more about how energy from the sun and from the warm temperatures of the air and from the ground melts the snowpack and how the water flows into California’s soils and streams.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The thing that I’m trying to do is understand the effect of human changes in the landscape, specifically with irrigation on future precipitation patterns and precipitation extremes,” said Gaby May Lagunes, a snow lab student and UC Berkeley graduate researcher. “How the way people change the environment has an impact on the water cycle, not only locally, regionally and globally.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So “if I want to understand water from a data-driven perspective, I need to have an idea of what snow people know,” she said. “We need to work together a lot because we cannot know everything.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995845\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995845\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_02033.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_02033.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_02033-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_02033-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_02033-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_02033-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_02033-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_02033-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Preetika Kaur, left, a Ph.D. student at the University of Wyoming, and Joe Ammatelli, an assistant research scientist with the Desert Research Institute, dig a pit in the snowpack during Snow Science School. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Up close in the snow pits\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>For students, the real action came when the school decamped closer to Donner Summit for the field measurement portion of their studies. After suiting up in thermal layers, bibs and beanies — plus lab-supplied polarized sunglasses that read “No Biz Like Snow Biz” on the side — the students strap on snowshoes to make the hike along a snow-covered trail to a secluded woods, sandwiched between Sugar Bowl and Donner Ski Ranch. Here, they began to dig out a series of 4-foot-deep snow pits using shovels, low enough to strike soil and complete with steps.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The snowpack can be far larger, sometimes as deep as 20 feet, and scientists “have to build literal levels down to measure the whole thing,” Schwartz said — “so you don’t have to Spider-Man your way out every time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Joe Ammatelli was sent by the Desert Research Institute in Nevada, where he carries out snow modeling, which needs to be validated by field observations. “It’s really valuable as a modeler to get out here and see how it’s done,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995846\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995846\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_02943_duo-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"845\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_02943_duo-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_02943_duo-800x264.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_02943_duo-1020x337.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_02943_duo-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_02943_duo-768x253.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_02943_duo-1536x507.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_02943_duo-2048x676.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_02943_duo-1920x634.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Snow crystals lay on a measuring device during a field outing with the Snow Science School in January. Chris Northart, right, with the Department of Water Resources Statewide Monitoring Network Unit and a participant of the Snow Science School, uses a magnification lens to measure the size of snow granules. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995847\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995847\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_03173.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_03173.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_03173-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_03173-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_03173-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_03173-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_03173-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_03173-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A participant of the Snow School weighs a wedge of snow collected from the snowpack in a field outing. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>And for all the technological developments in snow science, it remains deeply tactile for its practitioners. Down in the pits, the students measured the snow’s temperature and observed how it changed the deeper the pit went. Then, using specialized shovels, the students scooped out and leveled off snow before weighing it on a scale — a method of measuring density and snow water equivalent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They examined physical changes in the different layers in the smooth white walls of the snow pits, like studying rings in a tree trunk. These kinds of measurements are an exercise in time travel, explained instructor Cowherd, given the different qualities of snowflakes that fall at different times and how the ever-accumulating snowpack ages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the air heats and cools, the snow melts and compresses under its own weight — all of which “tells us about the history of what’s happened there,” Cowherd said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Every day in the snow is a good day’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The observations that the instructors taught its snow students in the pits are the kind that stretches back almost a century and a half in the Snow Lab’s own archives — and this volume of information is invaluable for assessing the impact of climate change, Schwartz said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We see the same amount of precipitation coming in, but it’s shifting from snow terrain in all the months — so we’re seeing warming,” he said. “Our rain-snow line is going up in elevation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The almost 150 years of data can also aid forecasters in looking for variables that smaller data sets just can’t encompass, he said — like the Sierra’s dry spells that are followed by big years for rain and snowfall, a swing that’s seen in “five year periods.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995850\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1333px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995850\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04872.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1333\" height=\"2000\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04872.jpg 1333w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04872-800x1200.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04872-1020x1530.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04872-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04872-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04872-1024x1536.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1333px) 100vw, 1333px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A sign to alert the public of a snow survey shelter structure from the Department of Water Resources is one of the objects in the archive at the Snow Lab. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The school’s emphasis on continuing the tradition of meticulous data collection is shot through with the deep enthusiasm that marks the people in its orbit. Even in the chill of the field, when digging out feet of snow, the students remain upbeat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Snow people are really fun people for the most part,” said instructor Micah Johnson, as he demonstrated an invention he’d been working on for a decade — showing the students how to stab his Bluetooth-enabled “penetrometer-reflectometer” stick into the snow and call up data from its sensors. “I have yet to meet an indifferent snow scientist of sorts.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Or, as Ammatelli from the Desert Research Institute said, “Every day in the snow is a good day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Joe Ammatelli’s name.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Scientists attending a recent snow school at the Sierra Snow Lab join a rich tradition of data gathering that has huge implications for California’s water supply.",
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"title": "Scientists Learn the Art of Measuring Snow at Hidden Tahoe Lab | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__dropcapShortcode__dropcap\">A\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>nyone riding the gondola lift at Sugar Bowl Ski Resort one bright day in January might have seen something unexpected in the glade below them: A series of figures energetically digging pits in the snow by hand — deep enough for them to then jump inside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These pit diggers intently studied the walls of their newly carved chambers before pressing bright yellow sensors into the ice. They were, in fact, student scientists receiving training from the Central Sierra Snow Lab close by.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And while most visitors to the Sierra would never have a reason to come across this stocky, unassuming 1940s cabin nestled on a nearby backroad, the Snow Lab has been at the forefront of snow science for almost 80 years, maintaining the data that has huge implications for California’s water supply.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995844\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995844\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01549_duo-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"845\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01549_duo-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01549_duo-800x264.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01549_duo-1020x337.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01549_duo-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01549_duo-768x253.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01549_duo-1536x507.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01549_duo-2048x676.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01549_duo-1920x634.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Measuring implements to gauge the layers and depth of the Sierra snowpack (left) in use at the Snow Science School. Anne Nolin (right), professor of geography at the University of Nevada, Reno and a snow school attendee, marks the edge of where to dig a pit in the snowpack. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Now, this event, its first-ever Snow Science School, saw the Snow Lab open its doors to teach a new generation the tools of their trade — almost 7,000 feet above sea level in the mountains of Tahoe National Forest.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Hidden history on Donner Summit\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Though now managed by UC Berkeley, the Central Sierra Snow Lab in Soda Springs began life in 1946 as a collaboration between the Army Corps of Engineers and what’s now known as the National Weather Service. But while the Snow Lab’s own snowfall and snow depth measurements date back to its birth, this cabin beneath towering pine trees near Donner Summit also maintains much older records from the area going back to 1878 documenting the Central Pacific Railroad’s own efforts — making these the longest such climatological records in the world when it comes to snow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And for the scientists working up here in 2025, the job is essentially “to play in the snow and learn more about it,” said Andrew Schwartz, its director.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995851\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995851\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04876_duo-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1585\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04876_duo-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04876_duo-800x495.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04876_duo-1020x632.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04876_duo-160x99.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04876_duo-768x476.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04876_duo-1536x951.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04876_duo-2048x1268.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04876_duo-1920x1189.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Andrew Schwartz, director of UC Berkeley’s Central Sierra Snow Lab, holds a decades-old printout of snow measurements (left) and a black-and-white photograph (right) in the lab’s archives. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For the three days in January that saw 20 students from across the U.S. arrive at the Snow Science School, Tahoe was in the middle of a sunny, dry spell, with the snowpack at Donner Summit at 94% of the average for this time of year. But at an elevation of over 6,700 feet, the Snow Lab has seen its share of wild winters and momentous snowfall — making it an apt place to study snow science any time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Schwartz, who took over the Snow Lab in 2021 and lived inside the building for his first two years, recalled how, in 2023, the snow was so deep that he and his colleagues could “walk directly into the third-floor windows.” That year, the Snow Lab received a total of 63 feet of snow, its second-biggest winter accumulation on record — precipitation that would eventually become the snowmelt that’s crucial for California’s water supply.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995837\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995837\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00729.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00729.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00729-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00729-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00729-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00729-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00729-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00729-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Participants listen during a morning lecture at the Clair Tappan Lodge during the Snow Science School organized by UC Berkeley’s Central Sierra Snow Lab. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For Schwartz, his “number one” hope for the Snow Lab’s inaugural school is that the students leave “with an appreciation of snow and a better understanding of how it works, really — because it’s so important to the world.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Roughly two billion people [around the world] use water obtained from snowpack. And we tend to take it for granted,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The school’s student body included a large handful of people from the California Department of Water Resources — one of the Snow Lab’s partners in this work — but also graduate students, researchers, snow modelers and teachers, as well as folks sent by the National Parks Service and the National Forest Service.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995836\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995836\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00032.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00032.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00032-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00032-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00032-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00032-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00032-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00032-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Participants gather for a morning lecture during Snow Science School. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The breadth of experience and background among the Snow Science School’s students is a testimony to the wide range of applications this work can have — and to the disciplines that snow brings together. “It’s a very close-knit community,” said Preetika Kaur, a Snow Lab student attending from the University of Wyoming. “I love to meet people who are pros.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>All work and no play? Not at the Snow Lab\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>After climbing up the steep hill to the Snow Lab on their first day, students were shown past the bright red snowcat — the exact same model that’s featured in the movie \u003cem>The Shining\u003c/em>, noted Schwartz approvingly — and into the warren-like building. Above their heads, the top floor holds sleeping quarters for the scientists who board overnight to conduct research or who’ve been trapped inside by an impenetrable Sierra storm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995838\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00955_duo-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1104\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00955_duo-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00955_duo-800x345.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00955_duo-1020x440.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00955_duo-160x69.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00955_duo-768x331.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00955_duo-1536x662.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00955_duo-2048x883.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00955_duo-1920x828.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995839\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995839\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00964.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00964.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00964-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00964-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00964-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00964-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00964-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_00964-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">UC Berkeley’s Central Sierra Snow Lab, based in Soda Springs near Donner Summit. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The first floor and basement, where the lab’s scientists work throughout the day, was full not just of computer screens and boxes full of measuring tools but also handwritten logs, archive photography depicting their Snow Lab predecessors out on the job, vintage road signs and instruments saved from the building’s past.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s even an oscilloscope — an instrument that once measured voltage — with a large “NASA AMES” sticker on it, and even though Schwartz admits they “have no clue” what the Snow Lab scientists of previous years used it for up here, “I’d be lying if I still don’t like to play with the knobs on it,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995849\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995849\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04870.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04870.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04870-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04870-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04870-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04870-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04870-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04870-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Type 555 Dual-beam Oscilloscope, circa 1960s, at the Central Sierra Snow Lab. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995848\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995848\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04694_duo-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1102\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04694_duo-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04694_duo-800x344.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04694_duo-1020x439.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04694_duo-160x69.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04694_duo-768x330.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04694_duo-1536x661.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04694_duo-2048x881.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04694_duo-1920x826.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Spatulas and rulers (right) are some of the tools used to measure snowfall at the Snow Lab. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Outside, the students tour Snow Lab’s network of remote snow equipment, like the fluid-filled “snow pillow” that detects the weight of the snow falling on it and the sensors submerged in the creek behind the lab that will gauge the height of the icy water as it starts to rise with spring snowmelt. Other remote sensors constantly assess solar radiation — in a region where sunlight can contribute to up to 95% of snowmelt — and soil temperature to get an idea of just how fast the snowpack could melt this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But as this data collection hums in the background, Schwartz still maintains the lab’s twice-daily manual measurement tradition, which sees him and his colleagues crunch out onto the snow with “our very fancy ruler” — work that on some days, depending on conditions, can feel more like a polar expedition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995840\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995840\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01055.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01055.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01055-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01055-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01055-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01055-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01055-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01055-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gaby May Lagunes, a Ph.D. student in the Environmental Science, Policy, and Management Department at UC Berkeley, puts on her snowshoes to head into the field. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/UCB_CSSL\">the Snow Lab’s social media presence\u003c/a> has gained in popularity in the last few years, the snow measurements that Schwartz and his team make public are also watched eagerly by a different group of California enthusiasts: skiers and snowboarders desperate to know when to hit the Tahoe slopes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I love the different uses of our data in our information,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The impact of the snowpack on water supply\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The snowpack can contain clues of the past as well as the future — which is why the snow analysis techniques being taught at the Snow Science School go way beyond just assessing depth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A key concept hydrology students are taught about is “snow water equivalent,” or SWE (usually pronounced “swee” by snow scientists): A measurement that tells scientists just how much water is contained in an area of snow versus the air it also contains alongside its ice crystals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995841\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995841\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01224.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01224.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01224-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01224-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01224-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01224-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01224-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_01224-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Andrew Schwartz, right, director of the Central Sierra Snow Lab, leads instructors and participants of the Snow Science School into the field. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“A lot of the water in California originally falls as snow, and it’s really valuable to humans because there’s a lot of it and because it stores itself for free in places where it’s cold and then melts in the spring, which is when we need it for agriculture,” said Marianne Cowherd, research associate at the Snow Lab and one of the instructors. “Having a good understanding of how much water we have available upstream lets us do things like manage our reservoir levels — so we still have enough water, but we don’t have dangerous operations or overflow.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The next piece of the snow science puzzle is working out when and how the state can expect that snow to melt. At the school, the students learn more about how energy from the sun and from the warm temperatures of the air and from the ground melts the snowpack and how the water flows into California’s soils and streams.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The thing that I’m trying to do is understand the effect of human changes in the landscape, specifically with irrigation on future precipitation patterns and precipitation extremes,” said Gaby May Lagunes, a snow lab student and UC Berkeley graduate researcher. “How the way people change the environment has an impact on the water cycle, not only locally, regionally and globally.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So “if I want to understand water from a data-driven perspective, I need to have an idea of what snow people know,” she said. “We need to work together a lot because we cannot know everything.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995845\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995845\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_02033.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_02033.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_02033-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_02033-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_02033-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_02033-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_02033-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_02033-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Preetika Kaur, left, a Ph.D. student at the University of Wyoming, and Joe Ammatelli, an assistant research scientist with the Desert Research Institute, dig a pit in the snowpack during Snow Science School. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Up close in the snow pits\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>For students, the real action came when the school decamped closer to Donner Summit for the field measurement portion of their studies. After suiting up in thermal layers, bibs and beanies — plus lab-supplied polarized sunglasses that read “No Biz Like Snow Biz” on the side — the students strap on snowshoes to make the hike along a snow-covered trail to a secluded woods, sandwiched between Sugar Bowl and Donner Ski Ranch. Here, they began to dig out a series of 4-foot-deep snow pits using shovels, low enough to strike soil and complete with steps.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The snowpack can be far larger, sometimes as deep as 20 feet, and scientists “have to build literal levels down to measure the whole thing,” Schwartz said — “so you don’t have to Spider-Man your way out every time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Joe Ammatelli was sent by the Desert Research Institute in Nevada, where he carries out snow modeling, which needs to be validated by field observations. “It’s really valuable as a modeler to get out here and see how it’s done,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995846\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995846\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_02943_duo-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"845\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_02943_duo-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_02943_duo-800x264.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_02943_duo-1020x337.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_02943_duo-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_02943_duo-768x253.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_02943_duo-1536x507.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_02943_duo-2048x676.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_02943_duo-1920x634.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Snow crystals lay on a measuring device during a field outing with the Snow Science School in January. Chris Northart, right, with the Department of Water Resources Statewide Monitoring Network Unit and a participant of the Snow Science School, uses a magnification lens to measure the size of snow granules. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995847\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995847\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_03173.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_03173.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_03173-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_03173-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_03173-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_03173-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_03173-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_03173-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A participant of the Snow School weighs a wedge of snow collected from the snowpack in a field outing. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>And for all the technological developments in snow science, it remains deeply tactile for its practitioners. Down in the pits, the students measured the snow’s temperature and observed how it changed the deeper the pit went. Then, using specialized shovels, the students scooped out and leveled off snow before weighing it on a scale — a method of measuring density and snow water equivalent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They examined physical changes in the different layers in the smooth white walls of the snow pits, like studying rings in a tree trunk. These kinds of measurements are an exercise in time travel, explained instructor Cowherd, given the different qualities of snowflakes that fall at different times and how the ever-accumulating snowpack ages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the air heats and cools, the snow melts and compresses under its own weight — all of which “tells us about the history of what’s happened there,” Cowherd said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Every day in the snow is a good day’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The observations that the instructors taught its snow students in the pits are the kind that stretches back almost a century and a half in the Snow Lab’s own archives — and this volume of information is invaluable for assessing the impact of climate change, Schwartz said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We see the same amount of precipitation coming in, but it’s shifting from snow terrain in all the months — so we’re seeing warming,” he said. “Our rain-snow line is going up in elevation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The almost 150 years of data can also aid forecasters in looking for variables that smaller data sets just can’t encompass, he said — like the Sierra’s dry spells that are followed by big years for rain and snowfall, a swing that’s seen in “five year periods.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995850\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1333px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995850\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04872.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1333\" height=\"2000\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04872.jpg 1333w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04872-800x1200.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04872-1020x1530.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04872-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04872-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250116_Snow-School_DMB_04872-1024x1536.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1333px) 100vw, 1333px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A sign to alert the public of a snow survey shelter structure from the Department of Water Resources is one of the objects in the archive at the Snow Lab. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The school’s emphasis on continuing the tradition of meticulous data collection is shot through with the deep enthusiasm that marks the people in its orbit. Even in the chill of the field, when digging out feet of snow, the students remain upbeat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Snow people are really fun people for the most part,” said instructor Micah Johnson, as he demonstrated an invention he’d been working on for a decade — showing the students how to stab his Bluetooth-enabled “penetrometer-reflectometer” stick into the snow and call up data from its sensors. “I have yet to meet an indifferent snow scientist of sorts.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Or, as Ammatelli from the Desert Research Institute said, “Every day in the snow is a good day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Joe Ammatelli’s name.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "this-project-is-a-win-for-the-climate-and-ratepayers-why-is-pge-pulling-the-plug",
"title": "PG&E Wants to Pull the Plug on Electrification Project at CSU Monterey Bay",
"publishDate": 1738591218,
"format": "standard",
"headTitle": "PG&E Wants to Pull the Plug on Electrification Project at CSU Monterey Bay | KQED",
"labelTerm": {
"site": "science"
},
"content": "\u003cp>The lines sprawl below ground unnoticed, starting out large, then branching like limbs of a tree, reaching nearly every home. We pay for them, and we probably never think about them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For most Californians, the maze of gas pipelines beneath our feet allows us to heat our homes and water, dry our clothes and cook our food. But all these functions can be done another way, too: with electricity. And maintaining two systems — gas and electric — is costly and incompatible with California’s climate goals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So what if we could consolidate these systems, particularly in a way that would save ratepayers and utilities money?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2022, PG&E proposed a project that would do just that in roughly 400 campus apartments for students and their families at Cal State Monterey Bay. The project would be the largest of its kind in California, and likely the U.S., to date, and PG&E’s first neighborhood-scale electrification initiative.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In their application, the utility wrote that the project “represents a unique opportunity to address customer safety needs, long-term rate affordability, customer energy preference, and alignment with California’s climate goals,” in other words, a win-win-win-win.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, people involved in the project were dumbfounded when the utility abruptly scrapped the project early this year, citing time pressure, unknown costs to address toxic asbestos in some buildings, and disagreements over how it would be financed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E representatives wrote that it was “reluctantly terminating” the project. “There remains too great a divide in parties’ perspectives on core project details that PG&E views as essential for success.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995544\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995544\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00458_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00458_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00458_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00458_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00458_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00458_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00458_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00458_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view of the East Campus housing development of California State University at Monterey Bay, with power lines in the background, in Marina, California, on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995545\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995545\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"833\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-800x267.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1020x340.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-768x256.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1536x512.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-2048x682.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1920x640.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: A sign directs visitors to the East Campus housing office of California State University, Monterey Bay, in Marina. Right: A laundromat for residents of East Campus housing. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But the turn came as a “complete surprise,” said Hayley Goodson, a managing attorney at The Utility Reform Network, one of the project stakeholders. “PG&E has been saying for years that it costs less for gas ratepayers to do the electrification project.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Goodson said the reasons PG&E cited for dropping the project have all been known for months and argued it came down to financials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E is a heavily regulated monopoly owned by investors. One of the ways it makes a return for shareholders is on capital investments — long-lasting physical infrastructure it owns and maintains, like gas pipelines, transformers and power lines. The utility can recoup the costs of these, plus an extra percentage of that cost from their customers, which is wrapped into monthly bills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995543\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995543\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250128_Hayley-Goodson_DB_00012_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250128_Hayley-Goodson_DB_00012_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250128_Hayley-Goodson_DB_00012_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250128_Hayley-Goodson_DB_00012_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250128_Hayley-Goodson_DB_00012_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250128_Hayley-Goodson_DB_00012_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250128_Hayley-Goodson_DB_00012_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250128_Hayley-Goodson_DB_00012_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hayley Goodson, a managing attorney with The Utility Reform Network (TURN), poses for a portrait in the organization’s office in Oakland on Jan. 28, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>However, the appliances at CSU Monterey Bay would not be owned or maintained by PG&E. They would be property of the university, even though the utility would initially buy and install them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E wanted to pay for the project through its capital budget, and while some stakeholders agreed, others pushed back, asking for the costs of electric appliances to come from the utility’s operating expense budget. This would mean they would recover the costs and break even, but there would be no additional profit for shareholders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s hard not to think that PG&E just doesn’t want to do the right thing for its ratepayers if they can’t earn a profit from it,” Goodson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CSU Monterey Bay spokesperson Walter Ryce said PG&E notified the university it was withdrawing the application the same week it informed the California Public Utilities Commission. The project “was set to be fully funded by PG&E, and the university does not have funding to pursue a gas replacement project on its own.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Two systems, rising costs\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The idea of “pruning” the gas system is not new. Since 2018, PG&E has executed more than a hundred of these projects, ripping out old pipelines while covering the costs to electrify the homes and businesses affected.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Picture a 2-mile gas line in need of repair, winding its way to just two homes. It’s typically cheaper for PG&E, and therefore their ratepayers, if the company pays to fully electrify customers on these lines and retire rather than replace them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995546\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995546\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00504_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00504_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00504_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00504_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00504_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00504_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00504_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00504_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">PG&E is withdrawing an ambitious plan to electrify the East Campus Housing development of California State University, Monterey Bay, at a community scale, seen here in Marina, California, on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Shrinking California’s natural gas system is an objective of \u003ca href=\"https://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Published/G000/M542/K040/542040675.PDF\">state regulators\u003c/a>, as well. The CPUC published a \u003ca href=\"https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/news-and-updates/all-news/cpuc-creates-new-framework-to-advance-california-transition-away-from-natural-gas\">framework\u003c/a> to transition away from natural gas to benefit the climate and avoid spending on infrastructure that will be obsolete before the end of its useful life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The majority of the state’s electricity, \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/news/2024-05/new-data-shows-investments-build-californias-clean-energy-grid-future-are-paying\">61%\u003c/a>, comes from sources that create no planet-warming pollution, such as renewables, hydropower, and nuclear.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The alternative to a managed transition away from gas would be a haphazard one, which would lead to higher bills for those who still use gas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If nearly an entire street wants to go all-electric, except for just one home, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1992348/is-it-time-for-an-essential-california-energy-code-to-get-a-climate-edit\">utilities interpret California code\u003c/a> to mean they must maintain the whole pipeline serving that street.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995549\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995549\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"833\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1-800x267.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1-1020x340.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1-768x256.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1-1536x512.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1-2048x682.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1-1920x640.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Homes and businesses powered by gas are connected through a lattice of pipelines beneath the street (left). Electrifying a neighborhood means capping a gas line and replacing the gas-fueled appliances with electric ones (right). \u003ccite>(Anna Vignet/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As more middle- and high-income people and homeowners switch to electricity, fewer people are left paying for the largely fixed costs of gas infrastructure. That leaves lower-income people and renters, who are less likely to electrify, on the hook for the cost of the gas system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California took a small step toward addressing this issue with a law that will allow 30 communities to go all-electric with just two-thirds of residents’ consent. These are pilots, though, and will kick off in 2026 at the earliest.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A special project\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The CSU Monterey Bay project would likely have saved ratepayers money.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Purchasing and installing electric appliances for roughly 400 homes saved about \u003ca href=\"https://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Efile/G000/M500/K435/500435462.PDF\">$2.45\u003c/a> million over replacing about 8 miles of gas pipelines, PG&E estimated in its project application to the CPUC.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a unicorn,” said the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Kiki Velez, who leads initiatives transitioning away from gas for the organization. “You have a big project that could likely deliver a lot of cost savings and emissions reductions. You have one willing customer.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a 2022 article published by the university, then Sustainability Director Lacey Raak said it made sense not to invest in gas infrastructure. “It would be like buying a fax machine in 1999,” Raak said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>The clock ticks\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Time can be a major impediment when you set out to electrify a whole neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You want to be targeting pipelines that are close to the end of their lifetime because that’s a better deal for ratepayers,” said Beckie Menten, California director at the Building Decarbonization Coalition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead of replacing them with a pipeline that may be retired before its useful, sometimes \u003ca href=\"https://www.pge.com/en/about/pge-systems/gas-systems.html#accordion-2076aa78e1-item-4eb56cb1f4\">100-year-long\u003c/a> life, or before it’s slowly paid off, you convert the associated homes to rely on electricity instead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Identifying a pipeline almost ready for replacement “sets a clock,” she said. “You have a certain number of years to not only get approval for the project, but to also implement the project before the safety concern becomes a risk.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995551\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995551\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00487_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00487_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00487_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00487_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00487_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00487_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00487_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00487_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An advisory sign warns of high-voltage electricity near the East Campus housing development of California State University, Monterey Bay, in Marina, California, on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>PG&E’s \u003ca href=\"https://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Efile/G000/M496/K451/496451495.PDF\">initial application (PDF)\u003c/a> asked the CPUC for approval by the summer of 2023, saying the utility would need to replace the gas lines from 2022–25 to ensure future “safe, reliable gas service.” In recent filings, PG&E wrote that it’d need the pipelines replaced by the end of 2026. The utility was still waiting for a decision in early 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Failing to replace aging pipelines can lead to \u003ca href=\"https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2015/09/methane-pipeline-replacement-090915#:~:text=In%20contrast%2C%20Manhattan%20still%20has,Stanford%20University%20funded%20the%20research.\">gas leaks\u003c/a> and cause dangerous explosions. One of PG&E’s most notorious disasters was a blast and resulting fire in San Bruno in 2010, which killed eight people. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/10667274/five-years-after-deadly-san-bruno-explosion-are-we-safer#:~:text=If%20any%20line%20in%20the,quality%20control%20failed%20to%20detect.\">The cause was a poorly welded pipeline of a very old pipe\u003c/a> and inadequate pipeline management.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The CSU Monterey Bay project stalled for a year after the school changed its chief financial officer. Then, campus officials found asbestos in the buildings, which could lead to health risks if disturbed during construction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, project stakeholders argued over how PG&E should expense the new electric appliances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some stakeholders, including the Sierra Club, supported PG&E’s proposal to allow it to use capital funds and, therefore, make a profit in this case. Attorney Matt Vespa said the incentives to make climate-friendly electrification choices aren’t there yet for utilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If a gas company just replaces a pipeline and basically locks in fossil fuel infrastructure for decades at a pretty high cost, they make money. But if they avoid that and do a climate solution that benefits public health, air quality and the climate by electrifying, they actually don’t make any money at all,” Vespa said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995542\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1995542 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/250130-CSUMB-01-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/250130-CSUMB-01-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/250130-CSUMB-01-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/250130-CSUMB-01-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/250130-CSUMB-01-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/250130-CSUMB-01-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/250130-CSUMB-01-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/250130-CSUMB-01-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Matt Vespa, a senior attorney with Earthjustice, sits on the counter at his home in San Francisco on Jan. 30, 2025, next to a newly installed induction stove. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Other groups, including TURN, scoffed at PG&E’s proposed way to finance the project and said the utility would still be able to recover its costs. “What we’re talking about is whether they should earn a bonus on these activities. We don’t think that that bonus is necessary or appropriate,” Goodson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A PG&E spokesperson told KQED that the utility joins “with TURN in advocating for the safe and reliable delivery of energy for PG&E customers. This includes the replacement of pipeline for safety reasons when necessary.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The debate was not atypical for a project like this, and in December, parties were coming to agreements on issues they’d argued over. How PG&E would finance the project was unresolved and would be put to the CPUC.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But PG&E withdrew its application before it could, and with it, hopes for the largest neighborhood electrification project in the U.S. to date.[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"news_12023805,news_11983675,news_11981173\"]“They are hoping to walk away with no consequences,” said Michael Colvin, director of regulatory and legislative affairs for the Environmental Defense Fund. “Promises were made to the university, promises were made to the residents of the university housing, promises were made to the rest of their customers to say we know how to do zonal electrification and we can be part of an example.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Colvin said other utilities around the country were watching the CSU Monterey Bay project and may not attempt similar projects if this one collapses. “There is a ripple effect outside of Monterey Bay and outside of California,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several stakeholders have responded to PG&E’s withdrawal, calling for the CPUC to reject it or at least hold the utility to some account.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Will student housing at the school’s East Campus be the vision of a campus electrified, as the school paper once touted? The question will be answered in the coming months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regardless, Menten of the Building Decarbonization Coalition said this doesn’t mean neighborhood-scale electrification won’t be in California’s future, just that this project came too early.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“PG&E was trying to be innovative. They were trying to push the envelope,” said Menten, “but they were a little bit ahead of where the CPUC was.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"headline": "PG&E Wants to Pull the Plug on Electrification Project at CSU Monterey Bay",
"datePublished": "2025-02-03T06:00:18-08:00",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The lines sprawl below ground unnoticed, starting out large, then branching like limbs of a tree, reaching nearly every home. We pay for them, and we probably never think about them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For most Californians, the maze of gas pipelines beneath our feet allows us to heat our homes and water, dry our clothes and cook our food. But all these functions can be done another way, too: with electricity. And maintaining two systems — gas and electric — is costly and incompatible with California’s climate goals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So what if we could consolidate these systems, particularly in a way that would save ratepayers and utilities money?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2022, PG&E proposed a project that would do just that in roughly 400 campus apartments for students and their families at Cal State Monterey Bay. The project would be the largest of its kind in California, and likely the U.S., to date, and PG&E’s first neighborhood-scale electrification initiative.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In their application, the utility wrote that the project “represents a unique opportunity to address customer safety needs, long-term rate affordability, customer energy preference, and alignment with California’s climate goals,” in other words, a win-win-win-win.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, people involved in the project were dumbfounded when the utility abruptly scrapped the project early this year, citing time pressure, unknown costs to address toxic asbestos in some buildings, and disagreements over how it would be financed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E representatives wrote that it was “reluctantly terminating” the project. “There remains too great a divide in parties’ perspectives on core project details that PG&E views as essential for success.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995544\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995544\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00458_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00458_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00458_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00458_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00458_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00458_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00458_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00458_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view of the East Campus housing development of California State University at Monterey Bay, with power lines in the background, in Marina, California, on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995545\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995545\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"833\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-800x267.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1020x340.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-768x256.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1536x512.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-2048x682.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1920x640.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: A sign directs visitors to the East Campus housing office of California State University, Monterey Bay, in Marina. Right: A laundromat for residents of East Campus housing. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But the turn came as a “complete surprise,” said Hayley Goodson, a managing attorney at The Utility Reform Network, one of the project stakeholders. “PG&E has been saying for years that it costs less for gas ratepayers to do the electrification project.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Goodson said the reasons PG&E cited for dropping the project have all been known for months and argued it came down to financials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E is a heavily regulated monopoly owned by investors. One of the ways it makes a return for shareholders is on capital investments — long-lasting physical infrastructure it owns and maintains, like gas pipelines, transformers and power lines. The utility can recoup the costs of these, plus an extra percentage of that cost from their customers, which is wrapped into monthly bills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995543\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995543\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250128_Hayley-Goodson_DB_00012_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250128_Hayley-Goodson_DB_00012_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250128_Hayley-Goodson_DB_00012_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250128_Hayley-Goodson_DB_00012_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250128_Hayley-Goodson_DB_00012_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250128_Hayley-Goodson_DB_00012_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250128_Hayley-Goodson_DB_00012_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250128_Hayley-Goodson_DB_00012_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hayley Goodson, a managing attorney with The Utility Reform Network (TURN), poses for a portrait in the organization’s office in Oakland on Jan. 28, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>However, the appliances at CSU Monterey Bay would not be owned or maintained by PG&E. They would be property of the university, even though the utility would initially buy and install them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E wanted to pay for the project through its capital budget, and while some stakeholders agreed, others pushed back, asking for the costs of electric appliances to come from the utility’s operating expense budget. This would mean they would recover the costs and break even, but there would be no additional profit for shareholders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s hard not to think that PG&E just doesn’t want to do the right thing for its ratepayers if they can’t earn a profit from it,” Goodson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CSU Monterey Bay spokesperson Walter Ryce said PG&E notified the university it was withdrawing the application the same week it informed the California Public Utilities Commission. The project “was set to be fully funded by PG&E, and the university does not have funding to pursue a gas replacement project on its own.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Two systems, rising costs\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The idea of “pruning” the gas system is not new. Since 2018, PG&E has executed more than a hundred of these projects, ripping out old pipelines while covering the costs to electrify the homes and businesses affected.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Picture a 2-mile gas line in need of repair, winding its way to just two homes. It’s typically cheaper for PG&E, and therefore their ratepayers, if the company pays to fully electrify customers on these lines and retire rather than replace them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995546\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995546\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00504_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00504_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00504_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00504_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00504_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00504_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00504_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00504_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">PG&E is withdrawing an ambitious plan to electrify the East Campus Housing development of California State University, Monterey Bay, at a community scale, seen here in Marina, California, on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Shrinking California’s natural gas system is an objective of \u003ca href=\"https://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Published/G000/M542/K040/542040675.PDF\">state regulators\u003c/a>, as well. The CPUC published a \u003ca href=\"https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/news-and-updates/all-news/cpuc-creates-new-framework-to-advance-california-transition-away-from-natural-gas\">framework\u003c/a> to transition away from natural gas to benefit the climate and avoid spending on infrastructure that will be obsolete before the end of its useful life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The majority of the state’s electricity, \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/news/2024-05/new-data-shows-investments-build-californias-clean-energy-grid-future-are-paying\">61%\u003c/a>, comes from sources that create no planet-warming pollution, such as renewables, hydropower, and nuclear.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The alternative to a managed transition away from gas would be a haphazard one, which would lead to higher bills for those who still use gas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If nearly an entire street wants to go all-electric, except for just one home, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1992348/is-it-time-for-an-essential-california-energy-code-to-get-a-climate-edit\">utilities interpret California code\u003c/a> to mean they must maintain the whole pipeline serving that street.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995549\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995549\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"833\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1-800x267.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1-1020x340.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1-768x256.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1-1536x512.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1-2048x682.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/Copy-of-KQED-side-by-side-downpage-image-1-1920x640.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Homes and businesses powered by gas are connected through a lattice of pipelines beneath the street (left). Electrifying a neighborhood means capping a gas line and replacing the gas-fueled appliances with electric ones (right). \u003ccite>(Anna Vignet/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As more middle- and high-income people and homeowners switch to electricity, fewer people are left paying for the largely fixed costs of gas infrastructure. That leaves lower-income people and renters, who are less likely to electrify, on the hook for the cost of the gas system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California took a small step toward addressing this issue with a law that will allow 30 communities to go all-electric with just two-thirds of residents’ consent. These are pilots, though, and will kick off in 2026 at the earliest.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A special project\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The CSU Monterey Bay project would likely have saved ratepayers money.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Purchasing and installing electric appliances for roughly 400 homes saved about \u003ca href=\"https://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Efile/G000/M500/K435/500435462.PDF\">$2.45\u003c/a> million over replacing about 8 miles of gas pipelines, PG&E estimated in its project application to the CPUC.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a unicorn,” said the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Kiki Velez, who leads initiatives transitioning away from gas for the organization. “You have a big project that could likely deliver a lot of cost savings and emissions reductions. You have one willing customer.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a 2022 article published by the university, then Sustainability Director Lacey Raak said it made sense not to invest in gas infrastructure. “It would be like buying a fax machine in 1999,” Raak said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>The clock ticks\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Time can be a major impediment when you set out to electrify a whole neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You want to be targeting pipelines that are close to the end of their lifetime because that’s a better deal for ratepayers,” said Beckie Menten, California director at the Building Decarbonization Coalition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead of replacing them with a pipeline that may be retired before its useful, sometimes \u003ca href=\"https://www.pge.com/en/about/pge-systems/gas-systems.html#accordion-2076aa78e1-item-4eb56cb1f4\">100-year-long\u003c/a> life, or before it’s slowly paid off, you convert the associated homes to rely on electricity instead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Identifying a pipeline almost ready for replacement “sets a clock,” she said. “You have a certain number of years to not only get approval for the project, but to also implement the project before the safety concern becomes a risk.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995551\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995551\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00487_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00487_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00487_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00487_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00487_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00487_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00487_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/20250127_CSUMB-Electricity_DB_00487_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An advisory sign warns of high-voltage electricity near the East Campus housing development of California State University, Monterey Bay, in Marina, California, on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>PG&E’s \u003ca href=\"https://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Efile/G000/M496/K451/496451495.PDF\">initial application (PDF)\u003c/a> asked the CPUC for approval by the summer of 2023, saying the utility would need to replace the gas lines from 2022–25 to ensure future “safe, reliable gas service.” In recent filings, PG&E wrote that it’d need the pipelines replaced by the end of 2026. The utility was still waiting for a decision in early 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Failing to replace aging pipelines can lead to \u003ca href=\"https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2015/09/methane-pipeline-replacement-090915#:~:text=In%20contrast%2C%20Manhattan%20still%20has,Stanford%20University%20funded%20the%20research.\">gas leaks\u003c/a> and cause dangerous explosions. One of PG&E’s most notorious disasters was a blast and resulting fire in San Bruno in 2010, which killed eight people. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/10667274/five-years-after-deadly-san-bruno-explosion-are-we-safer#:~:text=If%20any%20line%20in%20the,quality%20control%20failed%20to%20detect.\">The cause was a poorly welded pipeline of a very old pipe\u003c/a> and inadequate pipeline management.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The CSU Monterey Bay project stalled for a year after the school changed its chief financial officer. Then, campus officials found asbestos in the buildings, which could lead to health risks if disturbed during construction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, project stakeholders argued over how PG&E should expense the new electric appliances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some stakeholders, including the Sierra Club, supported PG&E’s proposal to allow it to use capital funds and, therefore, make a profit in this case. Attorney Matt Vespa said the incentives to make climate-friendly electrification choices aren’t there yet for utilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If a gas company just replaces a pipeline and basically locks in fossil fuel infrastructure for decades at a pretty high cost, they make money. But if they avoid that and do a climate solution that benefits public health, air quality and the climate by electrifying, they actually don’t make any money at all,” Vespa said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995542\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1995542 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/250130-CSUMB-01-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/250130-CSUMB-01-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/250130-CSUMB-01-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/250130-CSUMB-01-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/250130-CSUMB-01-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/250130-CSUMB-01-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/250130-CSUMB-01-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/250130-CSUMB-01-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Matt Vespa, a senior attorney with Earthjustice, sits on the counter at his home in San Francisco on Jan. 30, 2025, next to a newly installed induction stove. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Other groups, including TURN, scoffed at PG&E’s proposed way to finance the project and said the utility would still be able to recover its costs. “What we’re talking about is whether they should earn a bonus on these activities. We don’t think that that bonus is necessary or appropriate,” Goodson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A PG&E spokesperson told KQED that the utility joins “with TURN in advocating for the safe and reliable delivery of energy for PG&E customers. This includes the replacement of pipeline for safety reasons when necessary.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The debate was not atypical for a project like this, and in December, parties were coming to agreements on issues they’d argued over. How PG&E would finance the project was unresolved and would be put to the CPUC.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But PG&E withdrew its application before it could, and with it, hopes for the largest neighborhood electrification project in the U.S. to date.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“They are hoping to walk away with no consequences,” said Michael Colvin, director of regulatory and legislative affairs for the Environmental Defense Fund. “Promises were made to the university, promises were made to the residents of the university housing, promises were made to the rest of their customers to say we know how to do zonal electrification and we can be part of an example.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Colvin said other utilities around the country were watching the CSU Monterey Bay project and may not attempt similar projects if this one collapses. “There is a ripple effect outside of Monterey Bay and outside of California,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several stakeholders have responded to PG&E’s withdrawal, calling for the CPUC to reject it or at least hold the utility to some account.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Will student housing at the school’s East Campus be the vision of a campus electrified, as the school paper once touted? The question will be answered in the coming months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regardless, Menten of the Building Decarbonization Coalition said this doesn’t mean neighborhood-scale electrification won’t be in California’s future, just that this project came too early.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“PG&E was trying to be innovative. They were trying to push the envelope,” said Menten, “but they were a little bit ahead of where the CPUC was.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>California’s iconic monarch butterfly population saw a sharp decline this year, which biologists attribute to the hot summer and fall temperatures across the state affecting the species’ migratory path.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The latest Western Monarch Count by Xerces Society recorded 9,119 overwintering monarch butterflies — those that travel to warmer climates in the winter — in California, marking the second-lowest population since tracking began in 1997. This sharp decline follows three consecutive years of over 200,000 monarchs and remains well below the \u003ca href=\"https://westernmonarchcount.org/the-current-status-of-western-monarch-butterflies-by-the-numbers/\">millions observed in the 1980s\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The specific drop we saw this year largely attributed to the really hot temperatures and the drought that we saw across the West in July, somewhat into August and again in September and October, when that migratory generation should be making its way to the overwintering sites,” said Emma Pelton, an endangered species biologist with the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Santa Cruz County had the most overwintering monarch clusters this year, with Lighthouse Field State Park reporting 1,406 butterflies, Natural Bridges State Park counting 1,400, and Moran Lake recording 645. The fourth-largest site was Pismo Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove in San Luis Obispo County, with 556 monarchs recorded in late November. Skywest Golf Course in Hayward ranked fifth with 477 butterflies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other locations with higher densities of monarchs include the Pacific Grove Butterfly Sanctuary in Monterey County, which had 228, and UC Gill Tract Community Farm in Alameda, which recorded 196 and was one of the few sites to see a population increase this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, some historically significant sites experienced drastic declines. The Goleta Monarch Butterfly Grove at Ellwood Mesa had almost no clusters, with only three monarchs spotted across multiple locations. A privately-owned Santa Barbara site managed by The Nature Conservancy, which hosted 33,200 monarchs last winter, dramatically dropped to 198 this season.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Experts say the decline is caused by habitat loss, pesticide exposure, and climate change. Record-high temperatures and drought throughout the summer and fall months last year likely also contributed to the drop. In January, fires in Los Angeles County burned tree groves where monarchs overwinter, including a site in Lower Topanga Canyon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The western monarch population, which migrates separately from eastern monarchs overwintering in Mexico, relies on California’s coastal tree groves for shelter. Experts say voluntary efforts like pollinator gardens have helped prevent even steeper declines but that broader policy changes are needed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label='Related Coverage' tag='science']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a huge number of people that care about monarchs and are planting habitat or trying to protect the species. But the evidence points to how we need this work done at a much higher level,” Pelton said, referring to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.fws.gov/press-release/2024-12/monarch-butterfly-proposed-endangered-species-act-protection\">U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s proposal\u003c/a> to list monarchs as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If approved, the proposal would provide improved protection for monarch overwintering habitat in California and more incentives for habitat restoration. A \u003ca href=\"https://www.fws.gov/initiative/pollinators/save-monarch\">public comment period on the listing is open\u003c/a> until March 12, and Xerces Society is asking individuals \u003ca href=\"https://win.newmode.net/xerces-fws-monarch\">to sign on to support the listing\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>California’s iconic monarch butterfly population saw a sharp decline this year, which biologists attribute to the hot summer and fall temperatures across the state affecting the species’ migratory path.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The latest Western Monarch Count by Xerces Society recorded 9,119 overwintering monarch butterflies — those that travel to warmer climates in the winter — in California, marking the second-lowest population since tracking began in 1997. This sharp decline follows three consecutive years of over 200,000 monarchs and remains well below the \u003ca href=\"https://westernmonarchcount.org/the-current-status-of-western-monarch-butterflies-by-the-numbers/\">millions observed in the 1980s\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The specific drop we saw this year largely attributed to the really hot temperatures and the drought that we saw across the West in July, somewhat into August and again in September and October, when that migratory generation should be making its way to the overwintering sites,” said Emma Pelton, an endangered species biologist with the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Santa Cruz County had the most overwintering monarch clusters this year, with Lighthouse Field State Park reporting 1,406 butterflies, Natural Bridges State Park counting 1,400, and Moran Lake recording 645. The fourth-largest site was Pismo Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove in San Luis Obispo County, with 556 monarchs recorded in late November. Skywest Golf Course in Hayward ranked fifth with 477 butterflies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other locations with higher densities of monarchs include the Pacific Grove Butterfly Sanctuary in Monterey County, which had 228, and UC Gill Tract Community Farm in Alameda, which recorded 196 and was one of the few sites to see a population increase this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, some historically significant sites experienced drastic declines. The Goleta Monarch Butterfly Grove at Ellwood Mesa had almost no clusters, with only three monarchs spotted across multiple locations. A privately-owned Santa Barbara site managed by The Nature Conservancy, which hosted 33,200 monarchs last winter, dramatically dropped to 198 this season.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Experts say the decline is caused by habitat loss, pesticide exposure, and climate change. Record-high temperatures and drought throughout the summer and fall months last year likely also contributed to the drop. In January, fires in Los Angeles County burned tree groves where monarchs overwinter, including a site in Lower Topanga Canyon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The western monarch population, which migrates separately from eastern monarchs overwintering in Mexico, relies on California’s coastal tree groves for shelter. Experts say voluntary efforts like pollinator gardens have helped prevent even steeper declines but that broader policy changes are needed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a huge number of people that care about monarchs and are planting habitat or trying to protect the species. But the evidence points to how we need this work done at a much higher level,” Pelton said, referring to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.fws.gov/press-release/2024-12/monarch-butterfly-proposed-endangered-species-act-protection\">U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s proposal\u003c/a> to list monarchs as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If approved, the proposal would provide improved protection for monarch overwintering habitat in California and more incentives for habitat restoration. A \u003ca href=\"https://www.fws.gov/initiative/pollinators/save-monarch\">public comment period on the listing is open\u003c/a> until March 12, and Xerces Society is asking individuals \u003ca href=\"https://win.newmode.net/xerces-fws-monarch\">to sign on to support the listing\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Ray López-Chang stays with his grandma in the El Sereno neighborhood of Los Angeles, south of Pasadena, for now. The tall, bubbly 30-year-old with glowing skin hushed his dog, Cielo, from barking when we met at this temporary home: a one-story house on a hill. He lived here off and on when he was younger.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>López-Chang evacuated his family from their home in Altadena at 3 a.m. on Jan. 8. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12022057/the-california-wildfires-could-be-leaving-deeper-inequality-in-their-wake\">Eaton Fire roared\u003c/a>, forcing evacuations across the town. Six hours later, he briefly returned to grab clothes, medications and valuables they didn’t want to lose.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It felt very chaotic and perilous inside with cars snaking through small streets, folks running through sidewalks,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They also spent precious time spraying down their house with water in hopes of preventing wind-whipped embers from igniting the house. Before they left, López-Chang said his mom grabbed a figurine of a Catholic saint. But then placed the icon back “to protect the home,” López-Chang said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995448\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995448\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_4641-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_4641-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_4641-1-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_4641-1-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_4641-1-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_4641-1-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_4641-1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_4641-1-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ray López-Chang at his grandmother’s house in the El Sereno neighborhood of Los Angeles, south of Pasadena, on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. \u003ccite>(Ezra David Romero/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Salomón Huerta rents a small home in Altadena several blocks away. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/salomonhuerta/?hl=en\">figurative painter\u003c/a> was on his way home from work when his wife called nervously as the fire approached. “She goes: ‘You better hurry up because I can see the fire,’” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fires burning in Southern California have consumed more than 40,000 acres and more than 10,700 structures, as well as the lives of 25 people, at least. The Eaton Fire ripped through Altadena and is still not contained.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>López-Chang and Huerta are two of the thousands of residents within that evacuation zone who cannot return, many who have yet to find out if their homes are still standing. KQED sent me to report on the fires, and friends connected me to them. The families tried to reach their homes multiple times after the wind and flames moderated, but the National Guard turned them around.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995450\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995450\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1819.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1819.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1819-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1819-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1819-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1819-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1819-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1819-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Salomón Huerta in his sister’s house in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. \u003ccite>(Ezra David Romero/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Cal Fire and Los Angeles County created \u003ca href=\"https://recovery.lacounty.gov/eaton-fire/\">a website where families can check on the status of their homes. \u003c/a>When I checked, López-Chang’s home was not yet listed. On my next trip to the fire zone, I drove by to see for myself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Turn off the 210 Freeway onto Lincoln Avenue and move toward the San Gabriel Mountains, and all along the road, you’ll find shops and groups of people collecting donations — boxes of clothes, stacks of bottled water and mountains of food — for fire victims, many of whom were still waiting to see what remains, if anything, of their homes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I flashed my press pass to a public information officer at a National Guard station. When I arrived at López-Chang’s home, I found his one-story white house with bright green grass and a palm tree still standing, without scorch marks or piles of ash surrounding it. Later, I’d show him a photo of it, and he couldn’t stop staring at the phone, virtually expressionless.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m just locking eyes with it,” López-Chang said. “It’s like seeing someone you haven’t seen in a long time, and I just don’t want to lose that image.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995449\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995449\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1667.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1218\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1667.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1667-800x487.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1667-1020x621.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1667-160x97.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1667-768x468.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1667-1536x935.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1667-1920x1169.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">López-Chang’s house still standing in Altadena, on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. \u003ccite>(Ezra David Romero/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>López-Chang said his mom made the right decision to leave the figurine of a Catholic saint to watch over their home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Maybe the saints helped,” he said, noting that it was originally his grandmother’s figurine. “We tried as much as we could, but her hand was over the home as much as possible.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said his parents would be so relieved to learn that the house they bought about a decade ago after immigrating from Nicaragua in the 1970s is still standing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This helps clarify a lot for us about what the next several weeks look like,” López-Chang said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although the house did not burn, the smoke that enveloped the house could have rendered it uninhabitable. “At minimum, we’ll be able to access some of our belongings and memories,” he said.[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"science_1995420,news_12022532,news_12022375\"]But not all residents were so lucky.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Huerta and his wife, Ana Morales-Huerta, rented a small home several blocks east of López-Chang.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Huerta said he had five minutes to pack his belongings, selecting items he could resell in case he needed the cash. “I grabbed a large sketchbook with a David Bowie’s \u003cem>Diamond Dogs\u003c/em> album in it that’s worth a lot of money,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in the evacuation frenzy, he did not even have time to think about grabbing his archives — mainly transparencies and photos of his previous work — dating back to 1992.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When I drove down Huerta’s street, all the homes on the block had burned. Only a pile of rubble remained of his house, surrounded by a charred hedge and a tall tree.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t recognize it,” Huerta said, leaning back in his chair, his face pressed into lines of confusion when I showed him photos of the burned mess. “I don’t know what I’m looking at because it doesn’t look like what I remember it to be.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fire destroyed not only his home but also his favorite cafe, the diner where he met art collectors and his gym.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t know anything about construction, but I don’t see how they’re going to rebuild for a very long time because the damage is just too massive,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995451\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995451\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1723-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1723-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1723-1-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1723-1-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1723-1-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1723-1-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1723-1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1723-1-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The burnt-out home that Salomón Huerta had rented with his wife Ana Morales-Huerta in Altadena on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. \u003ccite>(Ezra David Romero/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Huerta is looking for a new home but doesn’t have renters insurance. His art dealer started a \u003ca href=\"https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-salomon-and-ana-recover-after-fire\">GoFundMe\u003c/a> to help with relocation costs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Even if we get 50% of what we had, we’d be really happy,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even though López-Chang’s home is still standing, as a young person in Los Angeles living with the effects of human-caused climate change in real time, he wasn’t too surprised the fire grew out of control. Scientists believe human-caused \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1995420/climate-scientists-warn-of-growing-whiplash-effect-on-weather-patterns\">climate change exacerbated the dry conditions\u003c/a> that made the area easy to burn.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If this isn’t a perfect example of what the outcome of fast climate change looks like, I don’t know what is,” López-Chang said. “This affected people’s homes, businesses, livelihoods and memories.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "KQED met two of the many Angelenos waiting to find out if their homes are still standing. Los Angeles County created a website for residents to check the status of their homes.",
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"title": "Fire Evacuees Prepare to Return Home Unsure of What They'll Find | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Ray López-Chang stays with his grandma in the El Sereno neighborhood of Los Angeles, south of Pasadena, for now. The tall, bubbly 30-year-old with glowing skin hushed his dog, Cielo, from barking when we met at this temporary home: a one-story house on a hill. He lived here off and on when he was younger.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>López-Chang evacuated his family from their home in Altadena at 3 a.m. on Jan. 8. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12022057/the-california-wildfires-could-be-leaving-deeper-inequality-in-their-wake\">Eaton Fire roared\u003c/a>, forcing evacuations across the town. Six hours later, he briefly returned to grab clothes, medications and valuables they didn’t want to lose.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It felt very chaotic and perilous inside with cars snaking through small streets, folks running through sidewalks,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They also spent precious time spraying down their house with water in hopes of preventing wind-whipped embers from igniting the house. Before they left, López-Chang said his mom grabbed a figurine of a Catholic saint. But then placed the icon back “to protect the home,” López-Chang said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995448\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995448\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_4641-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_4641-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_4641-1-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_4641-1-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_4641-1-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_4641-1-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_4641-1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_4641-1-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ray López-Chang at his grandmother’s house in the El Sereno neighborhood of Los Angeles, south of Pasadena, on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. \u003ccite>(Ezra David Romero/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Salomón Huerta rents a small home in Altadena several blocks away. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/salomonhuerta/?hl=en\">figurative painter\u003c/a> was on his way home from work when his wife called nervously as the fire approached. “She goes: ‘You better hurry up because I can see the fire,’” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fires burning in Southern California have consumed more than 40,000 acres and more than 10,700 structures, as well as the lives of 25 people, at least. The Eaton Fire ripped through Altadena and is still not contained.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>López-Chang and Huerta are two of the thousands of residents within that evacuation zone who cannot return, many who have yet to find out if their homes are still standing. KQED sent me to report on the fires, and friends connected me to them. The families tried to reach their homes multiple times after the wind and flames moderated, but the National Guard turned them around.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995450\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995450\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1819.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1819.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1819-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1819-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1819-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1819-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1819-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1819-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Salomón Huerta in his sister’s house in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. \u003ccite>(Ezra David Romero/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Cal Fire and Los Angeles County created \u003ca href=\"https://recovery.lacounty.gov/eaton-fire/\">a website where families can check on the status of their homes. \u003c/a>When I checked, López-Chang’s home was not yet listed. On my next trip to the fire zone, I drove by to see for myself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Turn off the 210 Freeway onto Lincoln Avenue and move toward the San Gabriel Mountains, and all along the road, you’ll find shops and groups of people collecting donations — boxes of clothes, stacks of bottled water and mountains of food — for fire victims, many of whom were still waiting to see what remains, if anything, of their homes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I flashed my press pass to a public information officer at a National Guard station. When I arrived at López-Chang’s home, I found his one-story white house with bright green grass and a palm tree still standing, without scorch marks or piles of ash surrounding it. Later, I’d show him a photo of it, and he couldn’t stop staring at the phone, virtually expressionless.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m just locking eyes with it,” López-Chang said. “It’s like seeing someone you haven’t seen in a long time, and I just don’t want to lose that image.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995449\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995449\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1667.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1218\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1667.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1667-800x487.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1667-1020x621.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1667-160x97.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1667-768x468.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1667-1536x935.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1667-1920x1169.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">López-Chang’s house still standing in Altadena, on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. \u003ccite>(Ezra David Romero/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>López-Chang said his mom made the right decision to leave the figurine of a Catholic saint to watch over their home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Maybe the saints helped,” he said, noting that it was originally his grandmother’s figurine. “We tried as much as we could, but her hand was over the home as much as possible.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said his parents would be so relieved to learn that the house they bought about a decade ago after immigrating from Nicaragua in the 1970s is still standing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This helps clarify a lot for us about what the next several weeks look like,” López-Chang said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although the house did not burn, the smoke that enveloped the house could have rendered it uninhabitable. “At minimum, we’ll be able to access some of our belongings and memories,” he said.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>But not all residents were so lucky.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Huerta and his wife, Ana Morales-Huerta, rented a small home several blocks east of López-Chang.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Huerta said he had five minutes to pack his belongings, selecting items he could resell in case he needed the cash. “I grabbed a large sketchbook with a David Bowie’s \u003cem>Diamond Dogs\u003c/em> album in it that’s worth a lot of money,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in the evacuation frenzy, he did not even have time to think about grabbing his archives — mainly transparencies and photos of his previous work — dating back to 1992.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When I drove down Huerta’s street, all the homes on the block had burned. Only a pile of rubble remained of his house, surrounded by a charred hedge and a tall tree.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t recognize it,” Huerta said, leaning back in his chair, his face pressed into lines of confusion when I showed him photos of the burned mess. “I don’t know what I’m looking at because it doesn’t look like what I remember it to be.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fire destroyed not only his home but also his favorite cafe, the diner where he met art collectors and his gym.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t know anything about construction, but I don’t see how they’re going to rebuild for a very long time because the damage is just too massive,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995451\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995451\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1723-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1723-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1723-1-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1723-1-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1723-1-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1723-1-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1723-1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/IMG_1723-1-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The burnt-out home that Salomón Huerta had rented with his wife Ana Morales-Huerta in Altadena on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. \u003ccite>(Ezra David Romero/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Huerta is looking for a new home but doesn’t have renters insurance. His art dealer started a \u003ca href=\"https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-salomon-and-ana-recover-after-fire\">GoFundMe\u003c/a> to help with relocation costs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Even if we get 50% of what we had, we’d be really happy,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even though López-Chang’s home is still standing, as a young person in Los Angeles living with the effects of human-caused climate change in real time, he wasn’t too surprised the fire grew out of control. Scientists believe human-caused \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1995420/climate-scientists-warn-of-growing-whiplash-effect-on-weather-patterns\">climate change exacerbated the dry conditions\u003c/a> that made the area easy to burn.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If this isn’t a perfect example of what the outcome of fast climate change looks like, I don’t know what is,” López-Chang said. “This affected people’s homes, businesses, livelihoods and memories.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Californians are all too familiar with flip-flopping weather extremes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12020835/southern-california-fires-could-be-most-expensive-us-history\">massive wildfires currently burning in Southern California\u003c/a> followed \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12015534/bay-area-record-breaking-rainfall-deluge-surprises-forecasters\">two years of excessive rainfall\u003c/a>, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1994538/3-bay-area-cities-had-hottest-summer-in-history-as-climate-change-pushes-temps-up\">hottest summer on record\u003c/a>, major \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1982460/southern-central-valley-counties-brace-for-flooding-as-heat-wave-melts-sierra-snowpack\">flooding that re-filled a historic lake in the Central Valley\u003c/a>, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/24515/study-california-drought-most-severe-dry-spell-in-at-least-1200-years\">most severe drought in recorded history,\u003c/a> and so on, all in the last decade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>New research cements the idea that California’s weather whiplash is increasing as the atmosphere warms due to human-caused climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I see the last decade as a preview of what we should expect to see more of,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with UC Agriculture and Natural Resources and UCLA. Except that “the wettest wets and the driest dries we’ve seen recently are not the wettest wets and the driest dries we will see in the coming decades.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A group of climate scientists, led by Swain, published a \u003ca href=\"https://url.us.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/3TN5CrkYKnfnGW2jfjtWS4lsyf?domain=ucla.us10.list-manage.com\">study on Thursday in the journal \u003cem>Nature Reviews\u003c/em>\u003c/a> that found what they call “hydroclimate whiplash” — fast swings between alarmingly wet and seriously dry weather — is expanding globally.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The phenomenon has grown up to 66% since the mid-20th century, and the authors expect it to nearly double at 3 degrees Celsius of warming above pre-industrial levels. Average global temperatures \u003ca href=\"https://wmo.int/news/media-centre/global-temperature-likely-exceed-15degc-above-pre-industrial-level-temporarily-next-5-years\">could surpass a 1.5 degrees Celsius rise in the next five years\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m still hoping we won’t get there at all, but we are right now still on a path to essentially double the amount of warming we’ve already seen,” Swain said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The team found that a warmer atmosphere has a greater capacity to hold water vapor and store that moisture for longer before it bursts out of clouds as rain and snow. This can create longer dry periods and more intense precipitation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a result, global warming deepens droughts, increases storms or a season’s flood potential, and exacerbates wildfire risk, which is a big deal for California, which is already characterized by a boom-and-bust water cycle. The team describes this phenomenon as hydroclimate whiplash.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It means that California’s already volatile hydroclimate is likely to become even more so, which makes water management even more difficult,” Swain said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Whiplash increases fire risk\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The wildfires burning in Southern California are a prime example of how the changing climate can exacerbate the impact of a swing between wet and dry conditions, according to study coauthor and UC Merced climatologist \u003ca href=\"https://engineering.ucmerced.edu/content/john-abatzoglou\">John Abatzoglou\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wet conditions encourage the growth of grasses and shrubs, and if a dry period follows, wildfires can flourish. An errant spark and strong winds can light up a mountainside or neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Warmer air can basically pull more water out of plants and the soil, and that’s one ingredient that sets the stage for fire in our forests,” Abatzoglou said. “We’re essentially adding fuel to the fire.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Much of Southern California experienced its driest start to the water year following a period of record warmth and two back-to-back wet years. Grasses and chaparral have grown to nearly double their regular rate. The preexisting conditions and strong winds caused the fires to explode out of control.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the study’s indicators would have categorized Southern California as unusually wet earlier this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Now, like nine months later, they’re unusually dry,” he said. “They’ve got a pretty significant Santa Ana wind bearing down on them, and they’ve already had several significant fires this fall.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Swain notes that climate change has deepened fire seasons into the winter months in Southern California. This is problematic because natural offshore winds usually occur during this period. When strong winds overlap with dry vegetation, “dangerous wildfire conditions can develop.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This, ultimately, is the key climate change connection to Southern California wildfires,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995427\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995427\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/GettyImages-2193001120.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/GettyImages-2193001120.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/GettyImages-2193001120-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/GettyImages-2193001120-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/GettyImages-2193001120-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/GettyImages-2193001120-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Palisades Fire blows smoke over Santa Monica Beach on Jan. 8, 2025, in Santa Monica, Los Angeles County. Fueled by intense Santa Ana Winds, the Palisades Fire has grown to over 2,900 acres and 30,000 people have been ordered to evacuate while a second major fire has emerged near Eaton Canyon and Altadena. \u003ccite>(Tiffany Rose/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Defining hydroclimate whiplash\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The scientists reviewed 202 peer-reviewed climate studies, and Swain said they went “beyond what’s in the existing literature by formalizing the term hydroclimate whiplash, defining the phrase in two ways: subseasonal and interannual. The first describes rapid transitions between dry and wet conditions within a three-month season, and the second describes whiplash on a year-to-year scale.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The team, which included scientists from two countries and across the U.S., found that three-month-scale observations of hydroclimate whiplash are increasing on the high end of the climate model range and that longer-term episodes of hydroclimate whiplash are falling within what climate models have predicted so far.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That might tell us something about why it feels like we are just getting this unrelenting sequence of wet and dry extremes alternating back and forth,” Swain said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The authors also coined a new term: expanding atmospheric sponge, referring to the growing ability of the atmosphere to absorb water and later release it as precipitation. Scientists found that for every degree Celsius the planet warms, the atmosphere can hold 7% more water.[aside label=\"More Climate News\" postID=\"news_12020765,science_1935067,news_12020768\"]\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1995286/stanford-ai-predicts-scorching-future-even-greenhouse-gas-goals-met\">Noah Diffenbaugh\u003c/a>, a Stanford climate scientist and coauthor, said the atmosphere is like a yellow kitchen sponge that increases in size as it warms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When you wring the sponge out, it’s going to have more water getting wrung out of it,” he said. “But at the same time, it will take more water to fill that sponge.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In some sense, he said anthropogenic climate change creates “a more thirsty” atmosphere.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s kind of this paradox that as the atmosphere gets warmer, both the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere can increase, and the deficit of water vapor in the atmosphere can also increase exponentially,” Diffenbaugh said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You don’t have to look too far in the past to see an example of how a super wet period broke up a severe drought. California’s stormy winter of 2022–23 dismantled a three-year drought and is an example of interannual hydroclimate whiplash.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The silver lining is that we will still get those wet years,” Swain said. “The water did come. It just didn’t come in a nice, gentle, convenient way.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>No more chasing average water years\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Abatzoglou said human-caused climate change will increase extremes, but average precipitation totals may not change “a heck of a lot.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Abatzologu suggests that the state’s leaders plan for “changes in extremes” from wet to dry or vice versa instead of average precipitation totals. While the study shows “a little bit of a shift more toward potentially wetter periods in the future,” he said the extremes are dangerous, as they can cause flooding or drying out issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All the study authors, including Abatzolgou, Diffenbaugh, and Swain, have experienced extreme weather whiplash in recent years. Swain hosts weekly YouTube office hours dissecting hydroclimate whiplash, primarily along the West Coast. He discusses sudden changes in weather patterns, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12018477/why-did-sf-get-tornado-warning-but-not-scotts-valley-where-twister-hit\">like tornados\u003c/a>, and has detailed how the state moved from drought to deluge in recent years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Overall, Swain describes hydroclimate whiplash, which Californians live with year in and year out, “as the flavor of climate change in California” that residents must endure unless the world reduces global emissions that cause atmospheric warming.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Californians are all too familiar with flip-flopping weather extremes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12020835/southern-california-fires-could-be-most-expensive-us-history\">massive wildfires currently burning in Southern California\u003c/a> followed \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12015534/bay-area-record-breaking-rainfall-deluge-surprises-forecasters\">two years of excessive rainfall\u003c/a>, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1994538/3-bay-area-cities-had-hottest-summer-in-history-as-climate-change-pushes-temps-up\">hottest summer on record\u003c/a>, major \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1982460/southern-central-valley-counties-brace-for-flooding-as-heat-wave-melts-sierra-snowpack\">flooding that re-filled a historic lake in the Central Valley\u003c/a>, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/24515/study-california-drought-most-severe-dry-spell-in-at-least-1200-years\">most severe drought in recorded history,\u003c/a> and so on, all in the last decade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>New research cements the idea that California’s weather whiplash is increasing as the atmosphere warms due to human-caused climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I see the last decade as a preview of what we should expect to see more of,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with UC Agriculture and Natural Resources and UCLA. Except that “the wettest wets and the driest dries we’ve seen recently are not the wettest wets and the driest dries we will see in the coming decades.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A group of climate scientists, led by Swain, published a \u003ca href=\"https://url.us.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/3TN5CrkYKnfnGW2jfjtWS4lsyf?domain=ucla.us10.list-manage.com\">study on Thursday in the journal \u003cem>Nature Reviews\u003c/em>\u003c/a> that found what they call “hydroclimate whiplash” — fast swings between alarmingly wet and seriously dry weather — is expanding globally.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The phenomenon has grown up to 66% since the mid-20th century, and the authors expect it to nearly double at 3 degrees Celsius of warming above pre-industrial levels. Average global temperatures \u003ca href=\"https://wmo.int/news/media-centre/global-temperature-likely-exceed-15degc-above-pre-industrial-level-temporarily-next-5-years\">could surpass a 1.5 degrees Celsius rise in the next five years\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m still hoping we won’t get there at all, but we are right now still on a path to essentially double the amount of warming we’ve already seen,” Swain said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The team found that a warmer atmosphere has a greater capacity to hold water vapor and store that moisture for longer before it bursts out of clouds as rain and snow. This can create longer dry periods and more intense precipitation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a result, global warming deepens droughts, increases storms or a season’s flood potential, and exacerbates wildfire risk, which is a big deal for California, which is already characterized by a boom-and-bust water cycle. The team describes this phenomenon as hydroclimate whiplash.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It means that California’s already volatile hydroclimate is likely to become even more so, which makes water management even more difficult,” Swain said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Whiplash increases fire risk\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The wildfires burning in Southern California are a prime example of how the changing climate can exacerbate the impact of a swing between wet and dry conditions, according to study coauthor and UC Merced climatologist \u003ca href=\"https://engineering.ucmerced.edu/content/john-abatzoglou\">John Abatzoglou\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wet conditions encourage the growth of grasses and shrubs, and if a dry period follows, wildfires can flourish. An errant spark and strong winds can light up a mountainside or neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Warmer air can basically pull more water out of plants and the soil, and that’s one ingredient that sets the stage for fire in our forests,” Abatzoglou said. “We’re essentially adding fuel to the fire.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Much of Southern California experienced its driest start to the water year following a period of record warmth and two back-to-back wet years. Grasses and chaparral have grown to nearly double their regular rate. The preexisting conditions and strong winds caused the fires to explode out of control.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the study’s indicators would have categorized Southern California as unusually wet earlier this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Now, like nine months later, they’re unusually dry,” he said. “They’ve got a pretty significant Santa Ana wind bearing down on them, and they’ve already had several significant fires this fall.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Swain notes that climate change has deepened fire seasons into the winter months in Southern California. This is problematic because natural offshore winds usually occur during this period. When strong winds overlap with dry vegetation, “dangerous wildfire conditions can develop.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This, ultimately, is the key climate change connection to Southern California wildfires,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995427\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995427\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/GettyImages-2193001120.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/GettyImages-2193001120.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/GettyImages-2193001120-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/GettyImages-2193001120-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/GettyImages-2193001120-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/01/GettyImages-2193001120-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Palisades Fire blows smoke over Santa Monica Beach on Jan. 8, 2025, in Santa Monica, Los Angeles County. Fueled by intense Santa Ana Winds, the Palisades Fire has grown to over 2,900 acres and 30,000 people have been ordered to evacuate while a second major fire has emerged near Eaton Canyon and Altadena. \u003ccite>(Tiffany Rose/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Defining hydroclimate whiplash\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The scientists reviewed 202 peer-reviewed climate studies, and Swain said they went “beyond what’s in the existing literature by formalizing the term hydroclimate whiplash, defining the phrase in two ways: subseasonal and interannual. The first describes rapid transitions between dry and wet conditions within a three-month season, and the second describes whiplash on a year-to-year scale.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The team, which included scientists from two countries and across the U.S., found that three-month-scale observations of hydroclimate whiplash are increasing on the high end of the climate model range and that longer-term episodes of hydroclimate whiplash are falling within what climate models have predicted so far.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That might tell us something about why it feels like we are just getting this unrelenting sequence of wet and dry extremes alternating back and forth,” Swain said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The authors also coined a new term: expanding atmospheric sponge, referring to the growing ability of the atmosphere to absorb water and later release it as precipitation. Scientists found that for every degree Celsius the planet warms, the atmosphere can hold 7% more water.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1995286/stanford-ai-predicts-scorching-future-even-greenhouse-gas-goals-met\">Noah Diffenbaugh\u003c/a>, a Stanford climate scientist and coauthor, said the atmosphere is like a yellow kitchen sponge that increases in size as it warms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When you wring the sponge out, it’s going to have more water getting wrung out of it,” he said. “But at the same time, it will take more water to fill that sponge.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In some sense, he said anthropogenic climate change creates “a more thirsty” atmosphere.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s kind of this paradox that as the atmosphere gets warmer, both the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere can increase, and the deficit of water vapor in the atmosphere can also increase exponentially,” Diffenbaugh said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You don’t have to look too far in the past to see an example of how a super wet period broke up a severe drought. California’s stormy winter of 2022–23 dismantled a three-year drought and is an example of interannual hydroclimate whiplash.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The silver lining is that we will still get those wet years,” Swain said. “The water did come. It just didn’t come in a nice, gentle, convenient way.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>No more chasing average water years\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Abatzoglou said human-caused climate change will increase extremes, but average precipitation totals may not change “a heck of a lot.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Abatzologu suggests that the state’s leaders plan for “changes in extremes” from wet to dry or vice versa instead of average precipitation totals. While the study shows “a little bit of a shift more toward potentially wetter periods in the future,” he said the extremes are dangerous, as they can cause flooding or drying out issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All the study authors, including Abatzolgou, Diffenbaugh, and Swain, have experienced extreme weather whiplash in recent years. Swain hosts weekly YouTube office hours dissecting hydroclimate whiplash, primarily along the West Coast. He discusses sudden changes in weather patterns, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12018477/why-did-sf-get-tornado-warning-but-not-scotts-valley-where-twister-hit\">like tornados\u003c/a>, and has detailed how the state moved from drought to deluge in recent years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Overall, Swain describes hydroclimate whiplash, which Californians live with year in and year out, “as the flavor of climate change in California” that residents must endure unless the world reduces global emissions that cause atmospheric warming.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>[dl_subscribe]\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>As a caterpillar, a grass skipper butterfly is an architect. It builds its home by weaving skeins of silk, which the caterpillar uses to fold shut a blade of grass. After growing up inside this “grass taco,” it emerges as a fuzzy butterfly that woos a mate with flirty courtship dances.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>TRANSCRIPT\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>With each sway of its head, this caterpillar lays a strand of silk. It’s weaving to survive. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the silk dries, it shrinks, pulling the edges of this blade of grass together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In just a few minutes, this butterfly babe has made its very own grass taco … a safe place to call home. And now, it’s time for its first nap.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When it grows up, it’ll get its wings. It’s a kind of butterfly called a skipper.\u003cbr>\nLook close enough and you might find one of these caterpillar homes in your backyard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Grass skipper caterpillars build with grass.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other skipper species use leaves, cutting and folding them to make tiny houses.\u003cbr>\nAnd a banana skipper rolls up banana leaves into little “cigars.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A grass skipper caterpillar tucks into its shelter to hide from weather, parasites and predators … like paper wasps.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When it’s hungry, it ventures out for some fresh grass … like a nearby blade or even the end of its own house.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yum, house!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And don’t worry, it keeps its place clean. Time to take out the trash!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the caterpillar grows, it builds itself new homes. It’s making a silk pad so it won’t slip. The silk comes out of this pointy mouthpart called the spinneret.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A skipper caterpillar’s skinny neck gives it plenty of room to sway its head back and forth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over a few weeks, the caterpillar fills out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ugh, this belt is tight!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It turns into a pupa. And within weeks, an adult.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Skippers look fuzzier than your average butterfly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You might mistake one for a moth. But most moths fly at night, and skippers fly during the day, some at dawn or dusk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Check out their wings. See how the two sets spread out at different angles?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It makes them look like a tiny jet plane. It’s known as the bombardier position … even though skippers always come in peace.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most butterflies keep their two sets of wings on the same plane.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Skippers’ chonky bodies are made up of strong flying muscles. They’re some of the speediest butterflies out there, skipping away from predators like birds. Yes, that is how they got their name.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They also fan their wings in flirty courtship dances. By fluttering, they spread their pheromones to attract a mate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Males release their pheromones from a gland on their front wings – see that big splotch? It’s called a brand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She has a gland on her backside. Maybe that’s why he keeps nudging her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These dances can be truly acrobatic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The male is trying to lure her with his scent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But her fluttering is telling him he’s not her type. Literally. He’s the wrong species of grass skipper.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After she does find “the one,” she lays pinhead-sized white eggs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The caterpillars eat through them to break free.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And they’ll go on to make a fresh batch of their very own grass tacos.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Grass skipper caterpillars build with grass.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other skipper species use leaves, cutting and folding them to make tiny houses.\u003cbr>\nAnd a banana skipper rolls up banana leaves into little “cigars.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A grass skipper caterpillar tucks into its shelter to hide from weather, parasites and predators … like paper wasps.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When it’s hungry, it ventures out for some fresh grass … like a nearby blade or even the end of its own house.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yum, house!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And don’t worry, it keeps its place clean. Time to take out the trash!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the caterpillar grows, it builds itself new homes. It’s making a silk pad so it won’t slip. The silk comes out of this pointy mouthpart called the spinneret.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A skipper caterpillar’s skinny neck gives it plenty of room to sway its head back and forth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over a few weeks, the caterpillar fills out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ugh, this belt is tight!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It turns into a pupa. And within weeks, an adult.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Skippers look fuzzier than your average butterfly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You might mistake one for a moth. But most moths fly at night, and skippers fly during the day, some at dawn or dusk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Check out their wings. See how the two sets spread out at different angles?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It makes them look like a tiny jet plane. It’s known as the bombardier position … even though skippers always come in peace.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most butterflies keep their two sets of wings on the same plane.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Skippers’ chonky bodies are made up of strong flying muscles. They’re some of the speediest butterflies out there, skipping away from predators like birds. Yes, that is how they got their name.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They also fan their wings in flirty courtship dances. By fluttering, they spread their pheromones to attract a mate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Males release their pheromones from a gland on their front wings – see that big splotch? It’s called a brand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She has a gland on her backside. Maybe that’s why he keeps nudging her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These dances can be truly acrobatic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The male is trying to lure her with his scent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But her fluttering is telling him he’s not her type. Literally. He’s the wrong species of grass skipper.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After she does find “the one,” she lays pinhead-sized white eggs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The caterpillars eat through them to break free.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And they’ll go on to make a fresh batch of their very own grass tacos.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>“Brain rot” is the Oxford \u003ca href=\"https://corp.oup.com/news/brain-rot-named-oxford-word-of-the-year-2024/\">word of the year\u003c/a> for 2024, and it’s pretty much what it sounds like: a perceived mental decline from consuming too much online media. If just reading that definition has you worried about your gray matter, never fear! Researchers are finding promising — and surprising — ways to boost our brain health and de-stress our minds. Here are nine stories on the topic that engaged our readers this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>1. Writing by hand beats typing for learning and memory\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Yes, typing is usually much faster than writing by hand. But increasingly, studies are \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/05/11/1250529661/handwriting-cursive-typing-schools-learning-brain\">finding deep brain benefits\u003c/a> when we write out letters and words by hand. For kids, it can improve letter recognition and learning; and when adults take notes by hand it can lead to better conceptual understanding of material.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brain imaging studies suggest it has to do with the fine-tuned coordination required between motor and visual systems, which deeply engages the brain. Some artists even say writing by hand stokes their creativity. So, if you’re feeling stuck — \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/05/11/1250529661/handwriting-cursive-typing-schools-learning-brain\">\u003cem>try jotting down your idea with pen and paper. \u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>2. Your gut microbes can affect your mood\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Can what you eat make you more resilient to stress? Maybe! A recent analysis found that the guts of people who handled stress better shared two patterns: Their microbiomes had more anti-inflammatory microbes, and they had a strong “gut barrier,” which keeps toxins and pathogens out of the bloodstream.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scientists already know that our gut and brain talk to each other. (In fact, the gut produces about 90% of serotonin and about 50% of dopamine.) So, will eating fermented foods like kimchi or yogurt or taking probiotic supplements help you stay chill?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not that simple, scientists say, because the gut microbiome is a complex ecosystem. Still, researchers are working on identifying biomarkers in gut bacteria that someday could help tailor decisions on how to use existing therapies — or develop new treatments. \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2024/06/24/nx-s1-5018044/gut-microbiome-microbes-mental-health-stress\">\u003cem>Learn more about microbes and mental health.\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995395\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995395\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/npr.brightspotcdn-1-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1200\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/npr.brightspotcdn-1-copy.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/npr.brightspotcdn-1-copy-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/npr.brightspotcdn-1-copy-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/npr.brightspotcdn-1-copy-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/npr.brightspotcdn-1-copy-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/npr.brightspotcdn-1-copy-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An illustration of biomes of the human digestive tract. \u003ccite>(Mehau Kulyk/Getty Images/Science Photo Library RF)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>3. Working late in young adulthood may lead to depression and poor health in middle age\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Your body already knows this: When you sacrifice sleep for work, it can take a toll on your mental health. Now, research is finding that specifically working nights and rotating shift schedules can leave people \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/04/16/1244136216/burnout-late-shift-overwork-depression\">susceptible to depression and poor health.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Work is supposed to bring in income to support us, says researcher Wen-Jui Han, but many people are working themselves sick and becoming “more and more miserable over time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About 16% of American workers worked outside daytime hours in 2019; Black men and women with limited education disproportionately carry the burden of these shifts. Han says she hopes the study prompts more conversations about how to better support people to live happy and healthy lives. \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/04/16/1244136216/burnout-late-shift-overwork-depression\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cem>Here’s more on the link between shift work and depression.\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>4. About 40% of dementia cases could be prevented or delayed by improving daily habits\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>When it comes to a healthy lifestyles, little changes can go a long way. Research is increasingly finding we may be able to \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2024/11/22/nx-s1-5050956/health-brain-dementia-sleep-diet-alzheimers\">reduce our risk for dementia.\u003c/a> Tweaks to our sleep, diet, social lives and exercise habits all add up. Even people who have genetic risk factors can benefit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, scientists have created an online tool — the Brain Care Score — to help people gauge and track risks to their brain health. (\u003ca href=\"https://redcap.partners.org/redcap/surveys/?s=JN7CJ4LKW8LEADWR\">You can check your score here\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One recent study found that each 5-point increase in a brain care score was associated with a 27% lower composite risk of dementia, stroke and depression.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What was surprising to us was just how powerful it was,” says Dr. Kevin Sheth, director of Yale University’s Center for Brain and Mind Health and a co-author of the study. Sheth says the findings have led him to tweak some of his own habits — he’s swapped sugary desserts for fruit at some meals and added more leafy greens to his diet. \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2024/11/22/nx-s1-5050956/health-brain-dementia-sleep-diet-alzheimers\">\u003cem>Get started boosting your brain health.\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>5. Talking to your ‘parts’ can help you deal with stress and maybe change your life\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1995396\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/npr.brightspotcdn.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ever felt paralyzed by stress? Worn down by that inner voice critiquing your choices? A therapeutic approach called Internal Family Systems, or IFS, is growing in popularity. It’s based on the idea that each of us has multiple parts or perspectives inside us — for example, people may have an inner critic, a worrier, a protector. The method involves learning to embrace all your parts, treat them with compassion and \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2024/10/25/nx-s1-5055753/parts-work-therapy-internal-family-systems-anxiety\">figure out what they may be telling you.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some patients have called it “life-changing.” While some therapists say the evidence isn’t there yet, some small studies show IFS can benefit people with specific issues, including PTSD, stress and depression. And more research is underway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An increasing number of therapists are trained in IFS, but you can try getting to know your “internal family” on your own. \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2024/10/25/nx-s1-5055753/parts-work-therapy-internal-family-systems-anxiety\">\u003cem>Start here.\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>6. Weight training can help with anxiety and depression (among other things)\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Strength training is good for your bones, joints, heart — and now it turns out, it benefits your mood, too. An analysis of more than 30 clinical trials found people who did strength training at least two to three times a week had a reduction of symptoms of depression. And \u003ca href=\"https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/minding-the-body/201703/how-strength-training-helps-keep-anxiety-bay#:~:text=%E2%80%9CIn%20our%20study%2C%20a%20single,and%20other%20negative%20mood%20states.%E2%80%9D\">other research\u003c/a> found it can reduce anxiety, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And a little goes a long way. While it’s increasingly common to see female weightlifters on social media, women don’t have to become bodybuilders to see the benefits. A recent study found that women need to do less exercise than men to change their baseline of aerobic and muscular strength. If lifting weights at the gym isn’t your thing, try exercises using resistance bands or your own body weight, such as squats or push-ups.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Find out more about the \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/03/11/1236791784/strength-resistance-weight-training-longevity-aging-heart-disease\">\u003cem>many benefits of resistance training\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1995397\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/gettyimages-1217857383_custom-b4ef53f04732b36c77c3655ca8bd52470c74a8ab-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1056\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/gettyimages-1217857383_custom-b4ef53f04732b36c77c3655ca8bd52470c74a8ab-copy.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/gettyimages-1217857383_custom-b4ef53f04732b36c77c3655ca8bd52470c74a8ab-copy-800x528.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/gettyimages-1217857383_custom-b4ef53f04732b36c77c3655ca8bd52470c74a8ab-copy-1020x673.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/gettyimages-1217857383_custom-b4ef53f04732b36c77c3655ca8bd52470c74a8ab-copy-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/gettyimages-1217857383_custom-b4ef53f04732b36c77c3655ca8bd52470c74a8ab-copy-768x507.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/gettyimages-1217857383_custom-b4ef53f04732b36c77c3655ca8bd52470c74a8ab-copy-1536x1014.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>7. Ultra-processed foods are linked to poor mental health, too\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Americans consume more than half their daily calories from ultra-processed foods — think fast food, sugary drinks, packaged snacks. Researchers say there’s consistent evidence that eating more of these foods is correlated with sickness, including mental health struggles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, an extensive new analysis found roughly a 20-to-50% increased risk of depressive symptoms in people who eat diets high in ultra-processed foods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not yet clear how much is too much. Researchers say it may vary based on people’s lifestyles. The FDA is considering a label that would flag foods that contain high amounts of sodium, sugar and saturated fat. But in the meantime, if a food contains many ingredients you wouldn’t find in your own kitchen, that’s a telltale sign it’s ultra-processed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Here’s the skinny on the effects of \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/03/18/1238939706/ultra-processed-food-junk-food-disease-cancer-anxiety-depression-diet\">\u003cem>ultra-processed foods on our brains and bodies\u003c/em>\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>8. Scientists are learning how the brain removes waste and what that means for Alzheimer’s, headaches, depression and more\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Experts have identified another miracle of sleep. To stay healthy, our brains need to wash away the debris created by the billions of cells that keep them running. New research is finding that during deep sleep, slow electrical waves serve to synchronize our neurons, effectively turning them into tiny pumps that push fluid from deep in the brain to its surface. From there, the waste is transported to the liver and kidneys to be removed from the body.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Problems with brain waste removal might be a factor in Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, headache and even depression.\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>So, finding ways to help an impaired brain clean itself \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2024/06/26/g-s1-6177/brain-waste-removal-system-amyloid-alzheimer-toxins\">\u003cem>could help develop treatments for a wide array of disorders\u003c/em>\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995398\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995398\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1067\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-1.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-1-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-1-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">New insights into the brain’s waste-removal system could one day help researchers better understand and prevent many different brain disorders. \u003ccite>(Andriy Onufriyenko/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>9. A high-fat, low-carb diet could help some people with mental illness\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>A few years ago, some patients started experimenting with the \u003ca href=\"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1528-1167.2008.01821.x\">ketogenic diet\u003c/a>, which is high fat and very low carb, to manage mental health symptoms. Researchers took note, and now, around a \u003ca href=\"https://clinicaltrials.gov/search?cond=Psychiatric%20Disorder&intr=ketogenic%20diet\">dozen clinical trials\u003c/a> are in the works, testing the diet’s effect on mental illness, including bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and depression.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are a few working theories as to why it might help. For one, the diet brings blood sugar and insulin sensitivity under control, both of which are linked with mental health problems. It also may provide a workaround for dysfunction in mitochondria, the powerhouses of our cells, which could lead to a healthier brain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Early results from studies are promising. The only downside? Some clinicians worry the diet — which involves giving up common comfort foods like bread and sweets — may be too hard for some patients to follow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>“Brain rot” is the Oxford \u003ca href=\"https://corp.oup.com/news/brain-rot-named-oxford-word-of-the-year-2024/\">word of the year\u003c/a> for 2024, and it’s pretty much what it sounds like: a perceived mental decline from consuming too much online media. If just reading that definition has you worried about your gray matter, never fear! Researchers are finding promising — and surprising — ways to boost our brain health and de-stress our minds. Here are nine stories on the topic that engaged our readers this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>1. Writing by hand beats typing for learning and memory\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Yes, typing is usually much faster than writing by hand. But increasingly, studies are \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/05/11/1250529661/handwriting-cursive-typing-schools-learning-brain\">finding deep brain benefits\u003c/a> when we write out letters and words by hand. For kids, it can improve letter recognition and learning; and when adults take notes by hand it can lead to better conceptual understanding of material.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brain imaging studies suggest it has to do with the fine-tuned coordination required between motor and visual systems, which deeply engages the brain. Some artists even say writing by hand stokes their creativity. So, if you’re feeling stuck — \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/05/11/1250529661/handwriting-cursive-typing-schools-learning-brain\">\u003cem>try jotting down your idea with pen and paper. \u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>2. Your gut microbes can affect your mood\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Can what you eat make you more resilient to stress? Maybe! A recent analysis found that the guts of people who handled stress better shared two patterns: Their microbiomes had more anti-inflammatory microbes, and they had a strong “gut barrier,” which keeps toxins and pathogens out of the bloodstream.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scientists already know that our gut and brain talk to each other. (In fact, the gut produces about 90% of serotonin and about 50% of dopamine.) So, will eating fermented foods like kimchi or yogurt or taking probiotic supplements help you stay chill?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not that simple, scientists say, because the gut microbiome is a complex ecosystem. Still, researchers are working on identifying biomarkers in gut bacteria that someday could help tailor decisions on how to use existing therapies — or develop new treatments. \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2024/06/24/nx-s1-5018044/gut-microbiome-microbes-mental-health-stress\">\u003cem>Learn more about microbes and mental health.\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995395\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995395\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/npr.brightspotcdn-1-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1200\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/npr.brightspotcdn-1-copy.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/npr.brightspotcdn-1-copy-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/npr.brightspotcdn-1-copy-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/npr.brightspotcdn-1-copy-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/npr.brightspotcdn-1-copy-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/npr.brightspotcdn-1-copy-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An illustration of biomes of the human digestive tract. \u003ccite>(Mehau Kulyk/Getty Images/Science Photo Library RF)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>3. Working late in young adulthood may lead to depression and poor health in middle age\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Your body already knows this: When you sacrifice sleep for work, it can take a toll on your mental health. Now, research is finding that specifically working nights and rotating shift schedules can leave people \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/04/16/1244136216/burnout-late-shift-overwork-depression\">susceptible to depression and poor health.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Work is supposed to bring in income to support us, says researcher Wen-Jui Han, but many people are working themselves sick and becoming “more and more miserable over time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About 16% of American workers worked outside daytime hours in 2019; Black men and women with limited education disproportionately carry the burden of these shifts. Han says she hopes the study prompts more conversations about how to better support people to live happy and healthy lives. \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/04/16/1244136216/burnout-late-shift-overwork-depression\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cem>Here’s more on the link between shift work and depression.\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>4. About 40% of dementia cases could be prevented or delayed by improving daily habits\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>When it comes to a healthy lifestyles, little changes can go a long way. Research is increasingly finding we may be able to \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2024/11/22/nx-s1-5050956/health-brain-dementia-sleep-diet-alzheimers\">reduce our risk for dementia.\u003c/a> Tweaks to our sleep, diet, social lives and exercise habits all add up. Even people who have genetic risk factors can benefit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, scientists have created an online tool — the Brain Care Score — to help people gauge and track risks to their brain health. (\u003ca href=\"https://redcap.partners.org/redcap/surveys/?s=JN7CJ4LKW8LEADWR\">You can check your score here\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One recent study found that each 5-point increase in a brain care score was associated with a 27% lower composite risk of dementia, stroke and depression.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What was surprising to us was just how powerful it was,” says Dr. Kevin Sheth, director of Yale University’s Center for Brain and Mind Health and a co-author of the study. Sheth says the findings have led him to tweak some of his own habits — he’s swapped sugary desserts for fruit at some meals and added more leafy greens to his diet. \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2024/11/22/nx-s1-5050956/health-brain-dementia-sleep-diet-alzheimers\">\u003cem>Get started boosting your brain health.\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>5. Talking to your ‘parts’ can help you deal with stress and maybe change your life\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1995396\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/npr.brightspotcdn.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ever felt paralyzed by stress? Worn down by that inner voice critiquing your choices? A therapeutic approach called Internal Family Systems, or IFS, is growing in popularity. It’s based on the idea that each of us has multiple parts or perspectives inside us — for example, people may have an inner critic, a worrier, a protector. The method involves learning to embrace all your parts, treat them with compassion and \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2024/10/25/nx-s1-5055753/parts-work-therapy-internal-family-systems-anxiety\">figure out what they may be telling you.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some patients have called it “life-changing.” While some therapists say the evidence isn’t there yet, some small studies show IFS can benefit people with specific issues, including PTSD, stress and depression. And more research is underway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An increasing number of therapists are trained in IFS, but you can try getting to know your “internal family” on your own. \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2024/10/25/nx-s1-5055753/parts-work-therapy-internal-family-systems-anxiety\">\u003cem>Start here.\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>6. Weight training can help with anxiety and depression (among other things)\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Strength training is good for your bones, joints, heart — and now it turns out, it benefits your mood, too. An analysis of more than 30 clinical trials found people who did strength training at least two to three times a week had a reduction of symptoms of depression. And \u003ca href=\"https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/minding-the-body/201703/how-strength-training-helps-keep-anxiety-bay#:~:text=%E2%80%9CIn%20our%20study%2C%20a%20single,and%20other%20negative%20mood%20states.%E2%80%9D\">other research\u003c/a> found it can reduce anxiety, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And a little goes a long way. While it’s increasingly common to see female weightlifters on social media, women don’t have to become bodybuilders to see the benefits. A recent study found that women need to do less exercise than men to change their baseline of aerobic and muscular strength. If lifting weights at the gym isn’t your thing, try exercises using resistance bands or your own body weight, such as squats or push-ups.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Find out more about the \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/03/11/1236791784/strength-resistance-weight-training-longevity-aging-heart-disease\">\u003cem>many benefits of resistance training\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1995397\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/gettyimages-1217857383_custom-b4ef53f04732b36c77c3655ca8bd52470c74a8ab-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1056\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/gettyimages-1217857383_custom-b4ef53f04732b36c77c3655ca8bd52470c74a8ab-copy.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/gettyimages-1217857383_custom-b4ef53f04732b36c77c3655ca8bd52470c74a8ab-copy-800x528.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/gettyimages-1217857383_custom-b4ef53f04732b36c77c3655ca8bd52470c74a8ab-copy-1020x673.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/gettyimages-1217857383_custom-b4ef53f04732b36c77c3655ca8bd52470c74a8ab-copy-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/gettyimages-1217857383_custom-b4ef53f04732b36c77c3655ca8bd52470c74a8ab-copy-768x507.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/gettyimages-1217857383_custom-b4ef53f04732b36c77c3655ca8bd52470c74a8ab-copy-1536x1014.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>7. Ultra-processed foods are linked to poor mental health, too\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Americans consume more than half their daily calories from ultra-processed foods — think fast food, sugary drinks, packaged snacks. Researchers say there’s consistent evidence that eating more of these foods is correlated with sickness, including mental health struggles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, an extensive new analysis found roughly a 20-to-50% increased risk of depressive symptoms in people who eat diets high in ultra-processed foods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not yet clear how much is too much. Researchers say it may vary based on people’s lifestyles. The FDA is considering a label that would flag foods that contain high amounts of sodium, sugar and saturated fat. But in the meantime, if a food contains many ingredients you wouldn’t find in your own kitchen, that’s a telltale sign it’s ultra-processed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Here’s the skinny on the effects of \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/03/18/1238939706/ultra-processed-food-junk-food-disease-cancer-anxiety-depression-diet\">\u003cem>ultra-processed foods on our brains and bodies\u003c/em>\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>8. Scientists are learning how the brain removes waste and what that means for Alzheimer’s, headaches, depression and more\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Experts have identified another miracle of sleep. To stay healthy, our brains need to wash away the debris created by the billions of cells that keep them running. New research is finding that during deep sleep, slow electrical waves serve to synchronize our neurons, effectively turning them into tiny pumps that push fluid from deep in the brain to its surface. From there, the waste is transported to the liver and kidneys to be removed from the body.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Problems with brain waste removal might be a factor in Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, headache and even depression.\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>So, finding ways to help an impaired brain clean itself \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2024/06/26/g-s1-6177/brain-waste-removal-system-amyloid-alzheimer-toxins\">\u003cem>could help develop treatments for a wide array of disorders\u003c/em>\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995398\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995398\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1067\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-1.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-1-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-1-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/npr.brightspotcdn-copy-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">New insights into the brain’s waste-removal system could one day help researchers better understand and prevent many different brain disorders. \u003ccite>(Andriy Onufriyenko/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>9. A high-fat, low-carb diet could help some people with mental illness\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>A few years ago, some patients started experimenting with the \u003ca href=\"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1528-1167.2008.01821.x\">ketogenic diet\u003c/a>, which is high fat and very low carb, to manage mental health symptoms. Researchers took note, and now, around a \u003ca href=\"https://clinicaltrials.gov/search?cond=Psychiatric%20Disorder&intr=ketogenic%20diet\">dozen clinical trials\u003c/a> are in the works, testing the diet’s effect on mental illness, including bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and depression.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are a few working theories as to why it might help. For one, the diet brings blood sugar and insulin sensitivity under control, both of which are linked with mental health problems. It also may provide a workaround for dysfunction in mitochondria, the powerhouses of our cells, which could lead to a healthier brain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Early results from studies are promising. The only downside? Some clinicians worry the diet — which involves giving up common comfort foods like bread and sweets — may be too hard for some patients to follow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>The U.S. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/environmental-protection-agency\">Environmental Protection Agency\u003c/a> on Wednesday approved California’s authority to set tougher emissions standards on new cars, trucks and SUVs than those created by the federal government — a move the incoming Trump administration will almost certainly seek to revoke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The waiver allows California and 11 other states to require that all new passenger vehicles sold by 2035 be zero-emission. Together, these states represent roughly \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/our-work/programs/advanced-clean-cars-program/states-have-adopted-californias-vehicle-regulations\">40%\u003c/a> of new vehicle registrations in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California has longstanding authority to request waivers from EPA to protect its residents from dangerous air pollution coming from mobile sources like cars and trucks,” EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said. “Today’s actions follow through on EPA’s commitment to partner with states to reduce emissions and act on the threat of climate change.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The majority of planet-warming emissions produced by the \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sources-greenhouse-gas-emissions\">U.S.\u003c/a> come from transportation, and the same is true for \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/ghg-inventory-graphs\">California\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This rule is vital to ensure that we can reduce the amount of air pollution from the cars and trucks that we all drive in the state,” said David Reichmuth, a senior engineer in the Clean Transportation program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. “It is also vitally important to reduce the amount of global warming pollution that is produced from transportation in the U.S.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995374\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995374\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/20240506_EVFile-10_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/20240506_EVFile-10_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/20240506_EVFile-10_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/20240506_EVFile-10_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/20240506_EVFile-10_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/20240506_EVFile-10_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/20240506_EVFile-10_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/20240506_EVFile-10_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An empty parking spot reserved for EV charging only is seen at Sutro Baths on Monday, May 6, 2024. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Environmentalists and those setting the state’s climate policy say the ambitious goal is achievable. In the first three quarters of this year, more than \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/data-reports/energy-almanac/zero-emission-vehicle-and-infrastructure-statistics-collection/new-zev\">25%\u003c/a> of new car sales in California were zero-emissions vehicles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a car and truck manufacturing trade group, said the \u003ca href=\"https://www.autosinnovate.org/posts/papers-reports/December%202024%20Memo%20-%20California%20and%20states%20with%20EV%20sales%20requirements.pdf\">opposite\u003c/a>, calling California’s clean car mandate “an unaccountable, unachievable regulatory wormhole” in a memo released this month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rules, known as Advanced Clean Cars II, will allow people to continue to drive gas cars and sell used gas-powered vehicles after 2035. The zero-emissions requirement will apply only to new vehicle sales.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Zero-emissions vehicles include those that run solely on batteries, plug-in hybrids and fuel-cell electric vehicles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The EPA’s approval continues the Biden administration’s push for aggressive climate policies, an approach President-elect \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/donald-trump\">Donald Trump\u003c/a> has scoffed at, calling climate change a “hoax” and pledging to “terminate” California’s regulations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trump’s EPA revoked California’s waiver in his first term, but California sued in response. That lawsuit became moot when Biden took office and reinstated the waiver. Experts anticipate something similar could happen this time around.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The back-and-forth is challenging for automakers, who Reichmuth said need to plan their future models years ahead of time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California was the first state to regulate tailpipe emissions in the \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/about/history#:~:text=In%201966%20California%20established%20the,Air%20Resources%20Board%20was%20established.\">1960s\u003c/a>, as it struggled to bring harmful air pollution under control. Los Angeles was notoriously cloaked with smog from vehicles, which was so bad at some points that visibility was just three blocks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12017635 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/07/trucks-I880-1020x680.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>President Richard Nixon signed the Clean Air Act into law in 1970, giving the EPA the authority to regulate air pollution from cars. The law bars states from enacting their own regulations, except California, given its unique air pollution problems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s standards must be at least as strict as federal law and are considered necessary “to meet compelling and extraordinary conditions.” While other states can’t set their own standards, they can adopt California’s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Colorado, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia have adopted the 2035 zero-emissions standards for new car sales.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has weighed in on California’s authority to enforce its own tailpipe emissions standards. Earlier this week, the court denied an appeal calling into question the constitutionality of allowing a state like California to exceed federal standards on tailpipe emissions under the Clean Air Act.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But last week, the court agreed to hear a more narrow case involving California’s waiver: whether the oil and gas industry has the standing to sue the state over its exemption.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The passenger vehicle waiver is just one of eight California has requested from the EPA. The other waivers, still pending approval, address emissions from heavy-duty trucks, trains, leaf-blowers and other sources.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite the likely conflict coming from the Trump administration, law professor Ethan Elkind believes the long-term trajectory toward electric vehicles will remain the same.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Battery prices are coming down so dramatically that in the end, it’s not going to matter that much,” said Elkind, who directs the Climate Program at UC Berkeley’s Center for Law, Energy & the Environment. “We’re moving toward all battery electric vehicles for most of our transportation with really just a few exceptions. It’s really just a question of how quickly we’re going to get there. And is the United States going to lag the rest of the world?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The U.S. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/environmental-protection-agency\">Environmental Protection Agency\u003c/a> on Wednesday approved California’s authority to set tougher emissions standards on new cars, trucks and SUVs than those created by the federal government — a move the incoming Trump administration will almost certainly seek to revoke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The waiver allows California and 11 other states to require that all new passenger vehicles sold by 2035 be zero-emission. Together, these states represent roughly \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/our-work/programs/advanced-clean-cars-program/states-have-adopted-californias-vehicle-regulations\">40%\u003c/a> of new vehicle registrations in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California has longstanding authority to request waivers from EPA to protect its residents from dangerous air pollution coming from mobile sources like cars and trucks,” EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said. “Today’s actions follow through on EPA’s commitment to partner with states to reduce emissions and act on the threat of climate change.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The majority of planet-warming emissions produced by the \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sources-greenhouse-gas-emissions\">U.S.\u003c/a> come from transportation, and the same is true for \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/ghg-inventory-graphs\">California\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This rule is vital to ensure that we can reduce the amount of air pollution from the cars and trucks that we all drive in the state,” said David Reichmuth, a senior engineer in the Clean Transportation program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. “It is also vitally important to reduce the amount of global warming pollution that is produced from transportation in the U.S.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995374\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995374\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/20240506_EVFile-10_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/20240506_EVFile-10_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/20240506_EVFile-10_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/20240506_EVFile-10_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/20240506_EVFile-10_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/20240506_EVFile-10_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/20240506_EVFile-10_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/20240506_EVFile-10_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An empty parking spot reserved for EV charging only is seen at Sutro Baths on Monday, May 6, 2024. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Environmentalists and those setting the state’s climate policy say the ambitious goal is achievable. In the first three quarters of this year, more than \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.ca.gov/data-reports/energy-almanac/zero-emission-vehicle-and-infrastructure-statistics-collection/new-zev\">25%\u003c/a> of new car sales in California were zero-emissions vehicles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a car and truck manufacturing trade group, said the \u003ca href=\"https://www.autosinnovate.org/posts/papers-reports/December%202024%20Memo%20-%20California%20and%20states%20with%20EV%20sales%20requirements.pdf\">opposite\u003c/a>, calling California’s clean car mandate “an unaccountable, unachievable regulatory wormhole” in a memo released this month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rules, known as Advanced Clean Cars II, will allow people to continue to drive gas cars and sell used gas-powered vehicles after 2035. The zero-emissions requirement will apply only to new vehicle sales.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Zero-emissions vehicles include those that run solely on batteries, plug-in hybrids and fuel-cell electric vehicles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The EPA’s approval continues the Biden administration’s push for aggressive climate policies, an approach President-elect \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/donald-trump\">Donald Trump\u003c/a> has scoffed at, calling climate change a “hoax” and pledging to “terminate” California’s regulations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trump’s EPA revoked California’s waiver in his first term, but California sued in response. That lawsuit became moot when Biden took office and reinstated the waiver. Experts anticipate something similar could happen this time around.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The back-and-forth is challenging for automakers, who Reichmuth said need to plan their future models years ahead of time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California was the first state to regulate tailpipe emissions in the \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/about/history#:~:text=In%201966%20California%20established%20the,Air%20Resources%20Board%20was%20established.\">1960s\u003c/a>, as it struggled to bring harmful air pollution under control. Los Angeles was notoriously cloaked with smog from vehicles, which was so bad at some points that visibility was just three blocks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>President Richard Nixon signed the Clean Air Act into law in 1970, giving the EPA the authority to regulate air pollution from cars. The law bars states from enacting their own regulations, except California, given its unique air pollution problems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s standards must be at least as strict as federal law and are considered necessary “to meet compelling and extraordinary conditions.” While other states can’t set their own standards, they can adopt California’s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Colorado, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia have adopted the 2035 zero-emissions standards for new car sales.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has weighed in on California’s authority to enforce its own tailpipe emissions standards. Earlier this week, the court denied an appeal calling into question the constitutionality of allowing a state like California to exceed federal standards on tailpipe emissions under the Clean Air Act.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But last week, the court agreed to hear a more narrow case involving California’s waiver: whether the oil and gas industry has the standing to sue the state over its exemption.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The passenger vehicle waiver is just one of eight California has requested from the EPA. The other waivers, still pending approval, address emissions from heavy-duty trucks, trains, leaf-blowers and other sources.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite the likely conflict coming from the Trump administration, law professor Ethan Elkind believes the long-term trajectory toward electric vehicles will remain the same.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Battery prices are coming down so dramatically that in the end, it’s not going to matter that much,” said Elkind, who directs the Climate Program at UC Berkeley’s Center for Law, Energy & the Environment. “We’re moving toward all battery electric vehicles for most of our transportation with really just a few exceptions. It’s really just a question of how quickly we’re going to get there. And is the United States going to lag the rest of the world?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Perhaps you’ve heard that \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2024/12/18/heres-what-happened-when-scientists-tested-the-air-with-my-gas-stove-on/\">pollution from gas stoves can harm your health\u003c/a>. What can you do to minimize your risk of exposure? Heaving your gas stove to the curb and going for an induction or electric one is an option, but that is available to just a limited number of people who own their home and can afford it. Luckily, there are a host of more accessible and low-cost solutions, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>The simplest and most affordable options\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Switch on your hood.\u003c/strong> Many hoods vent outdoors, which can help cut down on pollution. The effectiveness of hoods really varies, with some cutting pollution by less than 15% and others by more than 98%, according to a Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory \u003ca href=\"https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/full/10.1289/ehp.122-A154\">study\u003c/a>, which found most of the hoods they tested fell on the less effective end of that spectrum. Cooking on rear burners allowed hoods to capture more pollution than on the front ones.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Throw open windows when cooking, and keep them that way for a while afterward.\u003c/strong> This will move the dirty indoor air out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Buy or loan a portable, plug-in induction cooktop.\u003c/strong> \u003ca href=\"https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/tillreda-portable-induction-cooktop-1-zone-white-10493520/\">Like this\u003c/a> one from IKEA, which retails for $60 at the time of publication. Keep in mind that you need to use pots and pans compatible with induction, like stainless steel or cast iron. Some \u003ca href=\"https://pge-induction.myturn.com/library/\">utilities\u003c/a> and even \u003ca href=\"https://www.cityofsanmateo.org/4625/Induction-Cooktop-Loaner-Program\">public libraries\u003c/a> have loaner programs, so you can try these cooktops out before you purchase.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Turn on other electric appliances to cook when possible.\u003c/strong> Slow cookers, instapots, toaster ovens and electric tea kettles can help you minimize how frequently you cook on your gas stove.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>The more complicated, full change out\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Take the plunge and purchase an induction or electric stove.\u003c/strong> The prices of induction stoves have come down in recent years, and highly rated ones now sell for under $1000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The stoves are efficient, fast, and quiet. Induction groupies tout their safety around children or the elderly with memory issues – no one is accidentally turning or leaving a burner on. The surface of an induction cooktop won’t heat up unless there is a pot or pan on top.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some incentives are available for induction stoves in California. See what you qualify for at the \u003ca href=\"https://incentives.switchison.org/residents/incentives?state=CA&_ga=2.243644357.1934015849.1732736439-1384157352.1732736439&_gl=1*dqc5fb*_gcl_au*NjQ5Nzk2MjQuMTczMjczNjQzOA..*_ga*MTM4NDE1NzM1Mi4xNzMyNzM2NDM5*_ga_8NM1W0PLNN*MTczMjczODkzNC4yLjAuMTczMjczODkzNC42MC4wLjA.\">Switch Is On\u003c/a>, a website that helps identify rebates and contractors for going electric.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Electric stoves are no longer made up of those black coils that slowly heat up, they too have come a long way. Like induction, new electric stoves are efficient and don’t create the pollution associated with gas stoves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you go for a new stove, most homes will require rewiring to accommodate the appliance, which uses more energy than a gas stove. The costs can be significant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Innovators have met this challenge by building stoves that can plug into a standard outlet, eliminating the need to mess with your electrical setup. Stoves like \u003ca href=\"https://copperhome.com/products/charlie\">this one\u003c/a> from company Copper include a battery inside, which could allow you to keep using it during a power outage. They come with a hefty price tag of roughly $6,000, but that is offset by a 30% \u003ca href=\"https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f5695.pdf\">federal tax credit (PDF)\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Pollutants that come from cooking food, regardless of fuel\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Gas pollution aside, there’s good reason to keep your hood on or open windows when cooking, regardless of how you do it. Cooking food on both gas and electric ranges will produce tiny particles called PM2.5.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Exposure to this kind of pollution from wildfire smoke has adverse health effects, but there isn’t as much data on the health effects of PM2.5 from cooking, said UCSF doctor and physician scientist John Balmes of the California Air Resources Board. Balmes is part of a current study that is looking into this.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Pushback from industry\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Lobbying groups like the American Gas Association challenge the assertion that gas stoves harm health, writing in an email to KQED that “the U.S. government and the regulatory agencies responsible for protecting residential consumer health and safety do not recognize any documented risks to respiratory health from natural gas stoves.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/nitrogen-dioxides-impact-indoor-air-quality\">this EPA page\u003c/a> does discuss harms associated with nitrogen dioxide and said a source of the gas is “unvented combustion appliances, e.g., gas stoves.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Health groups like the \u003ca href=\"https://policysearch.ama-assn.org/policyfinder/detail/gas%20stove?uri=%2FAMADoc%2Fdirectives.xml-D-135.964.xml\">American Medical Association\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://apha.org/policies-and-advocacy/public-health-policy-statements/policy-database/2023/01/18/gas-stove-emissions\">American Public Health Association\u003c/a> are now warning that gas stoves increase the risk of respiratory illnesses and suggest people take steps to minimize the risks they pose.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Cooking with gas warms the planet\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Beyond health concerns, another reason to swap your gas stove for an electric one is because natural gas contributes to global warming, and relying on California’s greening electric grid creates fewer greenhouse gases. Methane warms the climate at nearly 80 times the rate of carbon dioxide, although it stays in the atmosphere for a much shorter period of time, around a decade or two, as opposed to hundreds or thousands of years like carbon dioxide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.est.1c04707\">One study\u003c/a> estimated that the amount of methane emitted from all gas stoves in U.S. homes was similar to the annual emissions of 500,000 cars. This same study found that some gas stoves leaked methane even while off.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>What you do depends on your risk tolerance\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>So, you may be asking, should I get rid of my gas stove? It depends.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In terms of health, “Whether you choose to do so or not is up to a whole lot of factors like your personal risk tolerance, whether you have an old stove or a new stove, whether you can afford to switch one out,” said Yannai Kashtan, a scientist with PSE Healthy Energy. “But we do want to be clear that it’s settled science. If you have a gas stove, you’re going to be exposed to more air pollution.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Perhaps you’ve heard that \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2024/12/18/heres-what-happened-when-scientists-tested-the-air-with-my-gas-stove-on/\">pollution from gas stoves can harm your health\u003c/a>. What can you do to minimize your risk of exposure? Heaving your gas stove to the curb and going for an induction or electric one is an option, but that is available to just a limited number of people who own their home and can afford it. Luckily, there are a host of more accessible and low-cost solutions, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>The simplest and most affordable options\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Switch on your hood.\u003c/strong> Many hoods vent outdoors, which can help cut down on pollution. The effectiveness of hoods really varies, with some cutting pollution by less than 15% and others by more than 98%, according to a Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory \u003ca href=\"https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/full/10.1289/ehp.122-A154\">study\u003c/a>, which found most of the hoods they tested fell on the less effective end of that spectrum. Cooking on rear burners allowed hoods to capture more pollution than on the front ones.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Throw open windows when cooking, and keep them that way for a while afterward.\u003c/strong> This will move the dirty indoor air out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Buy or loan a portable, plug-in induction cooktop.\u003c/strong> \u003ca href=\"https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/tillreda-portable-induction-cooktop-1-zone-white-10493520/\">Like this\u003c/a> one from IKEA, which retails for $60 at the time of publication. Keep in mind that you need to use pots and pans compatible with induction, like stainless steel or cast iron. Some \u003ca href=\"https://pge-induction.myturn.com/library/\">utilities\u003c/a> and even \u003ca href=\"https://www.cityofsanmateo.org/4625/Induction-Cooktop-Loaner-Program\">public libraries\u003c/a> have loaner programs, so you can try these cooktops out before you purchase.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Turn on other electric appliances to cook when possible.\u003c/strong> Slow cookers, instapots, toaster ovens and electric tea kettles can help you minimize how frequently you cook on your gas stove.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>The more complicated, full change out\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Take the plunge and purchase an induction or electric stove.\u003c/strong> The prices of induction stoves have come down in recent years, and highly rated ones now sell for under $1000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The stoves are efficient, fast, and quiet. Induction groupies tout their safety around children or the elderly with memory issues – no one is accidentally turning or leaving a burner on. The surface of an induction cooktop won’t heat up unless there is a pot or pan on top.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some incentives are available for induction stoves in California. See what you qualify for at the \u003ca href=\"https://incentives.switchison.org/residents/incentives?state=CA&_ga=2.243644357.1934015849.1732736439-1384157352.1732736439&_gl=1*dqc5fb*_gcl_au*NjQ5Nzk2MjQuMTczMjczNjQzOA..*_ga*MTM4NDE1NzM1Mi4xNzMyNzM2NDM5*_ga_8NM1W0PLNN*MTczMjczODkzNC4yLjAuMTczMjczODkzNC42MC4wLjA.\">Switch Is On\u003c/a>, a website that helps identify rebates and contractors for going electric.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Electric stoves are no longer made up of those black coils that slowly heat up, they too have come a long way. Like induction, new electric stoves are efficient and don’t create the pollution associated with gas stoves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you go for a new stove, most homes will require rewiring to accommodate the appliance, which uses more energy than a gas stove. The costs can be significant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Innovators have met this challenge by building stoves that can plug into a standard outlet, eliminating the need to mess with your electrical setup. Stoves like \u003ca href=\"https://copperhome.com/products/charlie\">this one\u003c/a> from company Copper include a battery inside, which could allow you to keep using it during a power outage. They come with a hefty price tag of roughly $6,000, but that is offset by a 30% \u003ca href=\"https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f5695.pdf\">federal tax credit (PDF)\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Pollutants that come from cooking food, regardless of fuel\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Gas pollution aside, there’s good reason to keep your hood on or open windows when cooking, regardless of how you do it. Cooking food on both gas and electric ranges will produce tiny particles called PM2.5.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Exposure to this kind of pollution from wildfire smoke has adverse health effects, but there isn’t as much data on the health effects of PM2.5 from cooking, said UCSF doctor and physician scientist John Balmes of the California Air Resources Board. Balmes is part of a current study that is looking into this.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Pushback from industry\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Lobbying groups like the American Gas Association challenge the assertion that gas stoves harm health, writing in an email to KQED that “the U.S. government and the regulatory agencies responsible for protecting residential consumer health and safety do not recognize any documented risks to respiratory health from natural gas stoves.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/nitrogen-dioxides-impact-indoor-air-quality\">this EPA page\u003c/a> does discuss harms associated with nitrogen dioxide and said a source of the gas is “unvented combustion appliances, e.g., gas stoves.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Health groups like the \u003ca href=\"https://policysearch.ama-assn.org/policyfinder/detail/gas%20stove?uri=%2FAMADoc%2Fdirectives.xml-D-135.964.xml\">American Medical Association\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://apha.org/policies-and-advocacy/public-health-policy-statements/policy-database/2023/01/18/gas-stove-emissions\">American Public Health Association\u003c/a> are now warning that gas stoves increase the risk of respiratory illnesses and suggest people take steps to minimize the risks they pose.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Cooking with gas warms the planet\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Beyond health concerns, another reason to swap your gas stove for an electric one is because natural gas contributes to global warming, and relying on California’s greening electric grid creates fewer greenhouse gases. Methane warms the climate at nearly 80 times the rate of carbon dioxide, although it stays in the atmosphere for a much shorter period of time, around a decade or two, as opposed to hundreds or thousands of years like carbon dioxide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.est.1c04707\">One study\u003c/a> estimated that the amount of methane emitted from all gas stoves in U.S. homes was similar to the annual emissions of 500,000 cars. This same study found that some gas stoves leaked methane even while off.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>What you do depends on your risk tolerance\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>So, you may be asking, should I get rid of my gas stove? It depends.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In terms of health, “Whether you choose to do so or not is up to a whole lot of factors like your personal risk tolerance, whether you have an old stove or a new stove, whether you can afford to switch one out,” said Yannai Kashtan, a scientist with PSE Healthy Energy. “But we do want to be clear that it’s settled science. If you have a gas stove, you’re going to be exposed to more air pollution.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Gas stoves emit a host of pollution that is unhealthy for you, from gases that irritate your lungs to carcinogens.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a climate reporter who covers indoor air quality, I’ve read \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0013935117300750\">study\u003c/a> after \u003ca href=\"https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9819315/\">study\u003c/a> about the negative health impacts of cooking with gas. Not to mention their impact on the \u003ca href=\"https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2022/01/rethinking-cooking-gas\">planet\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And a majority of Californians, \u003ca href=\"https://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/data/2020/state/pdf/State%20Appliances.pdf\">roughly 70% (PDF)\u003c/a>, use gas stoves. They’re one of the only gas appliances we use that vent inside our homes. National and state codes dictate that gas furnaces, water heaters and dryers all vent their exhaust outside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There was a lot of noise around the health of gas stoves last year after \u003ca href=\"https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/1/75\">research\u003c/a> came out, attributing roughly 13% of current childhood asthma cases in the U.S. to the appliances. Reports circled that a member of the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission said a \u003ca href=\"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-09/us-safety-agency-to-consider-ban-on-gas-stoves-amid-health-fears?utm_source=website&utm_medium=share&utm_campaign=twitter&sref=wINQCNXe\">ban\u003c/a> on gas stoves was on the table. Conservatives falsely claimed the Biden administration was out for the appliances, and a Republican Congressman \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/RonnyJacksonTX/status/1612839703018934274\">wrote on social media platform X\u003c/a> that his stove would need to be pried “from my cold dead hands.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So I wanted to see what really happened in my own home, a place I share with my husband and two kids, one of whom has asthma. Just how bad was our own gas stove?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I invited over two scientists from research nonprofit \u003ca href=\"https://www.psehealthyenergy.org/\">PSE Healthy Energy\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=PmfHsWEAAAAJ&hl=en\">Eric Lebel\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=J6lURzMAAAAJ&hl=en\">Yannai Kashtan\u003c/a>, who’ve also published extensive \u003ca href=\"https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=PmfHsWEAAAAJ&hl=en\">research\u003c/a> on the topic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They suggested we run our own experiments: to test the air in my home when cooking with a plug-in induction cooktop versus a gas stove, to cook with the hood on versus off, and to simulate preparing a bountiful holiday meal with multiple burners ablaze and the oven on high.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While I had some guesses about what would happen, the results still surprised me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995342\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995342\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/AlessandroCitterio_PSE_064.jpg\" alt=\"A person holds a machine near a gas stove.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1332\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/AlessandroCitterio_PSE_064.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/AlessandroCitterio_PSE_064-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/AlessandroCitterio_PSE_064-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/AlessandroCitterio_PSE_064-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/AlessandroCitterio_PSE_064-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/AlessandroCitterio_PSE_064-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/AlessandroCitterio_PSE_064-1920x1279.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">PSE researchers Nicole Lucha (left) and Jackson Goldman collect a sample of unburned gas from a stove for analysis. \u003ccite>(Courtesy: Alessandro Citterio/PSE Healthy Energy)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>A mobile lab\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Lebel and Kashtan rolled up on a rainy and cold November morning with what was essentially a mobile air testing lab in the back of a car.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They unlooped three long, clear tubes and wove them from the car, through our front doorway, and into three separate rooms: the kitchen, living room and kids’ room. The open ends of the tubes pulled air from inside the house to analyzers in the back of the car outside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To eliminate any false readings from other gas sources, we made sure to turn off the furnace and water heater. The car with the analyzers, while parked and off, was electric.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gas stoves can emit a whole bunch of pollutants, including carbon monoxide and methane.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While we measured those gases, we largely focused on nitrogen dioxide, which irritates your respiratory system, and benzene, a carcinogen. These are the two pollutants with demonstrative health effects that scientists at PSE Healthy Energy find most frequently.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The World Health Organization sets guidelines for safe exposure to nitrogen dioxide and benzene:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Nitrogen dioxide, exposure for a short time of an hour: 100 parts per billion\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Nitrogen dioxide, chronic exposure: 5.3 parts per billion\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Benzene: “\u003ca href=\"https://www.who.int/teams/environment-climate-change-and-health/chemical-safety-and-health/health-impacts/chemicals/benzene#:~:text=Interventions%20to%20reduce%20both%20work,containing%20products%2C%20promoting%20building%20codes\">No safe level\u003c/a> can be recommended”\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>That means if I’m baking cookies and frying potato pancakes and spike the level of nitrogen dioxide in the air up past 100 ppb, WHO recommends I only breathe that in for an hour.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And if I’m always breathing in more than 5.3 ppb, I need to figure out some better form of ventilation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nitrogen dioxide “is one of the clearest things that negatively impacts our respiratory health,” said Carlos Gould, assistant professor at UC San Diego School of Public Health. “It makes your respiratory system, your throat, your lungs really angry.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Studies dating back \u003ca href=\"https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/full/10.1513/AnnalsATS.202306-533VP\">to the 1970s\u003c/a> have found an association between nitrogen dioxide and respiratory issues like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As we move through the world, we’ll inevitably be exposed to all kinds of pollutants. These guidelines can help us try to minimize our risks of exposure. You’re not doomed if you breathe in a high amount of nitrogen dioxide for over an hour, but it would be better if you didn’t.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Experiment #1: Induction cooktop, hood off\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1995354\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0872.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration of induction burner. Text saying: Induction burner, no hood. How long did it take to reach unhealthy levels? It didn't.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1240\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0872.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0872-800x517.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0872-1020x659.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0872-160x103.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0872-768x496.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0872-1536x992.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">We filled up a large pot with six cups of water. We turned a portable, plug-in induction cooktop on high and waited. No windows were open, and the hood was off.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The charts tracking emissions were all flat: nitrogen dioxide, benzene and other pollutants remained the same. The only thing to nudge up slightly was carbon dioxide, and that was from us, three people and one dog, exhaling in the kitchen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Exceeds WHO’s chronic nitrogen dioxide guideline (5.3 ppb): did not exceed\u003cbr>\nExceeds WHO’s short-term nitrogen dioxide guideline (100 ppb): did not exceed\u003cbr>\nChanges in benzene level at 15 minutes: 0\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Experiment #2: One gas burner, hood off\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1995355\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0870.jpg\" alt=\"Hood off. One gas burner. How long did it take to reach unhealthy levels? 9 minutes.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1240\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0870.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0870-800x517.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0870-1020x659.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0870-160x103.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0870-768x496.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0870-1536x992.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">We set up the same pot with six cups of water, setting one burner on the gas stove on high to boil the liquid. No windows were open, and the hood was off.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nitrogen dioxide levels shot up fast, surpassing chronic WHO guidelines for chronic exposure in minutes. Benzene remained low compared to numbers scientists have measured \u003ca href=\"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.2c09289\">from other stoves\u003c/a> but still increased.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The gases quickly spread throughout the house, including our kids’ bedroom. “What we find pretty consistently is that the pollution spreads pretty evenly, pretty quickly,” said scientist Kashtan, who’s led several studies about the pollution created by gas stoves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Exceeds WHO’s chronic nitrogen dioxide guideline (5.3 ppb): 9 minutes\u003cbr>\nExceeds WHO’s short-term nitrogen dioxide guideline (100 ppb): 33 minutes\u003cbr>\nChanges in benzene level at 15 minutes: +0.15 ppb\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Experiment #3: One gas burner, hood on\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1995356\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0869.jpg\" alt=\"Hood on. One gas burner. How long did it take to reach unhealthy levels? 9 minutes. But hood kept higher levels of pollution down. \" width=\"1920\" height=\"1240\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0869.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0869-800x517.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0869-1020x659.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0869-160x103.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0869-768x496.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0869-1536x992.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">We aired out the house and set up the same experiment again but with the hood on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Initially, nitrogen dioxide increased quickly but then slowed significantly. The hood seemed to hold the higher concentrations of nitrogen dioxide down by at least a half, and in some cases more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Exceeds WHO’s chronic nitrogen dioxide guideline (5.3 ppb): 9 minutes\u003cbr>\nExceeds WHO’s short-term nitrogen dioxide guideline (100 ppb): did not exceed\u003cbr>\nChanges in benzene level at 15 minutes: +0.05 ppb\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Experiment #4: Holiday cooking with oven and two gas burners, hood on\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1995357\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0871.jpg\" alt=\"Hood on. Two gas burners. Oven on 425. How long did it take to reach unhealthy levels? 4 minutes.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1240\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0871.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0871-800x517.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0871-1020x659.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0871-160x103.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0871-768x496.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0871-1536x992.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">With the oven on at 425 degrees Fahrenheit and two burners alight, the pollution levels bounced up within minutes despite the hood venting air outside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Levels of nitrogen dioxide ballooned above what is healthy, even temporarily. In our particular home, the pollution continued to accumulate in our living room, where presumably people would be gathering before a holiday meal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Exceeds WHO’s chronic nitrogen dioxide guideline (5.3 ppb): 4 minutes\u003cbr>\nExceeds WHO’s short-term nitrogen dioxide guideline (100 ppb): did not exceed but hovered up in the 90s\u003cbr>\nChanges in benzene level at 15 minutes: +0.06 ppb\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The takeaways\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Overall, indoor air pollution was nearly zero when cooking with induction. The next best option was using just one burner with the hood on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A single burner without the hood on and two burners plus the oven with the hood on both spiked pollution quickly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Our experiments showed me the value of limiting how often I use our gas stove and that I could reduce the risk of exposure to harmful gases by using a plug-in single burner cooktop or other electric appliances like a slow cooker more frequently than the gas range. It reiterated the importance of turning on the hood (though it is noisy) and ventilating the house, even when it’s cold.[aside tag=\"gas, electricity\" label=\"Related Stories\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the large increases in nitrogen dioxide and small increases in benzene did not surprise me, I was completely shocked at how quickly and evenly the pollution spread from the kitchen to other rooms in our home. One tube was taking readings from the side of my toddler’s crib, and seeing numbers of pollutants there move skyward was unsettling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While my house is just one example, measured over just one morning, it lines up with research.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is just one data point among a wide published body of literature that shares the scientific findings that we’ve come to,” senior scientist Eric Lebel said upon reviewing the results.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Gas stoves emit a host of pollution that is unhealthy for you, from gases that irritate your lungs to carcinogens.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a climate reporter who covers indoor air quality, I’ve read \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0013935117300750\">study\u003c/a> after \u003ca href=\"https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9819315/\">study\u003c/a> about the negative health impacts of cooking with gas. Not to mention their impact on the \u003ca href=\"https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2022/01/rethinking-cooking-gas\">planet\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And a majority of Californians, \u003ca href=\"https://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/data/2020/state/pdf/State%20Appliances.pdf\">roughly 70% (PDF)\u003c/a>, use gas stoves. They’re one of the only gas appliances we use that vent inside our homes. National and state codes dictate that gas furnaces, water heaters and dryers all vent their exhaust outside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There was a lot of noise around the health of gas stoves last year after \u003ca href=\"https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/1/75\">research\u003c/a> came out, attributing roughly 13% of current childhood asthma cases in the U.S. to the appliances. Reports circled that a member of the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission said a \u003ca href=\"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-09/us-safety-agency-to-consider-ban-on-gas-stoves-amid-health-fears?utm_source=website&utm_medium=share&utm_campaign=twitter&sref=wINQCNXe\">ban\u003c/a> on gas stoves was on the table. Conservatives falsely claimed the Biden administration was out for the appliances, and a Republican Congressman \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/RonnyJacksonTX/status/1612839703018934274\">wrote on social media platform X\u003c/a> that his stove would need to be pried “from my cold dead hands.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So I wanted to see what really happened in my own home, a place I share with my husband and two kids, one of whom has asthma. Just how bad was our own gas stove?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I invited over two scientists from research nonprofit \u003ca href=\"https://www.psehealthyenergy.org/\">PSE Healthy Energy\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=PmfHsWEAAAAJ&hl=en\">Eric Lebel\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=J6lURzMAAAAJ&hl=en\">Yannai Kashtan\u003c/a>, who’ve also published extensive \u003ca href=\"https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=PmfHsWEAAAAJ&hl=en\">research\u003c/a> on the topic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They suggested we run our own experiments: to test the air in my home when cooking with a plug-in induction cooktop versus a gas stove, to cook with the hood on versus off, and to simulate preparing a bountiful holiday meal with multiple burners ablaze and the oven on high.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While I had some guesses about what would happen, the results still surprised me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995342\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995342\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/AlessandroCitterio_PSE_064.jpg\" alt=\"A person holds a machine near a gas stove.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1332\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/AlessandroCitterio_PSE_064.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/AlessandroCitterio_PSE_064-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/AlessandroCitterio_PSE_064-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/AlessandroCitterio_PSE_064-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/AlessandroCitterio_PSE_064-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/AlessandroCitterio_PSE_064-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/AlessandroCitterio_PSE_064-1920x1279.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">PSE researchers Nicole Lucha (left) and Jackson Goldman collect a sample of unburned gas from a stove for analysis. \u003ccite>(Courtesy: Alessandro Citterio/PSE Healthy Energy)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>A mobile lab\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Lebel and Kashtan rolled up on a rainy and cold November morning with what was essentially a mobile air testing lab in the back of a car.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They unlooped three long, clear tubes and wove them from the car, through our front doorway, and into three separate rooms: the kitchen, living room and kids’ room. The open ends of the tubes pulled air from inside the house to analyzers in the back of the car outside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To eliminate any false readings from other gas sources, we made sure to turn off the furnace and water heater. The car with the analyzers, while parked and off, was electric.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gas stoves can emit a whole bunch of pollutants, including carbon monoxide and methane.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While we measured those gases, we largely focused on nitrogen dioxide, which irritates your respiratory system, and benzene, a carcinogen. These are the two pollutants with demonstrative health effects that scientists at PSE Healthy Energy find most frequently.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The World Health Organization sets guidelines for safe exposure to nitrogen dioxide and benzene:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Nitrogen dioxide, exposure for a short time of an hour: 100 parts per billion\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Nitrogen dioxide, chronic exposure: 5.3 parts per billion\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Benzene: “\u003ca href=\"https://www.who.int/teams/environment-climate-change-and-health/chemical-safety-and-health/health-impacts/chemicals/benzene#:~:text=Interventions%20to%20reduce%20both%20work,containing%20products%2C%20promoting%20building%20codes\">No safe level\u003c/a> can be recommended”\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>That means if I’m baking cookies and frying potato pancakes and spike the level of nitrogen dioxide in the air up past 100 ppb, WHO recommends I only breathe that in for an hour.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And if I’m always breathing in more than 5.3 ppb, I need to figure out some better form of ventilation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nitrogen dioxide “is one of the clearest things that negatively impacts our respiratory health,” said Carlos Gould, assistant professor at UC San Diego School of Public Health. “It makes your respiratory system, your throat, your lungs really angry.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Studies dating back \u003ca href=\"https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/full/10.1513/AnnalsATS.202306-533VP\">to the 1970s\u003c/a> have found an association between nitrogen dioxide and respiratory issues like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As we move through the world, we’ll inevitably be exposed to all kinds of pollutants. These guidelines can help us try to minimize our risks of exposure. You’re not doomed if you breathe in a high amount of nitrogen dioxide for over an hour, but it would be better if you didn’t.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Experiment #1: Induction cooktop, hood off\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1995354\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0872.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration of induction burner. Text saying: Induction burner, no hood. How long did it take to reach unhealthy levels? It didn't.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1240\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0872.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0872-800x517.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0872-1020x659.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0872-160x103.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0872-768x496.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0872-1536x992.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">We filled up a large pot with six cups of water. We turned a portable, plug-in induction cooktop on high and waited. No windows were open, and the hood was off.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The charts tracking emissions were all flat: nitrogen dioxide, benzene and other pollutants remained the same. The only thing to nudge up slightly was carbon dioxide, and that was from us, three people and one dog, exhaling in the kitchen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Exceeds WHO’s chronic nitrogen dioxide guideline (5.3 ppb): did not exceed\u003cbr>\nExceeds WHO’s short-term nitrogen dioxide guideline (100 ppb): did not exceed\u003cbr>\nChanges in benzene level at 15 minutes: 0\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Experiment #2: One gas burner, hood off\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1995355\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0870.jpg\" alt=\"Hood off. One gas burner. How long did it take to reach unhealthy levels? 9 minutes.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1240\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0870.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0870-800x517.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0870-1020x659.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0870-160x103.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0870-768x496.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0870-1536x992.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">We set up the same pot with six cups of water, setting one burner on the gas stove on high to boil the liquid. No windows were open, and the hood was off.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nitrogen dioxide levels shot up fast, surpassing chronic WHO guidelines for chronic exposure in minutes. Benzene remained low compared to numbers scientists have measured \u003ca href=\"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.2c09289\">from other stoves\u003c/a> but still increased.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The gases quickly spread throughout the house, including our kids’ bedroom. “What we find pretty consistently is that the pollution spreads pretty evenly, pretty quickly,” said scientist Kashtan, who’s led several studies about the pollution created by gas stoves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Exceeds WHO’s chronic nitrogen dioxide guideline (5.3 ppb): 9 minutes\u003cbr>\nExceeds WHO’s short-term nitrogen dioxide guideline (100 ppb): 33 minutes\u003cbr>\nChanges in benzene level at 15 minutes: +0.15 ppb\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Experiment #3: One gas burner, hood on\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1995356\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0869.jpg\" alt=\"Hood on. One gas burner. How long did it take to reach unhealthy levels? 9 minutes. But hood kept higher levels of pollution down. \" width=\"1920\" height=\"1240\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0869.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0869-800x517.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0869-1020x659.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0869-160x103.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0869-768x496.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0869-1536x992.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">We aired out the house and set up the same experiment again but with the hood on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Initially, nitrogen dioxide increased quickly but then slowed significantly. The hood seemed to hold the higher concentrations of nitrogen dioxide down by at least a half, and in some cases more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Exceeds WHO’s chronic nitrogen dioxide guideline (5.3 ppb): 9 minutes\u003cbr>\nExceeds WHO’s short-term nitrogen dioxide guideline (100 ppb): did not exceed\u003cbr>\nChanges in benzene level at 15 minutes: +0.05 ppb\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Experiment #4: Holiday cooking with oven and two gas burners, hood on\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1995357\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0871.jpg\" alt=\"Hood on. Two gas burners. Oven on 425. How long did it take to reach unhealthy levels? 4 minutes.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1240\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0871.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0871-800x517.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0871-1020x659.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0871-160x103.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0871-768x496.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/IMG_0871-1536x992.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">With the oven on at 425 degrees Fahrenheit and two burners alight, the pollution levels bounced up within minutes despite the hood venting air outside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Levels of nitrogen dioxide ballooned above what is healthy, even temporarily. In our particular home, the pollution continued to accumulate in our living room, where presumably people would be gathering before a holiday meal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Exceeds WHO’s chronic nitrogen dioxide guideline (5.3 ppb): 4 minutes\u003cbr>\nExceeds WHO’s short-term nitrogen dioxide guideline (100 ppb): did not exceed but hovered up in the 90s\u003cbr>\nChanges in benzene level at 15 minutes: +0.06 ppb\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The takeaways\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Overall, indoor air pollution was nearly zero when cooking with induction. The next best option was using just one burner with the hood on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A single burner without the hood on and two burners plus the oven with the hood on both spiked pollution quickly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Our experiments showed me the value of limiting how often I use our gas stove and that I could reduce the risk of exposure to harmful gases by using a plug-in single burner cooktop or other electric appliances like a slow cooker more frequently than the gas range. It reiterated the importance of turning on the hood (though it is noisy) and ventilating the house, even when it’s cold.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the large increases in nitrogen dioxide and small increases in benzene did not surprise me, I was completely shocked at how quickly and evenly the pollution spread from the kitchen to other rooms in our home. One tube was taking readings from the side of my toddler’s crib, and seeing numbers of pollutants there move skyward was unsettling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While my house is just one example, measured over just one morning, it lines up with research.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is just one data point among a wide published body of literature that shares the scientific findings that we’ve come to,” senior scientist Eric Lebel said upon reviewing the results.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Can the federal government have a favorite when it comes to states? The Supreme Court said on Friday that it would hear a case that tests that assertion in the context of a state that imposes tougher clean air standards than the federal government.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this case, the so-called “golden child” is California. Under a provision of the Clean Air Act that was enacted in 1967, California was explicitly allowed to set its own motor vehicle emissions standards because of the unique pollution problem in the state. The problems were unique in both character and intensity because the state then, as now, had more motor vehicles than any other state in the country, and California had already enacted new air pollution standards that were actually tougher than the ones in the federal law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With auto manufacturers complaining that they couldn’t deal with 50 different state standards, the congressional compromise was to allow California’s existing and stricter standards to remain in place, and to require other states to either abide by federal air quality standards, or if they wished, to adopt air quality standards that would be “identical” to the existing California standards.[aside label=\"Environment Stories\" tag=\"car-emissions\"]Technically, all this was accomplished through a system in which the Environmental Protection Agency set emission standards for new motor vehicles, and granted waivers for more demanding standards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in 2019 the Trump administration withdrew the waiver for California’s tougher standards on cars, and the state challenged that action in court. The case, however, was not resolved, and when President Biden took office, the EPA reinstated the waiver.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now Ohio and 16 other Republican-dominated states have sued, asserting that the waiver violates the basic design of the U.S. Constitution, which they assert should treat states as equals. Environmental groups allege that the GOP states have no intention of adopting standards that are anything like California’s regulations; rather, they contend, this is an effort to gut the Clean Air Act itself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the EPA, finding that the Constitution does not bar Congress from leaving states with different levels of sovereign authority. Now the Supreme Court will decide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Can the federal government have a favorite when it comes to states? The Supreme Court said on Friday that it would hear a case that tests that assertion in the context of a state that imposes tougher clean air standards than the federal government.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this case, the so-called “golden child” is California. Under a provision of the Clean Air Act that was enacted in 1967, California was explicitly allowed to set its own motor vehicle emissions standards because of the unique pollution problem in the state. The problems were unique in both character and intensity because the state then, as now, had more motor vehicles than any other state in the country, and California had already enacted new air pollution standards that were actually tougher than the ones in the federal law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With auto manufacturers complaining that they couldn’t deal with 50 different state standards, the congressional compromise was to allow California’s existing and stricter standards to remain in place, and to require other states to either abide by federal air quality standards, or if they wished, to adopt air quality standards that would be “identical” to the existing California standards.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>2024 may be winding down, but as the new year approaches there are still several fascinating astronomical events taking place in December and January. And the good news is: You can see and experience almost all of them with your own eyes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Keep reading for six space events to look forward to in the next few weeks this winter.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Bundle up for the shortest day: The Winter Solstice\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>When? \u003c/strong>Dec. 21\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Billions of years ago, when the solar system was first forming, there were many more “mini planets” than the planets we know today. Astronomers believe that at one point, Earth collided with a mini planet called Theia, which caused our planet to tilt by 23 degrees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Or as Andrew Fraknoi, astronomer and professor at the University of San Francisco’s Fromm Institute, said: “The Earth was in a traffic accident and has never been able to straighten out.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1978808\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1978808\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/03/RS54465_iStock-1306526520-qut.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration shows the illumination of the earth during various seasons, and Earth movement around the Sun.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/03/RS54465_iStock-1306526520-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/03/RS54465_iStock-1306526520-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/03/RS54465_iStock-1306526520-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/03/RS54465_iStock-1306526520-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/03/RS54465_iStock-1306526520-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/03/RS54465_iStock-1306526520-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An illustration shows the illumination of the Earth during various seasons and its movement around the sun. \u003ccite>(iStock)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Thanks to Theia and that small tilting of our planet, we can now enjoy the changing of the seasons. During the summer, the Northern Hemisphere leans into the sun, and we get more daylight and warmth — while in winter, our planet leans away from the sun, resulting in shorter days and cooler weather.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the winter solstice that occurs on Dec. 21 this year, Earth will experience the shortest day of the year as our planet goes through “the greatest leaning away” from the sun, Fraknoi said. The sun will rise at 7:21 a.m. and set at 4:54 p.m., giving us only about 10 hours of daylight during the winter solstice — compared to 15 hours of light during the summer solstice.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>See the largest planet shining: Aftereffects of Jupiter at Opposition\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>When? \u003c/strong>Throughout December\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995309\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995309\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/jpegPIA25014-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/jpegPIA25014-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/jpegPIA25014-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/jpegPIA25014-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/jpegPIA25014-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/jpegPIA25014-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/jpegPIA25014-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/jpegPIA25014-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/jpegPIA25014-1920x1080.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">NASA’s Juno mission captured this view of Jupiter’s Southern Hemisphere during the spacecraft’s 39th close flyby of the planet on Jan. 12, 2022. \u003ccite>(NASA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Once every 13 months, Earth will be exactly between the sun and planet Jupiter, making the giant planet more bright and visible to the naked eye. While this alignment of the Earth, Jupiter and the sun — what’s known as Jupiter’s opposition — already occurred just a few days ago on Dec. 7, you still have a chance to see the planet as a brighter star for a few more weeks. Jupiter will be visible throughout the night in the south-east and highest in the sky just after midnight.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Watch a winter light show: The Geminid meteor shower peaks\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>When? \u003c/strong>Dec. 14\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995304\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995304\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/GettyImages-1847181146.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/GettyImages-1847181146.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/GettyImages-1847181146-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/GettyImages-1847181146-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/GettyImages-1847181146-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/GettyImages-1847181146-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view of the Geminid meteor shower and stargazing at the Tunnel View of Yosemite National Park in California, United States, on Dec. 14, 2023. \u003ccite>(Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images))\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>If you missed \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1993717/where-to-watch-perseids-meteor-shower-peak-bay-area-best-places-to-see\">the Perseid meteor shower earlier this summer\u003c/a>, the Geminids may be another opportunity to see an impressive light show if the skies are clear.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The almost full moon that night could wash out the fainter meteors, but if you’re planning to go see it, check the weather and stay warm! The Geminids peak in the early hours of Saturday, Dec. 14.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>See the red planet blazing: Mars at Opposition\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>When? \u003c/strong>Jan. 16\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995307\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 970px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995307\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/jY7RtiXd7UNPssvFqTiQdd-970-80.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"970\" height=\"546\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/jY7RtiXd7UNPssvFqTiQdd-970-80.jpg 970w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/jY7RtiXd7UNPssvFqTiQdd-970-80-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/jY7RtiXd7UNPssvFqTiQdd-970-80-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/jY7RtiXd7UNPssvFqTiQdd-970-80-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 970px) 100vw, 970px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An illustration of the night sky on Dec. 7 showing the full Cold Moon occulting Mars. \u003ccite>(Sky Safari Astronomy)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Another neighboring planet, the fiery Mars, will be in opposition on Jan. 16, when Earth passes between Mars and the sun. During this event, which occurs about every two years, you can look towards the east after sunset and observe Mars as a bright, reddish-orange star. It will be highest in the sky at about midnight.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Look for a (slightly) swollen sun: Earth at Perihelion\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>When? \u003c/strong>Jan. 4\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995308\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995308\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/dMHFuHbsrzjgenjPyomnym.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/dMHFuHbsrzjgenjPyomnym.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/dMHFuHbsrzjgenjPyomnym-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/dMHFuHbsrzjgenjPyomnym-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/dMHFuHbsrzjgenjPyomnym-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/dMHFuHbsrzjgenjPyomnym-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/dMHFuHbsrzjgenjPyomnym-1536x864.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The sun radiates huge amounts of electromagnetic energy in all directions. Earth is only one small recipient of the sun’s energy; the sun’s rays extend far out into the solar system, illuminating all the other planets. \u003ccite>(NASA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>On Jan. 4, 2025, at around 5:30 a.m. PST, our planet will be at “perihelion” — that is, at its closest to the sun. Because of its elliptical orbit, scientists can calculate when the Earth will be at its closest and farthest point from the sun.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At perihelion, the Earth receives 7% more solar energy than when the planet is at its furthest from the sun. To many who aren’t on the lookout, the sun may just look the same as any other day — but it will actually appear slightly larger than any other day in the year.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>And finally, the one you can’t see: The Parker Solar Probe will ‘touch the sun’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>When? \u003c/strong>Dec. 24\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995305\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995305\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/GettyImages-1015503676.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"623\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/GettyImages-1015503676.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/GettyImages-1015503676-800x487.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/GettyImages-1015503676-1020x621.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/GettyImages-1015503676-160x97.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/GettyImages-1015503676-768x467.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket launches NASA’s Parker Solar Probe to touch the sun from Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Aug. 12, 2018, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Parker Solar Probe is humanity’s first-ever mission into a part of the sun’s atmosphere called the corona. The probe will directly explore solar processes that are key to understanding and forecasting space weather events that can impact life on Earth. \u003ccite>(Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>On a mission to investigate the mysteries of the largest star in our solar system, NASA launched the Parker Solar Probe in 2018 to study the sun’s outer atmosphere: its corona. Since 2018, the probe has completed seven Venus gravity assist maneuvers — also known as flybys — with the \u003ca href=\"https://www.space.com/the-universe/sun/nasas-parker-solar-probe-to-glimpse-venus-surface-tomorrow-before-historic-sun-encounter\">recent and final one in November this year\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Dec. 24, the unmanned spacecraft made out of composite material that can withstand temperatures of up to 2500 F will make history by becoming the closest object ever to the sun. As the probe gets closer to the sun’s orbit, the faster it will go, claiming the title of the fastest vehicle ever made, Fraknoi said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It will speed up to 430,000 mph. Don’t try that on Freeway 280,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "As winter approaches, we look at how seasons change, when the Earth will be closest to the sun, and other space events to look forward to this December and January. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>2024 may be winding down, but as the new year approaches there are still several fascinating astronomical events taking place in December and January. And the good news is: You can see and experience almost all of them with your own eyes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Keep reading for six space events to look forward to in the next few weeks this winter.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Bundle up for the shortest day: The Winter Solstice\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>When? \u003c/strong>Dec. 21\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Billions of years ago, when the solar system was first forming, there were many more “mini planets” than the planets we know today. Astronomers believe that at one point, Earth collided with a mini planet called Theia, which caused our planet to tilt by 23 degrees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Or as Andrew Fraknoi, astronomer and professor at the University of San Francisco’s Fromm Institute, said: “The Earth was in a traffic accident and has never been able to straighten out.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1978808\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1978808\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/03/RS54465_iStock-1306526520-qut.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration shows the illumination of the earth during various seasons, and Earth movement around the Sun.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/03/RS54465_iStock-1306526520-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/03/RS54465_iStock-1306526520-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/03/RS54465_iStock-1306526520-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/03/RS54465_iStock-1306526520-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/03/RS54465_iStock-1306526520-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/03/RS54465_iStock-1306526520-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An illustration shows the illumination of the Earth during various seasons and its movement around the sun. \u003ccite>(iStock)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Thanks to Theia and that small tilting of our planet, we can now enjoy the changing of the seasons. During the summer, the Northern Hemisphere leans into the sun, and we get more daylight and warmth — while in winter, our planet leans away from the sun, resulting in shorter days and cooler weather.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the winter solstice that occurs on Dec. 21 this year, Earth will experience the shortest day of the year as our planet goes through “the greatest leaning away” from the sun, Fraknoi said. The sun will rise at 7:21 a.m. and set at 4:54 p.m., giving us only about 10 hours of daylight during the winter solstice — compared to 15 hours of light during the summer solstice.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>See the largest planet shining: Aftereffects of Jupiter at Opposition\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>When? \u003c/strong>Throughout December\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995309\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995309\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/jpegPIA25014-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/jpegPIA25014-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/jpegPIA25014-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/jpegPIA25014-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/jpegPIA25014-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/jpegPIA25014-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/jpegPIA25014-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/jpegPIA25014-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/jpegPIA25014-1920x1080.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">NASA’s Juno mission captured this view of Jupiter’s Southern Hemisphere during the spacecraft’s 39th close flyby of the planet on Jan. 12, 2022. \u003ccite>(NASA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Once every 13 months, Earth will be exactly between the sun and planet Jupiter, making the giant planet more bright and visible to the naked eye. While this alignment of the Earth, Jupiter and the sun — what’s known as Jupiter’s opposition — already occurred just a few days ago on Dec. 7, you still have a chance to see the planet as a brighter star for a few more weeks. Jupiter will be visible throughout the night in the south-east and highest in the sky just after midnight.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Watch a winter light show: The Geminid meteor shower peaks\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>When? \u003c/strong>Dec. 14\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995304\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995304\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/GettyImages-1847181146.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/GettyImages-1847181146.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/GettyImages-1847181146-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/GettyImages-1847181146-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/GettyImages-1847181146-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/GettyImages-1847181146-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view of the Geminid meteor shower and stargazing at the Tunnel View of Yosemite National Park in California, United States, on Dec. 14, 2023. \u003ccite>(Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images))\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>If you missed \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1993717/where-to-watch-perseids-meteor-shower-peak-bay-area-best-places-to-see\">the Perseid meteor shower earlier this summer\u003c/a>, the Geminids may be another opportunity to see an impressive light show if the skies are clear.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The almost full moon that night could wash out the fainter meteors, but if you’re planning to go see it, check the weather and stay warm! The Geminids peak in the early hours of Saturday, Dec. 14.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>See the red planet blazing: Mars at Opposition\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>When? \u003c/strong>Jan. 16\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995307\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 970px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995307\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/jY7RtiXd7UNPssvFqTiQdd-970-80.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"970\" height=\"546\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/jY7RtiXd7UNPssvFqTiQdd-970-80.jpg 970w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/jY7RtiXd7UNPssvFqTiQdd-970-80-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/jY7RtiXd7UNPssvFqTiQdd-970-80-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/jY7RtiXd7UNPssvFqTiQdd-970-80-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 970px) 100vw, 970px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An illustration of the night sky on Dec. 7 showing the full Cold Moon occulting Mars. \u003ccite>(Sky Safari Astronomy)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Another neighboring planet, the fiery Mars, will be in opposition on Jan. 16, when Earth passes between Mars and the sun. During this event, which occurs about every two years, you can look towards the east after sunset and observe Mars as a bright, reddish-orange star. It will be highest in the sky at about midnight.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Look for a (slightly) swollen sun: Earth at Perihelion\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>When? \u003c/strong>Jan. 4\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995308\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995308\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/dMHFuHbsrzjgenjPyomnym.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/dMHFuHbsrzjgenjPyomnym.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/dMHFuHbsrzjgenjPyomnym-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/dMHFuHbsrzjgenjPyomnym-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/dMHFuHbsrzjgenjPyomnym-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/dMHFuHbsrzjgenjPyomnym-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/dMHFuHbsrzjgenjPyomnym-1536x864.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The sun radiates huge amounts of electromagnetic energy in all directions. Earth is only one small recipient of the sun’s energy; the sun’s rays extend far out into the solar system, illuminating all the other planets. \u003ccite>(NASA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>On Jan. 4, 2025, at around 5:30 a.m. PST, our planet will be at “perihelion” — that is, at its closest to the sun. Because of its elliptical orbit, scientists can calculate when the Earth will be at its closest and farthest point from the sun.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At perihelion, the Earth receives 7% more solar energy than when the planet is at its furthest from the sun. To many who aren’t on the lookout, the sun may just look the same as any other day — but it will actually appear slightly larger than any other day in the year.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>And finally, the one you can’t see: The Parker Solar Probe will ‘touch the sun’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>When? \u003c/strong>Dec. 24\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1995305\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1995305\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/GettyImages-1015503676.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"623\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/GettyImages-1015503676.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/GettyImages-1015503676-800x487.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/GettyImages-1015503676-1020x621.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/GettyImages-1015503676-160x97.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/GettyImages-1015503676-768x467.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket launches NASA’s Parker Solar Probe to touch the sun from Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Aug. 12, 2018, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Parker Solar Probe is humanity’s first-ever mission into a part of the sun’s atmosphere called the corona. The probe will directly explore solar processes that are key to understanding and forecasting space weather events that can impact life on Earth. \u003ccite>(Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>On a mission to investigate the mysteries of the largest star in our solar system, NASA launched the Parker Solar Probe in 2018 to study the sun’s outer atmosphere: its corona. Since 2018, the probe has completed seven Venus gravity assist maneuvers — also known as flybys — with the \u003ca href=\"https://www.space.com/the-universe/sun/nasas-parker-solar-probe-to-glimpse-venus-surface-tomorrow-before-historic-sun-encounter\">recent and final one in November this year\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Dec. 24, the unmanned spacecraft made out of composite material that can withstand temperatures of up to 2500 F will make history by becoming the closest object ever to the sun. As the probe gets closer to the sun’s orbit, the faster it will go, claiming the title of the fastest vehicle ever made, Fraknoi said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It will speed up to 430,000 mph. Don’t try that on Freeway 280,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\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": "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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"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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"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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"radiolab": {
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"reveal": {
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},
"rightnowish": {
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"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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"info": "Science Friday is a weekly science talk show, broadcast live over public radio stations nationwide. Each week, the show focuses on science topics that are in the news and tries to bring an educated, balanced discussion to bear on the scientific issues at hand. Panels of expert guests join host Ira Flatow, a veteran science journalist, to discuss science and to take questions from listeners during the call-in portion of the program.",
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"snap-judgment": {
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"title": "Snap Judgment",
"tagline": "Real stories with killer beats",
"info": "The Snap Judgment radio show and podcast mixes real stories with killer beats to produce cinematic, dramatic radio. Snap's musical brand of storytelling dares listeners to see the world through the eyes of another. This is storytelling... with a BEAT!! Snap first aired on public radio stations nationwide in July 2010. Today, Snap Judgment airs on over 450 public radio stations and is brought to the airwaves by KQED & PRX.",
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