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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_25307\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/Napa_quake-e1418960288287.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-25307\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/Napa_quake-e1418960288287.jpg\" alt=\"Dan Kavarian, chief building official with the City of Napa, surveys a building that was damaged by a 6.0 earthquake on August 24, 2014 in Napa, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dan Kavarian, chief building official with the City of Napa, surveys a building that was damaged by a 6.0 earthquake on August 24 in Napa, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Recent studies of the \u003ca href=\"http://comcat.cr.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/nc72282711#summary\">magnitude 6.0 Napa quake\u003c/a> in August suggest that the fault is longer and thus more powerful than previously thought.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The main strand of the West Napa Fault Zone was initially thought to span 25 miles, from Benicia north toward St. Helena. But \u003ca href=\"http://ucdavis.edu/\">U.C. Davis\u003c/a> scientists who have scrutinized the local geology in the wake of the August temblor, say that the fault is 45 miles long, reaching nearly to Calistoga.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This means more potential slippage, which could mean bigger earthquakes, according to U.C. Davis geology professor \u003ca href=\"http://mygeologypage.ucdavis.edu/oskin/\">Mike Oskin\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">‘A magnitude 7.0 would be much more destructive because it would hit the entire wine industry.’\u003ccite>–Mike Oskin,U.C. Davis geology professor\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>“Napa Valley and its surroundings shouldn’t be complacent,” said Oskin. “A magnitude 7.0 would be much more destructive because it would hit the entire wine industry.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, scientists have called the August quake an “overachieving 6.0,” in terms of the damage it caused and the extent of ruptures at the surface.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oskin and his class mapped the Northern stem of the West Napa Valley Fault, which hadn’t been documented as active. There had been no Napa Valley surface rupture in recorded history prior to 2014; surface ruptures are a direct confirmation that \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2014/09/09/quake-revived-streams-could-keep-flowing-for-a-while/\">the fault is active\u003c/a>, according to Oskin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The professor also noticed a line of deformed young gravel deposits along the West side of Napa Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We noticed the folding of river gravel,” Oskin said. “River valleys are flat so when you see a linear scar that’s an indication that the fault is active.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stretching from Benicia north, this young newly overturned rock suggested the fault is active and contiguous up to Calistoga.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_25378\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 250px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/Napa-map-e1419027585710.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-25378\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/Napa-map-e1419027585710.jpg\" alt=\"The West Napa Valley Fault, including a newly mapped section near Calistoga created by U.C. Davis geology professor Mike Oskin and his class. (Mike Oskin)\" width=\"250\" height=\"327\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The West Napa Valley Fault, including a newly mapped section near Calistoga created by U.C. Davis geology professor Mike Oskin and his class. (Mike Oskin)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“One of the things we did was continue mapping that fault,” said U.C. Davis geologist Chad Trexler.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We extended that map all the way north to Calistoga, and when we realized it was all on one continuous structure, we started to think about what would happen if the whole fault ruptured in a single earthquake.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s potentially ugly. Trexler says the fault could produce a magnitude 7.0 quake.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/audio/finding-faults-scientists-close-in-on-napa-quake-origins/\">South Napa quake\u003c/a> struck in August it was the strongest to hit the Bay Area in 25 years. About 200 people were injured and it caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to wineries and historic buildings downtown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scientists with the \u003ca href=\"http://www.usgs.gov/\">U.S. Geological Survey \u003c/a>revealed this week that the fault is still moving, showing persistent “afterslip,” as it’s known.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, they called it “the fastest-moving fault in the world,” with the potential to slip another 2 to 6 inches over the next few years. Scientist say, however, that the afterslip doesn’t necessarily portend another imminent earthquake.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re very far from predicting an earthquake but we’re closer to knowing where they are likely to occur,” said Oskin. “Ideally we’ll get to something more like forecasting the weather in the future.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oskin added a caveat saying even weather predictions aren’t foolproof.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_25307\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/Napa_quake-e1418960288287.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-25307\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/Napa_quake-e1418960288287.jpg\" alt=\"Dan Kavarian, chief building official with the City of Napa, surveys a building that was damaged by a 6.0 earthquake on August 24, 2014 in Napa, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dan Kavarian, chief building official with the City of Napa, surveys a building that was damaged by a 6.0 earthquake on August 24 in Napa, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Recent studies of the \u003ca href=\"http://comcat.cr.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/nc72282711#summary\">magnitude 6.0 Napa quake\u003c/a> in August suggest that the fault is longer and thus more powerful than previously thought.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The main strand of the West Napa Fault Zone was initially thought to span 25 miles, from Benicia north toward St. Helena. But \u003ca href=\"http://ucdavis.edu/\">U.C. Davis\u003c/a> scientists who have scrutinized the local geology in the wake of the August temblor, say that the fault is 45 miles long, reaching nearly to Calistoga.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This means more potential slippage, which could mean bigger earthquakes, according to U.C. Davis geology professor \u003ca href=\"http://mygeologypage.ucdavis.edu/oskin/\">Mike Oskin\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">‘A magnitude 7.0 would be much more destructive because it would hit the entire wine industry.’\u003ccite>–Mike Oskin,U.C. Davis geology professor\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>“Napa Valley and its surroundings shouldn’t be complacent,” said Oskin. “A magnitude 7.0 would be much more destructive because it would hit the entire wine industry.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, scientists have called the August quake an “overachieving 6.0,” in terms of the damage it caused and the extent of ruptures at the surface.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oskin and his class mapped the Northern stem of the West Napa Valley Fault, which hadn’t been documented as active. There had been no Napa Valley surface rupture in recorded history prior to 2014; surface ruptures are a direct confirmation that \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2014/09/09/quake-revived-streams-could-keep-flowing-for-a-while/\">the fault is active\u003c/a>, according to Oskin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The professor also noticed a line of deformed young gravel deposits along the West side of Napa Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We noticed the folding of river gravel,” Oskin said. “River valleys are flat so when you see a linear scar that’s an indication that the fault is active.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stretching from Benicia north, this young newly overturned rock suggested the fault is active and contiguous up to Calistoga.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_25378\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 250px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/Napa-map-e1419027585710.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-25378\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/Napa-map-e1419027585710.jpg\" alt=\"The West Napa Valley Fault, including a newly mapped section near Calistoga created by U.C. Davis geology professor Mike Oskin and his class. (Mike Oskin)\" width=\"250\" height=\"327\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The West Napa Valley Fault, including a newly mapped section near Calistoga created by U.C. Davis geology professor Mike Oskin and his class. (Mike Oskin)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“One of the things we did was continue mapping that fault,” said U.C. Davis geologist Chad Trexler.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We extended that map all the way north to Calistoga, and when we realized it was all on one continuous structure, we started to think about what would happen if the whole fault ruptured in a single earthquake.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s potentially ugly. Trexler says the fault could produce a magnitude 7.0 quake.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/audio/finding-faults-scientists-close-in-on-napa-quake-origins/\">South Napa quake\u003c/a> struck in August it was the strongest to hit the Bay Area in 25 years. About 200 people were injured and it caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to wineries and historic buildings downtown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scientists with the \u003ca href=\"http://www.usgs.gov/\">U.S. Geological Survey \u003c/a>revealed this week that the fault is still moving, showing persistent “afterslip,” as it’s known.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, they called it “the fastest-moving fault in the world,” with the potential to slip another 2 to 6 inches over the next few years. Scientist say, however, that the afterslip doesn’t necessarily portend another imminent earthquake.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re very far from predicting an earthquake but we’re closer to knowing where they are likely to occur,” said Oskin. “Ideally we’ll get to something more like forecasting the weather in the future.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oskin added a caveat saying even weather predictions aren’t foolproof.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_25178\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 681px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/rainwater-collection-system.jpeg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-25178\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/rainwater-collection-system.jpeg\" alt=\"rainwater collection system\" width=\"681\" height=\"511\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Many Northern California counties now offer rebates for rain barrels purchased for residential use. (Water Cache)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Water didn’t just pour into city streets during last week’s storm, it was also stashed away by rain harvesting enthusiasts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s crazy we have all this wasted water that is flooding our cities and we could be capturing and using it,” says Claire Elliot, a home owner in Palo Alto. Elliot has six barrels in her back yard that she uses to water her plants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though they hold a total of 300 gallons of water, she says all six filled up within a couple of hours.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was excited to see them fill up but the question is whether I can use all the water before the next storm event.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The water is not potable but can be used as “graywater,” for outdoor irrigation, laundry and dish washing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_25225\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 339px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/Acterra_rain-barrel.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-25225\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/Acterra_rain-barrel.jpg\" alt=\"Volunteers for Acterra, an environmental non-profit, install rain barrels at Arastradero nature preserve in Palo Alto. (Acterra)\" width=\"339\" height=\"227\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Volunteers for Acterra, an environmental non-profit, install rain barrels at Arastradero nature preserve in Palo Alto. (Acterra)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It hasn’t been universally embraced. In parts of the West, rainwater harvesting has been outlawed, seen as an infringement on those who have downstream water rights on rivers where that rain might end up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Californians have legally been able to collect household runoff \u003ca href=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201120120AB1750\">without a permit\u003c/a> since 2012. In fact, several counties and the \u003ca href=\"http://bawsca.org/conservation/rain-barrel-rebate-program/\">Bay Area Water Supply & Conservation Agency\u003c/a> provide up to $100 in rebates for barrels or cisterns purchased for rainwater harvesting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>BAWSCA has issued 75 rebates since launching its program in October. “We were getting calls the first day after the program was announced,” says Water Resources Manager Michael Hurley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco will start a similar program by spring of next year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most systems for corralling rainwater use a barrel, a mesh screen and a diverter. As rainfall collects in rooftop gutters, instead of gushing out of downspouts it takes a detour through the diverter and into storage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the first rush of water often contains contaminants like leaves, insects and animal waste, many diverters will capture this debris and prevent it from flowing into the barrel, and the mesh discourages mosquitoes from using the collected water as a nursery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Australia, rainwater collection systems became standard accessories during the recent nine-year drought known as the \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/audio/drought-lessons-from-down-under/\">Big Dry\u003c/a>, but have been slower to catch on in California. During a previous four-year program, San Francisco issued fewer than 1,000 rebates for rain catchments within the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a tangible activity that people can do on their own to try and help address drought conditions,” said Hurley. “It won’t be the entire solution but it provides some benefit to home owners and the region.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rain barrels are available at most large hardware supply stores and hold between 50 and 200 gallons of water. A 100-gallon barrel costs about $200.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "More Northern California residents are harnessing winter storms and cashing in on local rebate programs for rainwater harvesting.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_25178\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 681px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/rainwater-collection-system.jpeg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-25178\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/rainwater-collection-system.jpeg\" alt=\"rainwater collection system\" width=\"681\" height=\"511\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Many Northern California counties now offer rebates for rain barrels purchased for residential use. (Water Cache)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Water didn’t just pour into city streets during last week’s storm, it was also stashed away by rain harvesting enthusiasts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s crazy we have all this wasted water that is flooding our cities and we could be capturing and using it,” says Claire Elliot, a home owner in Palo Alto. Elliot has six barrels in her back yard that she uses to water her plants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though they hold a total of 300 gallons of water, she says all six filled up within a couple of hours.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was excited to see them fill up but the question is whether I can use all the water before the next storm event.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The water is not potable but can be used as “graywater,” for outdoor irrigation, laundry and dish washing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_25225\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 339px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/Acterra_rain-barrel.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-25225\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/Acterra_rain-barrel.jpg\" alt=\"Volunteers for Acterra, an environmental non-profit, install rain barrels at Arastradero nature preserve in Palo Alto. (Acterra)\" width=\"339\" height=\"227\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Volunteers for Acterra, an environmental non-profit, install rain barrels at Arastradero nature preserve in Palo Alto. (Acterra)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It hasn’t been universally embraced. In parts of the West, rainwater harvesting has been outlawed, seen as an infringement on those who have downstream water rights on rivers where that rain might end up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Californians have legally been able to collect household runoff \u003ca href=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201120120AB1750\">without a permit\u003c/a> since 2012. In fact, several counties and the \u003ca href=\"http://bawsca.org/conservation/rain-barrel-rebate-program/\">Bay Area Water Supply & Conservation Agency\u003c/a> provide up to $100 in rebates for barrels or cisterns purchased for rainwater harvesting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>BAWSCA has issued 75 rebates since launching its program in October. “We were getting calls the first day after the program was announced,” says Water Resources Manager Michael Hurley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco will start a similar program by spring of next year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most systems for corralling rainwater use a barrel, a mesh screen and a diverter. As rainfall collects in rooftop gutters, instead of gushing out of downspouts it takes a detour through the diverter and into storage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the first rush of water often contains contaminants like leaves, insects and animal waste, many diverters will capture this debris and prevent it from flowing into the barrel, and the mesh discourages mosquitoes from using the collected water as a nursery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Australia, rainwater collection systems became standard accessories during the recent nine-year drought known as the \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/audio/drought-lessons-from-down-under/\">Big Dry\u003c/a>, but have been slower to catch on in California. During a previous four-year program, San Francisco issued fewer than 1,000 rebates for rain catchments within the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a tangible activity that people can do on their own to try and help address drought conditions,” said Hurley. “It won’t be the entire solution but it provides some benefit to home owners and the region.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rain barrels are available at most large hardware supply stores and hold between 50 and 200 gallons of water. A 100-gallon barrel costs about $200.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Designing the Interstellar Doorbell (Or How to Talk to ET)",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"audio-wrap\">\n\u003ch2>Listen:\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>http://www.kqed.org/.stream/anon/radio/science/2014/12/20141215science.mp3\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_25008\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 718px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/10-Lone-Signal-1024x682.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-25008\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/10-Lone-Signal-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"Hands and moon\" width=\"718\" height=\"478\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Last month at the \u003ca href=\"http://www.seti.org/\">SETI Institute\u003c/a> in Mountain View, an international group of scientists, linguists, philosophers and others \u003ca href=\"http://www.seti.org/weeky-lecture/communicating-across-cosmos-summary-workshop-interstellar-message-design\">convened in a workshop\u003c/a> to discuss what might be the most challenging conversation in the history of humankind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If we could send a message to an intelligent extra-terrestrial on some distant planet, they asked, what would we say?This is not a new question. NASA’s \u003ca href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_plaque\">asked it\u003c/a>. The \u003ca href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morse_Message_%281962%29\">Russians\u003c/a> and the Japanese have asked it. Doritos \u003ca href=\"http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080612122817.htm\">asked it\u003c/a>. They seem to have asked it a lot in the 1970s. \u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">We aren’t just sending messages out into the aether anymore. We have addresses.\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Kepler’s Contribution\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there’s a very good reason to be asking it again now, in 2014. Thanks to the \u003ca href=\"http://kepler.nasa.gov/\">Kepler Telescope\u003c/a>, we won’t just be sending messages out into the aether anymore. We have addresses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since its launch in 2009, Kepler has identified \u003ca href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/science/space/keplers-tally-of-planets.html?_r=0\">hundreds of planets\u003c/a> outside our solar system. Some are rocky and Earth-like, orbiting distant stars. Maybe they have -– or, like Mars billions of years ago, they might once have had — mountains, clouds, \u003ca href=\"http://www.space.com/27950-mars-crater-lake-curiosity-rover.html\">lakes\u003c/a> and oceans, even life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We can direct powerful radio transmissions at these planets and hope some form of life knows how to receive them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If there’s life out there,” says \u003ca href=\"http://www.seti.org/users/douglas-vakoch\">Douglas Vakoch\u003c/a>, SETI’s Director of Interstellar Message Composition, “our chances of finding it have increased astronomically.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>So What Should We Say?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Humanity’s attempts to answer this question (maybe \u003ca href=\"http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/unique-everybody-else/201210/dmt-aliens-and-reality-part-1\">not all\u003c/a> attempts) take two basic forms. There are physical objects (e.g., the \u003ca href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_plaque\">Pioneer Plaques\u003c/a>) that we’ve attached to unmanned spaceships on a one-way mission — like messages in a bottle that some space-faring alien might stumble upon. Then there are powerful radio signals such as the \u003ca href=\"http://www.seti.org/seti-institute/project/details/arecibo-message\">Arecibo message\u003c/a>, which was broadcast from a radio telescope in Puerto Rico in 1974.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in terms of messages that try to sum up the subjective experience of being alive on Earth, the gold standard is a \u003ca href=\"http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/goldenrec.html\">pair of 12-inch copper discs\u003c/a> that were attached to the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecrafts in 1977. The Voyagers were launched on missions to explore Saturn and Jupiter (plus Uranus and Neptune for Voyager 2) then drift into the universe, \u003ca href=\"http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2013/12sep_voyager1/\">indefinitely\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_25026\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/7-Across-the-Universe.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-25026\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/7-Across-the-Universe.jpg\" alt=\"NASA broadcast the Beatle’s hit “Across the Universe” toward the star Polaris on the 40th anniversary of the song’s recording in 2008. (NASA/JPL)\" width=\"800\" height=\"531\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">NASA broadcast the Beatle’s hit “Across the Universe” toward the star Polaris on the 40th anniversary of the song’s recording in 2008. (NASA/JPL)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Golden Records were an afterthought. A team led by Carl Sagan saw the opportunity for an interstellar postcard and filled the discs with \u003ca href=\"http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/scenes.html\">images\u003c/a>, with \u003ca href=\"http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/greetings.html\">greetings in different languages\u003c/a> and with \u003ca href=\"http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/music.html\">music\u003c/a> from Beethoven to Blind Willie Johnson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s also the sound of a \u003ca href=\"http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/audio/footsteps.wav\">heartbeat\u003c/a> and a \u003ca href=\"http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/audio/volcanoes.wav\">volcano\u003c/a>. A mother \u003ca href=\"http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/audio/kiss.wav\">comforting\u003c/a> her child.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Have you eaten yet?” asks a speaker of Min Chinese. “Please contact us,” pleads a man speaking Gujarati.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One musical passage in particular captures a range of human experience, Vakoch says, moving from an orderly Bach piano piece into mournful bagpipes and then into a thunderous passage of Stravinsky’s Rites of Spring.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Will an extra-terrestrial understand what it means?” he asks. “Certainly not in the way we do.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That may be a moot point. Vakoch says at its current pace, the Voyager spacecraft — and the records inside it –- won’t come close to another star for another 75,000 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Radio messages could take “only” hundreds of years to reach their destination. But that’d still make for an awkward conversation. If ET got our message and responded, no one on Earth today would be alive to hear it. Would our great-great-great-grandchildren even remember what we’d said?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That quandary assumes an even greater feat: that the extra-terrestrials are able to decode our message in the first place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>How do you communicate with a life form you know absolutely nothing about? Will these extra-terrestrials have language? If we sent an image, could they see it? Even a simple series of numbers — say a Fibonacci sequence — may be as \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KveKjHIipgo\">anthropocentric\u003c/a> as a line of Shakespeare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Send Everything? Or Just One Thing?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Faced with all this uncertainty, participants at the SETI workshop last month fell into two rough camps: Send ET everything — as in the entire Internet — or send them one thing -– a kind of interstellar doorbell.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">Do extra terrestrials have language? What if a simple series of numbers, say a Fibonacci sequence, is as anthropocentric as a line of Shakespeare?\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>I’ll explain the doorbell in a minute.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The send-them-everything camp, Vakoch says, argues that a smarter, more technologically advanced alien civilization might search the Internet and find patterns. Eventually, they might crack the code of human language, even without an interstellar Rosetta Stone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These civilizations are likely much older than ours, says SETI’s \u003ca href=\"http://communicating.seti.org/?q=speakers/seth-shostak\">Seth Shostak\u003c/a>, since any message we receive would have been sent hundreds of years ago. And they’re likely more technologically advanced.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These aren’t soft squishy guys who are interested in arts or music, at least our art and music,” he says. “They’re machines of some sort. Advanced societies will say that more bits are better. More information is better.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This struck the other camp at the conference as a really bad idea, maybe even impolite, the equivalent of meeting someone at a party and just screaming at them for an hour.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What if, they said, we sent them something drastically smaller: a simple signal, a kind of doorbell.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The idea of a doorbell indicates a query, an openness,” Vakoch says. “It’s not a demand to be let in. It’s an indication of the desire to make contact.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>An Olfactory Message\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Los Angeles artist \u003ca href=\"http://sites.artsblock.ucr.edu/free-enterprise/carrie-paterson/\">Carrie Paterson\u003c/a> came to the conference to \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWQlop5Yedk\">present\u003c/a> a radical idea, even among a crowd of unconventional thinkers: that our message might consist of a “symphony of smells.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think the whole point is to send a kind of poem that provokes some curiosity about us,” she says, “some desire to respond.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_25032\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 399px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/6-Teen-Age-Message.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-25032\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/6-Teen-Age-Message.jpg\" alt=\"The content for the Teen-Age Message was decided by Russian adolescents. It included the “1st Theremin Concert for Aliens” and was sent toward six nearby stars in 2001. (Rumlin/Creative Commons)\" width=\"399\" height=\"280\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The content for the Teen-Age Message was decided by Russian adolescents. It included the “1st Theremin Concert for Aliens” and was sent toward six nearby stars in 2001. (Rumlin/Creative Commons)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Smells, Paterson points out, are chemical cues, the same language used by thousands of species on Earth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The hope, she says, is that we might “create something a tree would understand.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>How, exactly, do you transmit a smell 25 million light years? No one really knows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Paterson’s point is that whatever we send should represent all of our planet. Not just humans. Not just scientists. Not just Americans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Vakoch agrees. He’d love to see the United Nations involved, to make this a global question.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If the Secretary-General calls us up,” Vakoch says, “and says, ‘We’d like to have a special session on this,’ I’d be delighted.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, Vakoch has built a website to collect suggestions from all over the world: \u003ca href=\"http://earthspeaks.seti.org/\">Earth Speaks\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whenever some kind of consensus emerges, maybe it’s time to hit send, and hope someone out there is listening.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/div>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_25008\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 718px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/10-Lone-Signal-1024x682.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-25008\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/10-Lone-Signal-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"Hands and moon\" width=\"718\" height=\"478\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Last month at the \u003ca href=\"http://www.seti.org/\">SETI Institute\u003c/a> in Mountain View, an international group of scientists, linguists, philosophers and others \u003ca href=\"http://www.seti.org/weeky-lecture/communicating-across-cosmos-summary-workshop-interstellar-message-design\">convened in a workshop\u003c/a> to discuss what might be the most challenging conversation in the history of humankind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If we could send a message to an intelligent extra-terrestrial on some distant planet, they asked, what would we say?This is not a new question. NASA’s \u003ca href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_plaque\">asked it\u003c/a>. The \u003ca href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morse_Message_%281962%29\">Russians\u003c/a> and the Japanese have asked it. Doritos \u003ca href=\"http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080612122817.htm\">asked it\u003c/a>. They seem to have asked it a lot in the 1970s. \u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">We aren’t just sending messages out into the aether anymore. We have addresses.\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Kepler’s Contribution\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there’s a very good reason to be asking it again now, in 2014. Thanks to the \u003ca href=\"http://kepler.nasa.gov/\">Kepler Telescope\u003c/a>, we won’t just be sending messages out into the aether anymore. We have addresses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since its launch in 2009, Kepler has identified \u003ca href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/science/space/keplers-tally-of-planets.html?_r=0\">hundreds of planets\u003c/a> outside our solar system. Some are rocky and Earth-like, orbiting distant stars. Maybe they have -– or, like Mars billions of years ago, they might once have had — mountains, clouds, \u003ca href=\"http://www.space.com/27950-mars-crater-lake-curiosity-rover.html\">lakes\u003c/a> and oceans, even life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We can direct powerful radio transmissions at these planets and hope some form of life knows how to receive them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If there’s life out there,” says \u003ca href=\"http://www.seti.org/users/douglas-vakoch\">Douglas Vakoch\u003c/a>, SETI’s Director of Interstellar Message Composition, “our chances of finding it have increased astronomically.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>So What Should We Say?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Humanity’s attempts to answer this question (maybe \u003ca href=\"http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/unique-everybody-else/201210/dmt-aliens-and-reality-part-1\">not all\u003c/a> attempts) take two basic forms. There are physical objects (e.g., the \u003ca href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_plaque\">Pioneer Plaques\u003c/a>) that we’ve attached to unmanned spaceships on a one-way mission — like messages in a bottle that some space-faring alien might stumble upon. Then there are powerful radio signals such as the \u003ca href=\"http://www.seti.org/seti-institute/project/details/arecibo-message\">Arecibo message\u003c/a>, which was broadcast from a radio telescope in Puerto Rico in 1974.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in terms of messages that try to sum up the subjective experience of being alive on Earth, the gold standard is a \u003ca href=\"http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/goldenrec.html\">pair of 12-inch copper discs\u003c/a> that were attached to the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecrafts in 1977. The Voyagers were launched on missions to explore Saturn and Jupiter (plus Uranus and Neptune for Voyager 2) then drift into the universe, \u003ca href=\"http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2013/12sep_voyager1/\">indefinitely\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_25026\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/7-Across-the-Universe.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-25026\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/7-Across-the-Universe.jpg\" alt=\"NASA broadcast the Beatle’s hit “Across the Universe” toward the star Polaris on the 40th anniversary of the song’s recording in 2008. (NASA/JPL)\" width=\"800\" height=\"531\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">NASA broadcast the Beatle’s hit “Across the Universe” toward the star Polaris on the 40th anniversary of the song’s recording in 2008. (NASA/JPL)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Golden Records were an afterthought. A team led by Carl Sagan saw the opportunity for an interstellar postcard and filled the discs with \u003ca href=\"http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/scenes.html\">images\u003c/a>, with \u003ca href=\"http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/greetings.html\">greetings in different languages\u003c/a> and with \u003ca href=\"http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/music.html\">music\u003c/a> from Beethoven to Blind Willie Johnson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s also the sound of a \u003ca href=\"http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/audio/footsteps.wav\">heartbeat\u003c/a> and a \u003ca href=\"http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/audio/volcanoes.wav\">volcano\u003c/a>. A mother \u003ca href=\"http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/audio/kiss.wav\">comforting\u003c/a> her child.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Have you eaten yet?” asks a speaker of Min Chinese. “Please contact us,” pleads a man speaking Gujarati.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One musical passage in particular captures a range of human experience, Vakoch says, moving from an orderly Bach piano piece into mournful bagpipes and then into a thunderous passage of Stravinsky’s Rites of Spring.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Will an extra-terrestrial understand what it means?” he asks. “Certainly not in the way we do.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That may be a moot point. Vakoch says at its current pace, the Voyager spacecraft — and the records inside it –- won’t come close to another star for another 75,000 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Radio messages could take “only” hundreds of years to reach their destination. But that’d still make for an awkward conversation. If ET got our message and responded, no one on Earth today would be alive to hear it. Would our great-great-great-grandchildren even remember what we’d said?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That quandary assumes an even greater feat: that the extra-terrestrials are able to decode our message in the first place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>How do you communicate with a life form you know absolutely nothing about? Will these extra-terrestrials have language? If we sent an image, could they see it? Even a simple series of numbers — say a Fibonacci sequence — may be as \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KveKjHIipgo\">anthropocentric\u003c/a> as a line of Shakespeare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Send Everything? Or Just One Thing?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Faced with all this uncertainty, participants at the SETI workshop last month fell into two rough camps: Send ET everything — as in the entire Internet — or send them one thing -– a kind of interstellar doorbell.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">Do extra terrestrials have language? What if a simple series of numbers, say a Fibonacci sequence, is as anthropocentric as a line of Shakespeare?\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>I’ll explain the doorbell in a minute.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The send-them-everything camp, Vakoch says, argues that a smarter, more technologically advanced alien civilization might search the Internet and find patterns. Eventually, they might crack the code of human language, even without an interstellar Rosetta Stone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These civilizations are likely much older than ours, says SETI’s \u003ca href=\"http://communicating.seti.org/?q=speakers/seth-shostak\">Seth Shostak\u003c/a>, since any message we receive would have been sent hundreds of years ago. And they’re likely more technologically advanced.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These aren’t soft squishy guys who are interested in arts or music, at least our art and music,” he says. “They’re machines of some sort. Advanced societies will say that more bits are better. More information is better.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This struck the other camp at the conference as a really bad idea, maybe even impolite, the equivalent of meeting someone at a party and just screaming at them for an hour.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What if, they said, we sent them something drastically smaller: a simple signal, a kind of doorbell.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The idea of a doorbell indicates a query, an openness,” Vakoch says. “It’s not a demand to be let in. It’s an indication of the desire to make contact.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>An Olfactory Message\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Los Angeles artist \u003ca href=\"http://sites.artsblock.ucr.edu/free-enterprise/carrie-paterson/\">Carrie Paterson\u003c/a> came to the conference to \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWQlop5Yedk\">present\u003c/a> a radical idea, even among a crowd of unconventional thinkers: that our message might consist of a “symphony of smells.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think the whole point is to send a kind of poem that provokes some curiosity about us,” she says, “some desire to respond.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_25032\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 399px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/6-Teen-Age-Message.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-25032\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/6-Teen-Age-Message.jpg\" alt=\"The content for the Teen-Age Message was decided by Russian adolescents. It included the “1st Theremin Concert for Aliens” and was sent toward six nearby stars in 2001. (Rumlin/Creative Commons)\" width=\"399\" height=\"280\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The content for the Teen-Age Message was decided by Russian adolescents. It included the “1st Theremin Concert for Aliens” and was sent toward six nearby stars in 2001. (Rumlin/Creative Commons)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Smells, Paterson points out, are chemical cues, the same language used by thousands of species on Earth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The hope, she says, is that we might “create something a tree would understand.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>How, exactly, do you transmit a smell 25 million light years? No one really knows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Paterson’s point is that whatever we send should represent all of our planet. Not just humans. Not just scientists. Not just Americans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Vakoch agrees. He’d love to see the United Nations involved, to make this a global question.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If the Secretary-General calls us up,” Vakoch says, “and says, ‘We’d like to have a special session on this,’ I’d be delighted.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, Vakoch has built a website to collect suggestions from all over the world: \u003ca href=\"http://earthspeaks.seti.org/\">Earth Speaks\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whenever some kind of consensus emerges, maybe it’s time to hit send, and hope someone out there is listening.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_24972\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 782px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/AA9Q7388-1024x682.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-24972\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/AA9Q7388-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"A skier at Alpine Meadows Ski Resort on Friday after a Bay Area storm left more than a foot of snow in parts of the Sierra Nevada. (Jeff Engerbretson/Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows)\" width=\"782\" height=\"521\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A skier at Alpine Meadows on Friday after a Bay Area storm left more than a foot of snow in parts of the Sierra Nevada. (Jeff Engerbretson/Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Strong winds and white-out conditions forced many Sierra Nevada ski resorts to close Thursday. The \u003ca href=\"http://www.weather.gov/\">National Weather Service\u003c/a> issued a blizzard warning and \u003ca href=\"http://www.dot.ca.gov/cgi-bin/roads.cgi\">Caltrans\u003c/a> urged travelers to use chains while traveling Highway 80 toward Tahoe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Friday, the roads cleared and many ski resorts opened after receiving almost two feet of snow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.onthesnow.com/california/sugar-bowl-resort/ski-resort.html\">Sugar Bowl Resort\u003c/a>, near Donner Lake, got 22 inches and \u003ca href=\"http://www.onthesnow.com/california/alpine-meadows/ski-resort.html\">Alpine Meadows\u003c/a>, which opened for the first time this season, has 14 inches of new snow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tegan Kopilenko, a spokeswoman for \u003ca href=\"http://squawalpine.com/\">Squaw Valley-Alpine Meadows\u003c/a>, said the storm improved ski trails near the base of the mountain, where the resort has been relying on man-made snow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The lower parts don’t always get snow early,” Kopilenko said, “and this year they are, so it makes more of the mountain accessible to more people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Sierra has had less snow this year in 2014, due partly to normal fluctuations temperature.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/Snow-pack-maps.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-24992\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/Snow-pack-maps.png\" alt=\"Snow pack maps\" width=\"422\" height=\"383\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The drought has played a minor role too, according to Greg Fall, a researcher at the \u003ca href=\"http://www.nohrsc.noaa.gov/\">National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Because of the drought, we started off with almost no snow in the Sierra,” Fall said. “This storm has made a significant dent but it hasn’t turned it into a normal year.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, \u003ca href=\"http://www.nohrsc.noaa.gov/nsa/index.html?region=Sierra_Nevada&year=2013&month=12&day=12&units=e\">75 percent\u003c/a> of the Sierra Nevada range was covered in snow; this year, it’s \u003ca href=\"http://www.nohrsc.noaa.gov/nsa/index.html?region=Sierra_Nevada&year=2014&month=12&day=12&units=e\">25 percent\u003c/a>, according to data from the Remote Sensing Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A storm the first week of December left little more than what Coop Cooper calls “snain” — a combination of snow and rain. Cooper is a public communications manager for \u003ca href=\"http://www.onthesnow.com/california/kirkwood/ski-resort.html\">Kirkwood Mountain Resort\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The rain came in really warm,” he said. Not this time, though. Kirkwood got 13 inches of snow in Thursday’s storm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Resorts can expect more snow next week as a new storm moves through the Bay Area Monday.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_24972\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 782px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/AA9Q7388-1024x682.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-24972\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/AA9Q7388-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"A skier at Alpine Meadows Ski Resort on Friday after a Bay Area storm left more than a foot of snow in parts of the Sierra Nevada. (Jeff Engerbretson/Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows)\" width=\"782\" height=\"521\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A skier at Alpine Meadows on Friday after a Bay Area storm left more than a foot of snow in parts of the Sierra Nevada. (Jeff Engerbretson/Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Strong winds and white-out conditions forced many Sierra Nevada ski resorts to close Thursday. The \u003ca href=\"http://www.weather.gov/\">National Weather Service\u003c/a> issued a blizzard warning and \u003ca href=\"http://www.dot.ca.gov/cgi-bin/roads.cgi\">Caltrans\u003c/a> urged travelers to use chains while traveling Highway 80 toward Tahoe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Friday, the roads cleared and many ski resorts opened after receiving almost two feet of snow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.onthesnow.com/california/sugar-bowl-resort/ski-resort.html\">Sugar Bowl Resort\u003c/a>, near Donner Lake, got 22 inches and \u003ca href=\"http://www.onthesnow.com/california/alpine-meadows/ski-resort.html\">Alpine Meadows\u003c/a>, which opened for the first time this season, has 14 inches of new snow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tegan Kopilenko, a spokeswoman for \u003ca href=\"http://squawalpine.com/\">Squaw Valley-Alpine Meadows\u003c/a>, said the storm improved ski trails near the base of the mountain, where the resort has been relying on man-made snow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The lower parts don’t always get snow early,” Kopilenko said, “and this year they are, so it makes more of the mountain accessible to more people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Sierra has had less snow this year in 2014, due partly to normal fluctuations temperature.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/Snow-pack-maps.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-24992\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/Snow-pack-maps.png\" alt=\"Snow pack maps\" width=\"422\" height=\"383\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The drought has played a minor role too, according to Greg Fall, a researcher at the \u003ca href=\"http://www.nohrsc.noaa.gov/\">National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Because of the drought, we started off with almost no snow in the Sierra,” Fall said. “This storm has made a significant dent but it hasn’t turned it into a normal year.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, \u003ca href=\"http://www.nohrsc.noaa.gov/nsa/index.html?region=Sierra_Nevada&year=2013&month=12&day=12&units=e\">75 percent\u003c/a> of the Sierra Nevada range was covered in snow; this year, it’s \u003ca href=\"http://www.nohrsc.noaa.gov/nsa/index.html?region=Sierra_Nevada&year=2014&month=12&day=12&units=e\">25 percent\u003c/a>, according to data from the Remote Sensing Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A storm the first week of December left little more than what Coop Cooper calls “snain” — a combination of snow and rain. Cooper is a public communications manager for \u003ca href=\"http://www.onthesnow.com/california/kirkwood/ski-resort.html\">Kirkwood Mountain Resort\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The rain came in really warm,” he said. Not this time, though. Kirkwood got 13 inches of snow in Thursday’s storm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Resorts can expect more snow next week as a new storm moves through the Bay Area Monday.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "'Pineapple Express' Soaks Bay Area",
"headTitle": "‘Pineapple Express’ Soaks Bay Area | KQED",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_24894\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 720px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/Storm_GIF.gif\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-24894 size-full\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/Storm_GIF.gif\" alt=\"Storm_GIF\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A satellite image shows an atmospheric river, which brought rain and strong winds to the U.S. West Coast on Thursday. (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As city streets flood and power lines go down, don’t blame \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/audio/drought-myth-busting-why-el-nino-wont-save-california/\">El Niño\u003c/a>. The epic storm that hit California early Thursday morning is caused by a water vapor filled low-pressure system called an atmospheric river.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Long and narrow, it carries ten Mississippi Rivers’ worth of water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Originating near Hawaii, this ‘Pineapple Express’ brings atmospheric moisture up to the West Coast. As it condenses, water vapor in the river falls as rain – or snow – at higher elevations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A handful of storms during California’s rainy season are atmospheric rivers that release large amounts of water in a short period of time. Although a megastorm can last more than a week, smaller atmospheric rivers usually last a few days. Annually, atmospheric rivers account for 30 to 50 percent of California’s precipitation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=”op29xT9KjaYGLxM5RebKoJBr5wxvJWJA”]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These streams in the sky form near mid-latitudes. The \u003ca href=\"http://www.weatherwest.com/archives/1188\">last large one\u003c/a> to hit the Bay Area was in February.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With 80 percent of California in an extreme drought, the deluge could bring some areas back to their average annual rainfall totals, according to \u003ca href=\"http://scrippsscholars.ucsd.edu/mralph\">Marty Ralph\u003c/a>, a meteorologist with the \u003ca href=\"https://scripps.ucsd.edu/\">Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This will have a potentially useful impact on water supply during this drought,” said Ralph.”Some reservoirs will get a real benefit out of this,” he added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, some Bay Area counties are expected to receive more than a foot of water. Guerneville in Sonoma County has received nearly five inches of water in less than 24 hours. A blizzard warning is also in effect for the western slope of the northern Sierra Nevada, which could receive up to 3 feet of snow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_24844\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 380px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/NOAA.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-24844\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/NOAA.jpg\" alt=\"National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) electronics engineer Tom Ayers conducting an atmospheric river observation at the Bodega Marine Laboratory in Bodega Bay, CA, on March 19, 2013.\" width=\"380\" height=\"253\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) electronics engineer Tom Ayers conducting an atmospheric river observation at the Bodega Marine Laboratory in Bodega Bay on March 19, 2013. (California Department of Water Resources)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>After three years of little rain, some reservoirs like Uvas near Gilroy are at less than five percent of capacity. Fuller reservoirs may be one result of this storm, in addition to power outages, mudslides and blizzard conditions in the mountains.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Expect “numerous trees down” due to gusts of wind measuring 50 miles per hour, said meteorologist Steve Anderson of the \u003ca href=\"http://www.weather.gov/\">National Weather Service\u003c/a>. “Most of the trees are in drought stress…so it won’t take much, if anything, to push them all over,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Damage from the storm, such as downed trees, power lines and mudslides, may extend from Mendocino to Monterey.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For meteorologist Marty Ralph, who studies extreme atmospheric events, this storm is a chance to understand how the pressure system works, which could help prepare for future powerful storm events.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the \u003ca href=\"http://bml.ucdavis.edu/\">UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory\u003c/a> in Bodega Bay, he measures soil moisture networks and uses rain gauges to track precipitation.”This is part of the beauty of science, we’re studying how this all works…in real time,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The storm is expected to clear tomorrow, as the atmospheric river of rain continues moving down the coast to San Diego, losing strength along the way.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "The precipitation flooding many parts of the Bay Area is part of a low pressure system that is both common and uncommon during California's winter months.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_24894\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 720px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/Storm_GIF.gif\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-24894 size-full\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/Storm_GIF.gif\" alt=\"Storm_GIF\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A satellite image shows an atmospheric river, which brought rain and strong winds to the U.S. West Coast on Thursday. (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As city streets flood and power lines go down, don’t blame \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/audio/drought-myth-busting-why-el-nino-wont-save-california/\">El Niño\u003c/a>. The epic storm that hit California early Thursday morning is caused by a water vapor filled low-pressure system called an atmospheric river.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Long and narrow, it carries ten Mississippi Rivers’ worth of water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Originating near Hawaii, this ‘Pineapple Express’ brings atmospheric moisture up to the West Coast. As it condenses, water vapor in the river falls as rain – or snow – at higher elevations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A handful of storms during California’s rainy season are atmospheric rivers that release large amounts of water in a short period of time. Although a megastorm can last more than a week, smaller atmospheric rivers usually last a few days. Annually, atmospheric rivers account for 30 to 50 percent of California’s precipitation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These streams in the sky form near mid-latitudes. The \u003ca href=\"http://www.weatherwest.com/archives/1188\">last large one\u003c/a> to hit the Bay Area was in February.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With 80 percent of California in an extreme drought, the deluge could bring some areas back to their average annual rainfall totals, according to \u003ca href=\"http://scrippsscholars.ucsd.edu/mralph\">Marty Ralph\u003c/a>, a meteorologist with the \u003ca href=\"https://scripps.ucsd.edu/\">Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This will have a potentially useful impact on water supply during this drought,” said Ralph.”Some reservoirs will get a real benefit out of this,” he added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, some Bay Area counties are expected to receive more than a foot of water. Guerneville in Sonoma County has received nearly five inches of water in less than 24 hours. A blizzard warning is also in effect for the western slope of the northern Sierra Nevada, which could receive up to 3 feet of snow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_24844\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 380px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/NOAA.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-24844\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/NOAA.jpg\" alt=\"National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) electronics engineer Tom Ayers conducting an atmospheric river observation at the Bodega Marine Laboratory in Bodega Bay, CA, on March 19, 2013.\" width=\"380\" height=\"253\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) electronics engineer Tom Ayers conducting an atmospheric river observation at the Bodega Marine Laboratory in Bodega Bay on March 19, 2013. (California Department of Water Resources)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>After three years of little rain, some reservoirs like Uvas near Gilroy are at less than five percent of capacity. Fuller reservoirs may be one result of this storm, in addition to power outages, mudslides and blizzard conditions in the mountains.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Expect “numerous trees down” due to gusts of wind measuring 50 miles per hour, said meteorologist Steve Anderson of the \u003ca href=\"http://www.weather.gov/\">National Weather Service\u003c/a>. “Most of the trees are in drought stress…so it won’t take much, if anything, to push them all over,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Damage from the storm, such as downed trees, power lines and mudslides, may extend from Mendocino to Monterey.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For meteorologist Marty Ralph, who studies extreme atmospheric events, this storm is a chance to understand how the pressure system works, which could help prepare for future powerful storm events.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the \u003ca href=\"http://bml.ucdavis.edu/\">UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory\u003c/a> in Bodega Bay, he measures soil moisture networks and uses rain gauges to track precipitation.”This is part of the beauty of science, we’re studying how this all works…in real time,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The storm is expected to clear tomorrow, as the atmospheric river of rain continues moving down the coast to San Diego, losing strength along the way.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "California's Drought: Is it Global Warming?",
"headTitle": "California’s Drought: Is it Global Warming? | KQED",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_24642\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/12290993595_30600f2df7_z-e1418080548549.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-24642\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/12290993595_30600f2df7_z-e1418080548549.jpg\" alt=\"12290993595_30600f2df7_z\" width=\"640\" height=\"359\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Uvas Reservoir north of Gilroy stood at less than four percent of its total capacity in early December. (Ian Abbott/Flickr)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Federal climate scientists say that \u003ca title=\"Q-Sci - Drought Watch\" href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/series/california-drought-watch/?=science_widget\">California’s drought\u003c/a>, now in its fourth year, is not likely the product of human-induced global warming.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca title=\"NOAA - drought drivers report\" href=\"http://cpo.noaa.gov/ClimatePrograms/ModelingAnalysisPredictionsandProjections/MAPPTaskForces/DroughtTaskForce/CaliforniaDrought.aspx\">new report\u003c/a>, based on seven models that ran 160 “reenactments” of the last three years, concludes that “perhaps about two-thirds of the precipitation deficits” of the last three years have been the product of various convergent factors, including “a randomness of the atmosphere,” says Marty Hoerling, a climate scientist at the \u003ca href=\"http://www.noaa.gov/\">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration\u003c/a>‘s Earth System Research Laboratory and one of the study’s co-authors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In other words, it’s been mostly natural variability, which is science-speak for the random year-to-year fluctuations in precipitation that we would normally expect.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">The current California drought is ‘one of the most severe’ since 1895.\u003ccite>— Richard Seager,\u003cbr>\nColumbia University\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Most climate models show that rising greenhouse gas emissions should produce more intense precipitation during California’s core mid-winter “rainy season” and less during the spring months, creating what lead author Richard Seager of Columbia University calls a “shorter, sharper rainy season.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That hasn’t been happening in recent years. Therefore, says Seager, “The events of the last three winters were primarily due to the natural variability of the atmosphere-ocean system.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The report has drawn fire from some scientists and commentators who say that it leaves out the effects of \u003ca title=\"Q-Sci - post\" href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2014/01/15/heat-breaks-records-all-over-bay-area-weather\">record-high temperatures\u003c/a> in California this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brenda Ekwurzel, senior climate scientist at the \u003ca href=\"http://www.ucsusa.org/\">Union of Concerned Scientists\u003c/a>, wrote in a response that, “The NOAA study points to natural variability, but it is important to note that these random variations are happening in the context of higher overall temperatures caused by climate change and warmer temperatures spell trouble for water in California.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s well understood that \u003ca title=\"Q-Sci - post\" href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2014/10/14/high-temps-intensified-california-drought/\">high temperatures tend to exacerbate drought\u003c/a> impacts, baking moisture out of the ground through increased evaporation and transpiration by plants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=”SJvxYJSRSSNAGhrem6PCh8609h1g5lSK”]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition, “Warmer temperatures are widening the gap between water supply and demand by contributing to earlier spring snow melt meaning less water is available when demands are the highest in mid-to-late summer,” said UCS climate scientist Juliet Christian-Smith in the same response. “As global warming continues, decreasing snowpack and earlier snowmelt — coupled with increasing demand for water — will likely exacerbate water shortages.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seager says the “main driver” of the drought has been lack of precipitation, which defied the predictive models amid rising carbon emissions, but he and Hoerling agree that it would be useful to “continue the analysis by looking at the land surface hydrology and working out what the role of increasing temperature was,” as Seager put it to reporters in a conference call.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hydrologist Peter Gleick of the Oakland-based Pacific Institute says the NOAA report lends itself to misinterpretation because of the “fundamental difference between ’cause’ and ‘influence.'”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Asking whether climate changes ’caused’ the current drought is simply the wrong question,” Gleick wrote in an email to KQED. “While there remains plenty of interesting science to be done about how climate changes will cause extreme events in the future, we already see today a growing and clear influence of climate changes on storms and droughts around the world. The influence of human-caused climate change is already apparent.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The NOAA scientists acknowledge the historic nature of the drought itself. Seager describes it as “one of the most severe” since 1895, when the state began keeping precipitation records. Even with December coming down on the wet side so far, it’s impossible to say whether this winter will extend the drought or help bring an end to it, according to Seager and Hoerling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In the last three years, California lost essentially one whole year’s worth of precipitation,” Seager notes.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Not really, says a new report from federal climate scientists. But others say that report doesn't show the whole picture.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_24642\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/12290993595_30600f2df7_z-e1418080548549.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-24642\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/12290993595_30600f2df7_z-e1418080548549.jpg\" alt=\"12290993595_30600f2df7_z\" width=\"640\" height=\"359\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Uvas Reservoir north of Gilroy stood at less than four percent of its total capacity in early December. (Ian Abbott/Flickr)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Federal climate scientists say that \u003ca title=\"Q-Sci - Drought Watch\" href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/series/california-drought-watch/?=science_widget\">California’s drought\u003c/a>, now in its fourth year, is not likely the product of human-induced global warming.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca title=\"NOAA - drought drivers report\" href=\"http://cpo.noaa.gov/ClimatePrograms/ModelingAnalysisPredictionsandProjections/MAPPTaskForces/DroughtTaskForce/CaliforniaDrought.aspx\">new report\u003c/a>, based on seven models that ran 160 “reenactments” of the last three years, concludes that “perhaps about two-thirds of the precipitation deficits” of the last three years have been the product of various convergent factors, including “a randomness of the atmosphere,” says Marty Hoerling, a climate scientist at the \u003ca href=\"http://www.noaa.gov/\">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration\u003c/a>‘s Earth System Research Laboratory and one of the study’s co-authors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In other words, it’s been mostly natural variability, which is science-speak for the random year-to-year fluctuations in precipitation that we would normally expect.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">The current California drought is ‘one of the most severe’ since 1895.\u003ccite>— Richard Seager,\u003cbr>\nColumbia University\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Most climate models show that rising greenhouse gas emissions should produce more intense precipitation during California’s core mid-winter “rainy season” and less during the spring months, creating what lead author Richard Seager of Columbia University calls a “shorter, sharper rainy season.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That hasn’t been happening in recent years. Therefore, says Seager, “The events of the last three winters were primarily due to the natural variability of the atmosphere-ocean system.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The report has drawn fire from some scientists and commentators who say that it leaves out the effects of \u003ca title=\"Q-Sci - post\" href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2014/01/15/heat-breaks-records-all-over-bay-area-weather\">record-high temperatures\u003c/a> in California this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brenda Ekwurzel, senior climate scientist at the \u003ca href=\"http://www.ucsusa.org/\">Union of Concerned Scientists\u003c/a>, wrote in a response that, “The NOAA study points to natural variability, but it is important to note that these random variations are happening in the context of higher overall temperatures caused by climate change and warmer temperatures spell trouble for water in California.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s well understood that \u003ca title=\"Q-Sci - post\" href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2014/10/14/high-temps-intensified-california-drought/\">high temperatures tend to exacerbate drought\u003c/a> impacts, baking moisture out of the ground through increased evaporation and transpiration by plants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition, “Warmer temperatures are widening the gap between water supply and demand by contributing to earlier spring snow melt meaning less water is available when demands are the highest in mid-to-late summer,” said UCS climate scientist Juliet Christian-Smith in the same response. “As global warming continues, decreasing snowpack and earlier snowmelt — coupled with increasing demand for water — will likely exacerbate water shortages.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seager says the “main driver” of the drought has been lack of precipitation, which defied the predictive models amid rising carbon emissions, but he and Hoerling agree that it would be useful to “continue the analysis by looking at the land surface hydrology and working out what the role of increasing temperature was,” as Seager put it to reporters in a conference call.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hydrologist Peter Gleick of the Oakland-based Pacific Institute says the NOAA report lends itself to misinterpretation because of the “fundamental difference between ’cause’ and ‘influence.'”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Asking whether climate changes ’caused’ the current drought is simply the wrong question,” Gleick wrote in an email to KQED. “While there remains plenty of interesting science to be done about how climate changes will cause extreme events in the future, we already see today a growing and clear influence of climate changes on storms and droughts around the world. The influence of human-caused climate change is already apparent.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The NOAA scientists acknowledge the historic nature of the drought itself. Seager describes it as “one of the most severe” since 1895, when the state began keeping precipitation records. Even with December coming down on the wet side so far, it’s impossible to say whether this winter will extend the drought or help bring an end to it, according to Seager and Hoerling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In the last three years, California lost essentially one whole year’s worth of precipitation,” Seager notes.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Study: California Drought Most Severe Dry Spell in at least 1,200 Years",
"headTitle": "Study: California Drought Most Severe Dry Spell in at least 1,200 Years | KQED",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_24540\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/droughtpic1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-24540 size-full\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/droughtpic1.jpg\" alt=\"A car sits in dried and cracked earth of what was the bottom of the Almaden Reservoir on January 28, 2014 in San Jose, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\" width=\"640\" height=\"430\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A car sits in dried and cracked earth of what was the bottom of the Almaden Reservoir south of San Jose on Jan. 28. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>California’s current drought is pretty exceptional — like the driest in about a millennium — according to an article published today in the journal \u003cem>Geophysical Research Letters\u003c/em> by scientists with the University of Minnesota and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But how could they know that? There weren’t a lot of rain gauges in California in 800 A.D. — at least, not the plastic kind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So authors Daniel Griffin and Kevin Anchukaitis looked to tree-ring samples from California blue oaks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_24564\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 320px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/ring-core-ejon_ranch_DSC3975-243x162.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-24564\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/ring-core-ejon_ranch_DSC3975-243x162.jpg\" alt=\"Pencil-like tree-ring cores are collected non-destructively using a Swedish increment borer in May, 2014. (Daniel Griffin/University of Minnesota)\" width=\"320\" height=\"213\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pencil-like tree-ring cores are collected non-destructively using a Swedish increment borer in May, 2014. (Daniel Griffin/University of Minnesota)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“California’s old blue oaks are as close to nature’s rain gauges as we get,” said Griffin, a NOAA Climate and Global Change Fellow with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. “They thrive in some of California’s driest environments.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The researchers collected their own blue oak tree-ring samples from south and central California, giving them a pretty good idea of yearly precipitation in the area back to 1293. They then augmented their samples with data from the \u003ca href=\"http://iridl.ldeo.columbia.edu/SOURCES/.LDEO/.TRL/.NADA2004/.pdsi-atlas.html\">North American Drought Atlas\u003c/a> and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Palmer Drought Severity Index.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The result: The study estimates that in the past 1,200 years, there have been 66 dry periods lasting three-to-nine years and 37 more-severe, three-year droughts. But not one of them has been as extreme as the one beginning in 2012, despite some years in the past seeing similarly low precipitation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not only lack of rain that makes a drought, though. \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2014/10/14/high-temps-intensified-california-drought/\">Record-high temperatures\u003c/a> added to California’s strife to make this dry spell the worst in more than 1,000 years, according to the study. The researchers estimate high temperatures have intensified the drought by about 36 percent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UC Berkeley geology professor and researcher Lynn Ingram said the study’s findings appear solid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The tree-ring records provide the highest resolution as they have annual growth layers,” she said, adding the study provides a “cautionary lesson” about how human-caused warming “may already be impacting climate and water in California.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Watch the California drought progress from the beginning of 2011 to the end of 2014 below. The NOAA U.S. Drought Monitor released the latest outlook today, up-to-date as of Dec. 2. More than half the state is now in “exceptional drought,” defined as “exceptional and widespread crop/pasture losses; shortages of water in reservoirs, streams, and wells creating water emergencies.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http://u.s.kqed.net/2014/12/04/DroughtMapOverTimeLargerupdateDecember.gif\" width=\"640\" height=\"710\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_24592\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/drought-legend-1024x396.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-24592 size-large\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/drought-legend-1024x396.jpg\" alt=\"Click on the legend for a description of each drought category.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"396\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Click on the legend for a description of each drought category.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This animation shows California’s drought through its development, from January, 2011 through early December 2014, as expressed by NOAA’s U.S. Drought Monitor.\u003c/em> (Olivia Hubert-Allen/KQED)\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_24540\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/droughtpic1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-24540 size-full\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/droughtpic1.jpg\" alt=\"A car sits in dried and cracked earth of what was the bottom of the Almaden Reservoir on January 28, 2014 in San Jose, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\" width=\"640\" height=\"430\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A car sits in dried and cracked earth of what was the bottom of the Almaden Reservoir south of San Jose on Jan. 28. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>California’s current drought is pretty exceptional — like the driest in about a millennium — according to an article published today in the journal \u003cem>Geophysical Research Letters\u003c/em> by scientists with the University of Minnesota and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But how could they know that? There weren’t a lot of rain gauges in California in 800 A.D. — at least, not the plastic kind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So authors Daniel Griffin and Kevin Anchukaitis looked to tree-ring samples from California blue oaks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_24564\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 320px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/ring-core-ejon_ranch_DSC3975-243x162.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-24564\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/ring-core-ejon_ranch_DSC3975-243x162.jpg\" alt=\"Pencil-like tree-ring cores are collected non-destructively using a Swedish increment borer in May, 2014. (Daniel Griffin/University of Minnesota)\" width=\"320\" height=\"213\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pencil-like tree-ring cores are collected non-destructively using a Swedish increment borer in May, 2014. (Daniel Griffin/University of Minnesota)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“California’s old blue oaks are as close to nature’s rain gauges as we get,” said Griffin, a NOAA Climate and Global Change Fellow with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. “They thrive in some of California’s driest environments.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The researchers collected their own blue oak tree-ring samples from south and central California, giving them a pretty good idea of yearly precipitation in the area back to 1293. They then augmented their samples with data from the \u003ca href=\"http://iridl.ldeo.columbia.edu/SOURCES/.LDEO/.TRL/.NADA2004/.pdsi-atlas.html\">North American Drought Atlas\u003c/a> and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Palmer Drought Severity Index.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The result: The study estimates that in the past 1,200 years, there have been 66 dry periods lasting three-to-nine years and 37 more-severe, three-year droughts. But not one of them has been as extreme as the one beginning in 2012, despite some years in the past seeing similarly low precipitation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not only lack of rain that makes a drought, though. \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2014/10/14/high-temps-intensified-california-drought/\">Record-high temperatures\u003c/a> added to California’s strife to make this dry spell the worst in more than 1,000 years, according to the study. The researchers estimate high temperatures have intensified the drought by about 36 percent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UC Berkeley geology professor and researcher Lynn Ingram said the study’s findings appear solid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The tree-ring records provide the highest resolution as they have annual growth layers,” she said, adding the study provides a “cautionary lesson” about how human-caused warming “may already be impacting climate and water in California.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Watch the California drought progress from the beginning of 2011 to the end of 2014 below. The NOAA U.S. Drought Monitor released the latest outlook today, up-to-date as of Dec. 2. More than half the state is now in “exceptional drought,” defined as “exceptional and widespread crop/pasture losses; shortages of water in reservoirs, streams, and wells creating water emergencies.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http://u.s.kqed.net/2014/12/04/DroughtMapOverTimeLargerupdateDecember.gif\" width=\"640\" height=\"710\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_24592\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/drought-legend-1024x396.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-24592 size-large\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/drought-legend-1024x396.jpg\" alt=\"Click on the legend for a description of each drought category.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"396\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Click on the legend for a description of each drought category.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This animation shows California’s drought through its development, from January, 2011 through early December 2014, as expressed by NOAA’s U.S. Drought Monitor.\u003c/em> (Olivia Hubert-Allen/KQED)\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "New Residential Water Use Numbers Indicate Conservation Backslide",
"headTitle": "New Residential Water Use Numbers Indicate Conservation Backslide | KQED",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_24447\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 850px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/waterlevel.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/waterlevel.jpg\" alt=\"Receding water levels can be seen around the San Gabriel Reservoir, or San Gabriel Dam, on July 29. The reservoir provides flood control, groundwater recharge flows and hydroelectricity for the heavily populated San Gabriel Valley in the Greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images)\" width=\"850\" height=\"537\" class=\"size-full wp-image-24447\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Receding water levels can be seen around the San Gabriel Reservoir, or San Gabriel Dam, on July 29. The reservoir provides flood control, groundwater recharge flows and hydroelectricity for the heavily populated San Gabriel Valley in the Greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The latest year-over-year \u003ca href=\"http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/waterrights/water_issues/programs/drought/conservation_reporting_info.shtml\">residential water use numbers\u003c/a> are out, offering a glimpse at how much of the wet stuff larger cities throughout California are using and how much they’re conserving.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The broad view for October’s water conservation efforts isn’t good, but the gloomy news comes with warnings about comparing data 1) between cities that may have very different water needs and 2) across time when temperature could be factor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That said, October represents a significant backslide in water conservation statewide. Water use this October was down 6.7 percent compared to the same time last year. Sounds good, but that’s also a 3.6 percent decrease in water savings compared to \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2014/11/04/new-numbers-highlight-contrasts-in-california-water-use/\">September\u003c/a>, 2014, which had a statewide conservation rate of 10.3 percent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re using less water, but they’re using less less water than they did last month,” State Water Board Chair Felicia Marcus said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Marcus said the gallons per capita, per day average is a new measurement, and officials are still grappling with exactly what it means.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This set of reports has raised more questions than answers for us,” Marcus said, but she added that it could be useful in transferring a best practice from a city with conservation success to another similar community struggling to reduce usage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State and local water officials worry the drive to conserve will falter as winter storms start to hit the state. But it’s \u003ca href=\"http://www.mercurynews.com/drought/ci_26932356/california-drought-not-likely-end-this-winter-experts\">unlikely\u003c/a> that California will get enough rain this season to break the severe drought, now entering its fourth year.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">‘If folks don’t take action, we probably will have to.’\u003ccite>Felicia Marcus\u003cbr>State Water Board Chair\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>“As we’ve seen over time, conservation wanes a bit when you get into fall and winter months,” said Lisa Lien-Mager, spokeswoman for the Association of California Water Agencies. “Even though we may be in a drought, people aren’t thinking about it as much as they did in the summer.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lien-Mager noted that 2014 is on pace to be a record-setting warm year for California, which factors into water usage and \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2014/10/14/high-temps-intensified-california-drought/\">the drought\u003c/a>. She said long-term efforts, like water districts offering \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/audio/take-out-your-lawn-and-get-paid-for-it/\">cash rewards to residents who replace lawns\u003c/a> with drought-friendlier landscaping, have yet to impact usage, but they will.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They may not show the results immediately, but those things are happening, we know that,” she said. “Those programs are going through the roof all around the state. We have to show some patience.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The report does indicate which larger cities and regions are continuing to conserve and which are falling off. The Bay Area “gets a gold star,” Marcus said, noting that San Francisco uses the fewest gallons per capita, per day of any major city in the state. San Franciscans used an average of 45 gallons per person each day in October, with an 8.73 percent reduction this year compared to the same time last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even bigger users in the Bay Area, like the city of Hillsborough down the peninsula, are maintaining conservation. The city guzzles 228 gallons per person, per day, but it has reduced usage by 21 percent, compared to last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not so in parts of Southern California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It really is Southern California bringing down the curve,” Marcus said. “In Northern California people have maintained their percentage year-over-year rates, and in Southern California it seemed to drop significantly with some communities actually using more water and others who had been saving 7 or 8 percent now saving 2 percent. And we’re not entirely sure why that is.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State regulators are not currently considering harsher restrictions or fines for people who fail to conserve, Marcus said. Last summer, California became the first state in the country to institute statewide water conservation regulations, which she said are generally better handled by local water districts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We took the unusual step of doing what were relatively modest regulations to help kick [local] agencies into gear because it felt like they kept thinking it was just going to rain,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For now, regulators are opting for positive reinforcement and friendly reminders. The State Water Board is planning a Southern California water conservation workshop for Dec. 17 in the Los Angeles area. But that could change if next month’s conservation rate continues to fall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It depends on what people do about these numbers,” Marcus said. “If it rains a lot, it’s hard to keep the messaging up, and it could go either way. If folks don’t take action, we probably will have to.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "The year-over-year water-saving rate slid by more than a third in October, worrying officials calling on residents to reduce water usage during record drought.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_24447\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 850px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/waterlevel.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/waterlevel.jpg\" alt=\"Receding water levels can be seen around the San Gabriel Reservoir, or San Gabriel Dam, on July 29. The reservoir provides flood control, groundwater recharge flows and hydroelectricity for the heavily populated San Gabriel Valley in the Greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images)\" width=\"850\" height=\"537\" class=\"size-full wp-image-24447\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Receding water levels can be seen around the San Gabriel Reservoir, or San Gabriel Dam, on July 29. The reservoir provides flood control, groundwater recharge flows and hydroelectricity for the heavily populated San Gabriel Valley in the Greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The latest year-over-year \u003ca href=\"http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/waterrights/water_issues/programs/drought/conservation_reporting_info.shtml\">residential water use numbers\u003c/a> are out, offering a glimpse at how much of the wet stuff larger cities throughout California are using and how much they’re conserving.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The broad view for October’s water conservation efforts isn’t good, but the gloomy news comes with warnings about comparing data 1) between cities that may have very different water needs and 2) across time when temperature could be factor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That said, October represents a significant backslide in water conservation statewide. Water use this October was down 6.7 percent compared to the same time last year. Sounds good, but that’s also a 3.6 percent decrease in water savings compared to \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2014/11/04/new-numbers-highlight-contrasts-in-california-water-use/\">September\u003c/a>, 2014, which had a statewide conservation rate of 10.3 percent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re using less water, but they’re using less less water than they did last month,” State Water Board Chair Felicia Marcus said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Marcus said the gallons per capita, per day average is a new measurement, and officials are still grappling with exactly what it means.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This set of reports has raised more questions than answers for us,” Marcus said, but she added that it could be useful in transferring a best practice from a city with conservation success to another similar community struggling to reduce usage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State and local water officials worry the drive to conserve will falter as winter storms start to hit the state. But it’s \u003ca href=\"http://www.mercurynews.com/drought/ci_26932356/california-drought-not-likely-end-this-winter-experts\">unlikely\u003c/a> that California will get enough rain this season to break the severe drought, now entering its fourth year.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">‘If folks don’t take action, we probably will have to.’\u003ccite>Felicia Marcus\u003cbr>State Water Board Chair\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>“As we’ve seen over time, conservation wanes a bit when you get into fall and winter months,” said Lisa Lien-Mager, spokeswoman for the Association of California Water Agencies. “Even though we may be in a drought, people aren’t thinking about it as much as they did in the summer.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lien-Mager noted that 2014 is on pace to be a record-setting warm year for California, which factors into water usage and \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2014/10/14/high-temps-intensified-california-drought/\">the drought\u003c/a>. She said long-term efforts, like water districts offering \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/audio/take-out-your-lawn-and-get-paid-for-it/\">cash rewards to residents who replace lawns\u003c/a> with drought-friendlier landscaping, have yet to impact usage, but they will.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They may not show the results immediately, but those things are happening, we know that,” she said. “Those programs are going through the roof all around the state. We have to show some patience.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The report does indicate which larger cities and regions are continuing to conserve and which are falling off. The Bay Area “gets a gold star,” Marcus said, noting that San Francisco uses the fewest gallons per capita, per day of any major city in the state. San Franciscans used an average of 45 gallons per person each day in October, with an 8.73 percent reduction this year compared to the same time last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even bigger users in the Bay Area, like the city of Hillsborough down the peninsula, are maintaining conservation. The city guzzles 228 gallons per person, per day, but it has reduced usage by 21 percent, compared to last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not so in parts of Southern California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It really is Southern California bringing down the curve,” Marcus said. “In Northern California people have maintained their percentage year-over-year rates, and in Southern California it seemed to drop significantly with some communities actually using more water and others who had been saving 7 or 8 percent now saving 2 percent. And we’re not entirely sure why that is.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State regulators are not currently considering harsher restrictions or fines for people who fail to conserve, Marcus said. Last summer, California became the first state in the country to institute statewide water conservation regulations, which she said are generally better handled by local water districts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We took the unusual step of doing what were relatively modest regulations to help kick [local] agencies into gear because it felt like they kept thinking it was just going to rain,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For now, regulators are opting for positive reinforcement and friendly reminders. The State Water Board is planning a Southern California water conservation workshop for Dec. 17 in the Los Angeles area. But that could change if next month’s conservation rate continues to fall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It depends on what people do about these numbers,” Marcus said. “If it rains a lot, it’s hard to keep the messaging up, and it could go either way. If folks don’t take action, we probably will have to.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "California Drought Boosts 'Cash for Grass' Programs",
"headTitle": "California Drought Boosts ‘Cash for Grass’ Programs | KQED",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"audio-wrap\">\n\u003ch2>Listen:\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>http://www.kqed.org/.stream/anon/radio/science/2014/11/20141201science.mp3\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_24339\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/11/1-EdZuckerman-1024x654.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/11/1-EdZuckerman-1024x654.jpg\" alt=\"Ed Zuckerman shows off part of the 1,400-acre sod farm he runs in Stockton. He says no-mow and native varieties are a small but growing part of the business. (Daniel Potter/KQED)\" width=\"1024\" height=\"654\" class=\"size-large wp-image-24339\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ed Zuckerman shows off part of the 1,400-acre sod farm he runs in Stockton. He says no-mow and native varieties are a small but growing part of the business. (Daniel Potter/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>By Daniel Potter\u003cbr>\n\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nIt would take a truly drenching winter to declare California’s drought over and, at least so far, that hasn’t materialized. One way water companies are nudging homeowners to conserve? Asking them to \u003ca href=\"http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article2594219.html\">rip out their grassy lawns\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In some places, they’ve been paying people to do it, and that’s given a boost to companies hawking alternatives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cash for Grass\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The grass in front of Rebecca Lowell’s house was dead — \u003cem>dead\u003c/em> dead — as in, not so much yellow as gray. She moved with her three children to this house in Los Altos last year, as the drought was going from bad to worse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We came here from a much smaller yard with a lot less grass,” she says. “I felt guilty this past year watering the grass, so I stopped.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now she’s replacing the lawn with native shrubs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We just don’t need it,” she says. “We don’t play in the grass as much, and we have lots of parkland around.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lowell says if her kids miss grass, they can ride their bikes to it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She is also installing an irrigation system that tracks the weather and only waters when it’s needed. It’ll water close to the ground because with aerial sprinklers, too much of the moisture evaporates before the plants get a chance to use it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Santa Clara Valley Water District pays homeowners $2 per square foot to tear out their lawn and plant something less thirsty. In the case of her large dead lawn, Lowell is hoping to get roughly $6,000 to put toward her landscaping bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_24342\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 334px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/11/Lowell.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-24342\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/11/Lowell.jpg\" alt=\"Los Altos resident Rebecca Lowell let her lawn die over the summer, and is planning to replace it, with help via a rebate from the Santa Clara Valley Water District. (Daniel Potter/KQED)\" width=\"334\" height=\"252\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Los Altos resident Rebecca Lowell let her lawn die over the summer, and is planning to replace it, with help via a rebate from the Santa Clara Valley Water District. (Daniel Potter/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For its part, the water district estimates it saves 36 gallons a year for every square foot of turf that’s replaced.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is helping us plan toward the future and save water,” says Ashley Carter, the district’s conservation specialist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The water district used to pay $1 per square foot, but opted last spring to double the rebate. Since July, homeowners have traded in 10 times as much grass, compared to this same period last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Carter says there are another 1.4 million square feet of conversions on the way. That could save as much water as 300 homes use in a year, based on the district’s estimates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The increased rebate amount definitely helps people who were maybe on the fence about it,” Carter says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.bayfriendlycoalition.org/LYL-rebates.shtml\">Dozens of agencies\u003c/a> around the state trying to throttle back on water use have similar “cash for grass” programs, including in the East Bay, Los Angeles and Sacramento.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>‘Beautiful, In Its Own Way’\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite the popularity of such programs, farmer Ed Zuckerman says a lot still has to change about the way Californians think about lawns if residents are to make a long-term transition to a low-water way of life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s still a pretty entrenched value system built up around the cultivated English garden with a well-manicured lawn,” Zuckerman says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Zuckerman is CEO of Delta Bluegrass, a sprawling sod farm surrounded by levies near Stockton. On an overcast fall day, he showed off seemingly endless bright green acres, including grasses that were native to California before 1830 — that is, before farming became widespread.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">Landscape watering makes up about half of residential water use in California.\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Wearing blue jeans and brown boots, Zuckerman strode through a patch of wet grass, pointing to varieties with names such as native preservation and native mow-free. He says the mow-free, which grows long and flops over into what he calls a meadow look, can be a tough sell. Some people like the smell of fresh-trimmed grass and prefer the standard-issue crew cut of a traditional lawn to one with a sort of hippie shag.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is beautiful, in its own way,” he says, “and guess what: It’s saving half the water you would normally put on it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Zuckerman says the meadow look is also appealing if you’re a mouse or vole looking for a new home, which can be a turnoff to humans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It can almost look like it’s in disrepair or you’re not paying attention to the maintenance of your house—like ‘Oh, this guy doesn’t mow his lawn — what a pig.’ You know?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even so, Zuckerman says alternative varieties of grass are a growing part of his business, thanks to both homeowners ready to be done with traditional lawns, and companies redoing their campuses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Synthetics, Too\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another approach that’s growing, \u003ca href=\"http://www.latimes.com/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-california-drought-lawn-fake-grass-20141111-story.html\">despite some skepticism\u003c/a>, is synthetic turf. Jason Miller installs it for a living around Sacramento and the Bay Area. He says partly because plastic grass requires no water, business lately has been crazy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When you see the turf the way that it looks now, it looks completely different,” Miller says. “It’s very soft; it looks very realistic. You can’t tell it’s fake, except for it’s perfect.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_24355\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 339px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/3-TurfViaJasonMiller.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-24355\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/3-TurfViaJasonMiller.jpg\" alt=\"Jason Miller says the drought has more homeowners looking into artificial substitutes like the kind his company installed at this home, but man made turf still faces critiques over how hot it can get and how little it provides in the way of habitat. (Courtesy: Jason Miller)\" width=\"339\" height=\"254\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jason Miller says the drought has more homeowners looking into artificial substitutes like the kind his company installed at this home, but man made turf still faces critiques over how hot it can get and how little it provides in the way of habitat. (Courtesy: Jason Miller)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Synthetic turf doesn’t always qualify for rebates. And critics argue it’s more akin to a parking lot than a lawn, in terms of the habitat — or lack thereof — it provides, to say nothing of the temperature.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The crumb-rubber infill gets very hot if it’s in direct sun,” Miller says. “That gets up to, I believe, about 145 degrees in direct sun on a 100-degree day. It’s just blistering hot, kinda melts your shoes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Miller says a good fake lawn made from the latest materials can be much cooler, but it can’t rival the natural air-conditioning of the real thing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s still going to get hotter than grass, because grass is an organism,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Watering grass — and other organisms, from flowers to shade trees — makes up about half of residential water use in California. If the drought persists, more homeowners will likely try to wring out their traditional yards for savings.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "California homeowners are replacing Kentucky bluegrass with native species and other water-friendly options to try and cut back on outdoor watering. Depending on what replacement residents choose, water districts may offer a cash reward for tearing out that thirsty lawn.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/div>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_24339\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/11/1-EdZuckerman-1024x654.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/11/1-EdZuckerman-1024x654.jpg\" alt=\"Ed Zuckerman shows off part of the 1,400-acre sod farm he runs in Stockton. He says no-mow and native varieties are a small but growing part of the business. (Daniel Potter/KQED)\" width=\"1024\" height=\"654\" class=\"size-large wp-image-24339\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ed Zuckerman shows off part of the 1,400-acre sod farm he runs in Stockton. He says no-mow and native varieties are a small but growing part of the business. (Daniel Potter/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>By Daniel Potter\u003cbr>\n\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nIt would take a truly drenching winter to declare California’s drought over and, at least so far, that hasn’t materialized. One way water companies are nudging homeowners to conserve? Asking them to \u003ca href=\"http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article2594219.html\">rip out their grassy lawns\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In some places, they’ve been paying people to do it, and that’s given a boost to companies hawking alternatives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cash for Grass\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The grass in front of Rebecca Lowell’s house was dead — \u003cem>dead\u003c/em> dead — as in, not so much yellow as gray. She moved with her three children to this house in Los Altos last year, as the drought was going from bad to worse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We came here from a much smaller yard with a lot less grass,” she says. “I felt guilty this past year watering the grass, so I stopped.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now she’s replacing the lawn with native shrubs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We just don’t need it,” she says. “We don’t play in the grass as much, and we have lots of parkland around.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lowell says if her kids miss grass, they can ride their bikes to it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She is also installing an irrigation system that tracks the weather and only waters when it’s needed. It’ll water close to the ground because with aerial sprinklers, too much of the moisture evaporates before the plants get a chance to use it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Santa Clara Valley Water District pays homeowners $2 per square foot to tear out their lawn and plant something less thirsty. In the case of her large dead lawn, Lowell is hoping to get roughly $6,000 to put toward her landscaping bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_24342\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 334px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/11/Lowell.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-24342\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/11/Lowell.jpg\" alt=\"Los Altos resident Rebecca Lowell let her lawn die over the summer, and is planning to replace it, with help via a rebate from the Santa Clara Valley Water District. (Daniel Potter/KQED)\" width=\"334\" height=\"252\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Los Altos resident Rebecca Lowell let her lawn die over the summer, and is planning to replace it, with help via a rebate from the Santa Clara Valley Water District. (Daniel Potter/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For its part, the water district estimates it saves 36 gallons a year for every square foot of turf that’s replaced.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is helping us plan toward the future and save water,” says Ashley Carter, the district’s conservation specialist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The water district used to pay $1 per square foot, but opted last spring to double the rebate. Since July, homeowners have traded in 10 times as much grass, compared to this same period last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Carter says there are another 1.4 million square feet of conversions on the way. That could save as much water as 300 homes use in a year, based on the district’s estimates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The increased rebate amount definitely helps people who were maybe on the fence about it,” Carter says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.bayfriendlycoalition.org/LYL-rebates.shtml\">Dozens of agencies\u003c/a> around the state trying to throttle back on water use have similar “cash for grass” programs, including in the East Bay, Los Angeles and Sacramento.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>‘Beautiful, In Its Own Way’\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite the popularity of such programs, farmer Ed Zuckerman says a lot still has to change about the way Californians think about lawns if residents are to make a long-term transition to a low-water way of life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s still a pretty entrenched value system built up around the cultivated English garden with a well-manicured lawn,” Zuckerman says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Zuckerman is CEO of Delta Bluegrass, a sprawling sod farm surrounded by levies near Stockton. On an overcast fall day, he showed off seemingly endless bright green acres, including grasses that were native to California before 1830 — that is, before farming became widespread.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">Landscape watering makes up about half of residential water use in California.\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Wearing blue jeans and brown boots, Zuckerman strode through a patch of wet grass, pointing to varieties with names such as native preservation and native mow-free. He says the mow-free, which grows long and flops over into what he calls a meadow look, can be a tough sell. Some people like the smell of fresh-trimmed grass and prefer the standard-issue crew cut of a traditional lawn to one with a sort of hippie shag.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is beautiful, in its own way,” he says, “and guess what: It’s saving half the water you would normally put on it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Zuckerman says the meadow look is also appealing if you’re a mouse or vole looking for a new home, which can be a turnoff to humans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It can almost look like it’s in disrepair or you’re not paying attention to the maintenance of your house—like ‘Oh, this guy doesn’t mow his lawn — what a pig.’ You know?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even so, Zuckerman says alternative varieties of grass are a growing part of his business, thanks to both homeowners ready to be done with traditional lawns, and companies redoing their campuses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Synthetics, Too\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another approach that’s growing, \u003ca href=\"http://www.latimes.com/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-california-drought-lawn-fake-grass-20141111-story.html\">despite some skepticism\u003c/a>, is synthetic turf. Jason Miller installs it for a living around Sacramento and the Bay Area. He says partly because plastic grass requires no water, business lately has been crazy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When you see the turf the way that it looks now, it looks completely different,” Miller says. “It’s very soft; it looks very realistic. You can’t tell it’s fake, except for it’s perfect.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_24355\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 339px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/3-TurfViaJasonMiller.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-24355\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/12/3-TurfViaJasonMiller.jpg\" alt=\"Jason Miller says the drought has more homeowners looking into artificial substitutes like the kind his company installed at this home, but man made turf still faces critiques over how hot it can get and how little it provides in the way of habitat. (Courtesy: Jason Miller)\" width=\"339\" height=\"254\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jason Miller says the drought has more homeowners looking into artificial substitutes like the kind his company installed at this home, but man made turf still faces critiques over how hot it can get and how little it provides in the way of habitat. (Courtesy: Jason Miller)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Synthetic turf doesn’t always qualify for rebates. And critics argue it’s more akin to a parking lot than a lawn, in terms of the habitat — or lack thereof — it provides, to say nothing of the temperature.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The crumb-rubber infill gets very hot if it’s in direct sun,” Miller says. “That gets up to, I believe, about 145 degrees in direct sun on a 100-degree day. It’s just blistering hot, kinda melts your shoes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Miller says a good fake lawn made from the latest materials can be much cooler, but it can’t rival the natural air-conditioning of the real thing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s still going to get hotter than grass, because grass is an organism,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Stalled Clean Power Alternative to PG&E Looms Large in New S.F. Electricity Law",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_24284\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 850px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/11/Hetch.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-24284\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/11/Hetch.jpg\" alt=\"Dated signage indicating electricity from Hetch Hetchy. (Craig Miller/KQED)\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A weathered wooden sign in Fremont boasts electricity from Hetch Hetchy. (Craig Miller/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In a move that could generate tens of millions of dollars for the city, San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors passed legislation today that would give the city’s Public Utilities Commission a “right of first refusal” to sell electricity to private development projects in the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The SFPUC’s Power Enterprise currently sells on the wholesale market electricity that’s left over after municipal uses like powering City Hall. But the city could make about four times as much money selling to private customers at retail rates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This new arrangement would switch the default power provider for many larger construction projects, and the long-term electricity needs of whatever’s getting built in booming San Francisco, from Pacific Gas and Electric to the city. It would allow the SFPUC to sell electricity to projects on public lands, those developed with public funds and any private projects seeking city approval.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supervisors’ long-stalled effort to form \u003ca href=\"http://sfwater.org/index.aspx?page=577\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CleanPowerSF\u003c/a>, a city-run, clean-energy alternative to PG&E, looms large in the new law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have had a history of a monopoly in San Francisco, with PG&E, on electricity,” said the ordinance’s author, San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He introduced an amendment Monday suggesting that the SFPUC prioritize selling electricity to CleanPowerSF if and when the program launches.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A PG&E spokesman would not comment on the legislation, but provided KQED with a prepared statement that said the company looks forward to continuing to provide clean energy to San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We will continue to work with the city on this issue,” the statement said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CleanPowerSF was stalled by the SFPUC last year, when the commission refused to set rates for the greener, and thus more expensive, electricity that would be sold by the city but transmitted across PG&E’s network. The program was set up to automatically enroll residents, who would then have to opt out in order to revert to PG&E power. CleanPowerSF’s additional “generation charge,” which could run anywhere from $5.29 to near $10 per month to match a green alternative proposed by PG&E, would appear on customers’ PG&E bill. A final decision on the rate is pending.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The San Francisco Chronicle \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/S-F-clean-energy-program-could-generate-8-100-5897392.php\">reported Monday\u003c/a> that Wiener called the “right of first refusal” legislation “complementary” to the CleanPowerSF effort.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_24277\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 590px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/11/Where-your-hetch-hetchy-power-comes-from.aspx_.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-24277 size-full\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/11/Where-your-hetch-hetchy-power-comes-from.aspx_.jpg\" alt=\"Where your hetch hetchy power comes from.aspx\" width=\"590\" height=\"251\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The vast majority of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s electricity is hydropower from Hetch Hetchy. (SFPUC)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Wiener says the Power Enterprise “has been starved of resources because it is not more of a retail provider.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The SFPUC’s Power Enterprise currently takes in about $115 million each year from electricity sales, according to the program’s Assistant General Manager Barbara Hale. About 15 percent of that comes from selling excess energy on the wholesale market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We do have available power to sell to additional retail customers,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More retail-rate customers could mean a $40 million increase in revenue for the SFPUC yearly, Wiener said, and should enlarge the local commission’s footprint in San Francisco’s electricity market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The San Francisco Business Operators and Managers Association and Chamber of Commerce both oppose the legislation because it will force some private entities to purchase power from the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have some serious problems with this legislation, supervisor,” BOMA’s Ken Cleaveland told Wiener at a Land Use Committee meeting Monday. “If the city bids out many of its services, why don’t you allow PG&E and the SFPUC to bid contracts for these new developments?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city’s rates are equal to or lower than PG&E’s, Hale said, and the power is “100 percent greenhouse gas free.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_24284\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 850px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/11/Hetch.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-24284\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/11/Hetch.jpg\" alt=\"Dated signage indicating electricity from Hetch Hetchy. (Craig Miller/KQED)\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A weathered wooden sign in Fremont boasts electricity from Hetch Hetchy. (Craig Miller/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In a move that could generate tens of millions of dollars for the city, San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors passed legislation today that would give the city’s Public Utilities Commission a “right of first refusal” to sell electricity to private development projects in the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The SFPUC’s Power Enterprise currently sells on the wholesale market electricity that’s left over after municipal uses like powering City Hall. But the city could make about four times as much money selling to private customers at retail rates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This new arrangement would switch the default power provider for many larger construction projects, and the long-term electricity needs of whatever’s getting built in booming San Francisco, from Pacific Gas and Electric to the city. It would allow the SFPUC to sell electricity to projects on public lands, those developed with public funds and any private projects seeking city approval.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supervisors’ long-stalled effort to form \u003ca href=\"http://sfwater.org/index.aspx?page=577\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CleanPowerSF\u003c/a>, a city-run, clean-energy alternative to PG&E, looms large in the new law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have had a history of a monopoly in San Francisco, with PG&E, on electricity,” said the ordinance’s author, San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He introduced an amendment Monday suggesting that the SFPUC prioritize selling electricity to CleanPowerSF if and when the program launches.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A PG&E spokesman would not comment on the legislation, but provided KQED with a prepared statement that said the company looks forward to continuing to provide clean energy to San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We will continue to work with the city on this issue,” the statement said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CleanPowerSF was stalled by the SFPUC last year, when the commission refused to set rates for the greener, and thus more expensive, electricity that would be sold by the city but transmitted across PG&E’s network. The program was set up to automatically enroll residents, who would then have to opt out in order to revert to PG&E power. CleanPowerSF’s additional “generation charge,” which could run anywhere from $5.29 to near $10 per month to match a green alternative proposed by PG&E, would appear on customers’ PG&E bill. A final decision on the rate is pending.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The San Francisco Chronicle \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/S-F-clean-energy-program-could-generate-8-100-5897392.php\">reported Monday\u003c/a> that Wiener called the “right of first refusal” legislation “complementary” to the CleanPowerSF effort.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_24277\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 590px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/11/Where-your-hetch-hetchy-power-comes-from.aspx_.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-24277 size-full\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/11/Where-your-hetch-hetchy-power-comes-from.aspx_.jpg\" alt=\"Where your hetch hetchy power comes from.aspx\" width=\"590\" height=\"251\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The vast majority of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s electricity is hydropower from Hetch Hetchy. (SFPUC)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Wiener says the Power Enterprise “has been starved of resources because it is not more of a retail provider.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The SFPUC’s Power Enterprise currently takes in about $115 million each year from electricity sales, according to the program’s Assistant General Manager Barbara Hale. About 15 percent of that comes from selling excess energy on the wholesale market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We do have available power to sell to additional retail customers,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More retail-rate customers could mean a $40 million increase in revenue for the SFPUC yearly, Wiener said, and should enlarge the local commission’s footprint in San Francisco’s electricity market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The San Francisco Business Operators and Managers Association and Chamber of Commerce both oppose the legislation because it will force some private entities to purchase power from the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have some serious problems with this legislation, supervisor,” BOMA’s Ken Cleaveland told Wiener at a Land Use Committee meeting Monday. “If the city bids out many of its services, why don’t you allow PG&E and the SFPUC to bid contracts for these new developments?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city’s rates are equal to or lower than PG&E’s, Hale said, and the power is “100 percent greenhouse gas free.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "California Utilities and Solar Companies Battle Over Electricity Prices",
"headTitle": "California Utilities and Solar Companies Battle Over Electricity Prices | KQED",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"audio-wrap\">\n\u003ch2>Listen:\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>http://www.kqed.org/.stream/anon/radio/science/2014/11/20141124science.mp3\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_24195\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/11/solar.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/11/solar.jpg\" alt=\"Solar companies worry that newly proposed electricity rates from California utilities will make it less appealing for Californians to install solar panels. (Dennis Schroeder/Department of Energy)\" width=\"800\" height=\"500\" class=\"size-full wp-image-24195\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Solar companies worry that newly proposed electricity rates from California utilities will make it less appealing for Californians to install solar panels.\u003cbr>(Dennis Schroeder/Department of Energy)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Electricity bills could be going up for millions of Californians under a new proposal from the state’s major utilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pacific Gas and Electric is proposing an overhaul of the way customers are charged for electricity, which the utility says would be more fair for many customers. But solar companies see it as a direct attack, because the changes could make installing solar panels less appealing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The debate is just one more battle in a slow-simmering war between electric utilities and solar companies. The front lines are in the homes of average Californians – like Elmore Williams.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s working great,” Williams says, looking up at the solar panels on his four-bedroom Vacaville home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just six months ago, Williams was a solid PG&E customer — his household used more electricity than average for its size. His bill would hit $300 during the summer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We had the air conditioner running all thet time,” he says. With the panels, Williams pays a set amount for solar power and much less to PG&E.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I mean, my wife is just so happy!” He says she tells him, “‘Look how much we’re paying this time. Our PG&E bill is just sixteen dollars this time.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One customer may not be a big loss to PG&E, but solar is growing fast.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">‘There’s no question – the fixed charge is the worst nightmare of the solar installers.’\u003ccite>— Severin Borenstein\u003cbr>UC Berkeley\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>“We have far and away the most customer solar,” says Jonathan Marshall, a spokesman for PG&E. One-quarter of all rooftop solar systems in the country are found in PG&E’s service area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Marshall says PG&E isn’t \u003cem>against \u003c/em>solar. The problem, as he sees it, is that solar customers aren’t paying their share of keeping up the electric grid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In fact, they use the grid more than almost anyone,” he says, “because they’re selling power back into it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Households with solar still use PG&E’s electricity after the sun goes down, but \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/audio/could-rooftop-solar-kill-utilities-california-grapples-with-solars-success-2/\">they also make money back\u003c/a> by selling PG&E the extra solar power they generate during the day, giving them lower bills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Electricity Price Overhaul\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under the newly proposed electric rates, solar customers, along with everyone else, would pay a fixed monthly charge: $10 per month, adding up to $120 a year. Customers with Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas and Electric would pay the same.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s to help share the cost of basic infrastructure that we all use and depend on – lines, poles, meters and so forth,” Marshall says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The second change is to the price of electricity itself. Today, there are four electricity rates for PG&E customers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The cheapest rate is for “baseline” power use – a certain amount of electricity that PG&E allocates based on where you live. Currently, it costs 15 cents per kilowatt hour.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But use electricity beyond that amount and the prices go up, all the way to 32 cents per kilowatt hour.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_24146\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2300px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/11/Electric-rates-11212014.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/11/Electric-rates-11212014.jpg\" alt=\"(David Pierce/KQED)\" width=\"2300\" height=\"1644\" class=\"size-full wp-image-24146\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(David Pierce/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Utilities call this \u003ca href=\"http://www.pge.com/en/myhome/saveenergymoney/plans/tiers/index.page\">“tiered” pricing\u003c/a>. Since California’s electricity crisis hit in 2000, the two lower tiers have stayed basically fixed and the higher tiers have been raised. Marshall says the system penalizes heavy users.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s as if going to the grocery store, they had to pay more per gallon of milk just because they have more mouths to feed at the table,” Marshall says. “That doesn’t make much sense. But it is how we today charge for electricity.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under the new system, PG&E would charge two prices for electricity. By 2018, 74 percent of customers would see their bills go up by an average of $12 a month compared to today. About a quarter of customers, the heaviest power users, would see their bills decrease by $31 a month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Harming Conservation?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some environmental groups say those changes will send an anti-conservation message to California consumers. High electricity prices are meant to be painful, they say, so the heaviest users are encouraged to conserve or invest in energy efficient appliances and home upgrades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But others say the tiered pricing system as it is today is too complicated for consumers to track.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If people were really aware of which tier they were on, you would get some conservation,” says Severin Borenstein, an economist at UC Berkeley. “But I think it’s unlikely that many people other than electricity nerds actually know what tier their consumption is on. Most people just think there’s some price for electricity.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since PG&E customers with historically lower bills would have higher bills under the new rate structure, it could also encourage conservation among a new group of customers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Solar Companies Cry Foul\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The changes in electricity rates would have a major impact on PG&E’s biggest competitor: the solar industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Investor-owned utilities across the country are fighting rooftop solar,” says Sanjay Ranchod of SolarCity, the largest solar company in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"alignright\">\n\u003ch5>How Would Electric Bills Change?\u003c/h5>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/Five-Bill.jpg\" alt=\"Five Bill\" width=\"537\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-24183\">\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>It varies by region. Here’s a sample for customers in the East Bay in 2018:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>400 kilowatt hours per month: Your bill goes up by $17 — from $58 to $75.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>800 kilowatt hours per month: Your bill goes down by $16 — from $172 to $156.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>1,200 kilowatt hours per month: Your bill goes down by $66 — from $302 to $236.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Source: PG&E\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/p>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Ranchod says if utilities are changing electricity prices, there’s no need to add the $10 monthly charge on top of it. The only thing that does is make solar less attractive at a time when California’s trying to encourage renewable energy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A higher and higher fixed charge that customers can’t escape,” he says, “is designed to undermine the value that solar customers can get from their investment.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ranchod says it’s a sign that utilities like PG&E see solar as threat. “For a company that has depended on a monopoly, competition from SolarCity or any other solar company is scary.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The Death Spiral\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s no question – the fixed charge is the worst nightmare of the solar installers,” says Severin Borenstein.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He says the monthly fee will make it harder for solar companies to compete, though the cost of solar panels still falling. But in the bigger picture, Borenstein says, this debate is just one more sign that solar is a disruptive technology, somewhat like cell phones versus land lines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Analysts even have a name for the way solar is cutting into the utility business model: the “\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/audio/could-rooftop-solar-kill-utilities-california-grapples-with-solars-success-2/\">death spiral\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think there’s a big question in electricity industry right now about what will happen to utilities,” Borenstein says, “and what their business model will be 10 or 20 or 30 years from now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead of being power companies, he says, utilities could become electric grid companies, “where they don’t actually bring electricity in, they just shuffle it around between one house and another.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With such a large solar market, California could be one of the first places this plays out. In the meantime, the California Public Utilities Commission is expected to decide on the new pricing structure in the spring. The rates could go into effect next summer.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Solar companies in California have long been able to tell homeowners they can save a lot of money on power bills by going solar. Now PG&E is proposing a rate change the company says will be more fair for everyone. But solar companies say it’s simply an attack on their industry.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/div>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_24195\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/11/solar.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/11/solar.jpg\" alt=\"Solar companies worry that newly proposed electricity rates from California utilities will make it less appealing for Californians to install solar panels. (Dennis Schroeder/Department of Energy)\" width=\"800\" height=\"500\" class=\"size-full wp-image-24195\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Solar companies worry that newly proposed electricity rates from California utilities will make it less appealing for Californians to install solar panels.\u003cbr>(Dennis Schroeder/Department of Energy)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Electricity bills could be going up for millions of Californians under a new proposal from the state’s major utilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pacific Gas and Electric is proposing an overhaul of the way customers are charged for electricity, which the utility says would be more fair for many customers. But solar companies see it as a direct attack, because the changes could make installing solar panels less appealing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The debate is just one more battle in a slow-simmering war between electric utilities and solar companies. The front lines are in the homes of average Californians – like Elmore Williams.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s working great,” Williams says, looking up at the solar panels on his four-bedroom Vacaville home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just six months ago, Williams was a solid PG&E customer — his household used more electricity than average for its size. His bill would hit $300 during the summer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We had the air conditioner running all thet time,” he says. With the panels, Williams pays a set amount for solar power and much less to PG&E.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I mean, my wife is just so happy!” He says she tells him, “‘Look how much we’re paying this time. Our PG&E bill is just sixteen dollars this time.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One customer may not be a big loss to PG&E, but solar is growing fast.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">‘There’s no question – the fixed charge is the worst nightmare of the solar installers.’\u003ccite>— Severin Borenstein\u003cbr>UC Berkeley\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>“We have far and away the most customer solar,” says Jonathan Marshall, a spokesman for PG&E. One-quarter of all rooftop solar systems in the country are found in PG&E’s service area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Marshall says PG&E isn’t \u003cem>against \u003c/em>solar. The problem, as he sees it, is that solar customers aren’t paying their share of keeping up the electric grid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In fact, they use the grid more than almost anyone,” he says, “because they’re selling power back into it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Households with solar still use PG&E’s electricity after the sun goes down, but \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/audio/could-rooftop-solar-kill-utilities-california-grapples-with-solars-success-2/\">they also make money back\u003c/a> by selling PG&E the extra solar power they generate during the day, giving them lower bills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Electricity Price Overhaul\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under the newly proposed electric rates, solar customers, along with everyone else, would pay a fixed monthly charge: $10 per month, adding up to $120 a year. Customers with Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas and Electric would pay the same.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s to help share the cost of basic infrastructure that we all use and depend on – lines, poles, meters and so forth,” Marshall says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The second change is to the price of electricity itself. Today, there are four electricity rates for PG&E customers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The cheapest rate is for “baseline” power use – a certain amount of electricity that PG&E allocates based on where you live. Currently, it costs 15 cents per kilowatt hour.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But use electricity beyond that amount and the prices go up, all the way to 32 cents per kilowatt hour.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_24146\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2300px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/11/Electric-rates-11212014.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/11/Electric-rates-11212014.jpg\" alt=\"(David Pierce/KQED)\" width=\"2300\" height=\"1644\" class=\"size-full wp-image-24146\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(David Pierce/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Utilities call this \u003ca href=\"http://www.pge.com/en/myhome/saveenergymoney/plans/tiers/index.page\">“tiered” pricing\u003c/a>. Since California’s electricity crisis hit in 2000, the two lower tiers have stayed basically fixed and the higher tiers have been raised. Marshall says the system penalizes heavy users.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s as if going to the grocery store, they had to pay more per gallon of milk just because they have more mouths to feed at the table,” Marshall says. “That doesn’t make much sense. But it is how we today charge for electricity.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under the new system, PG&E would charge two prices for electricity. By 2018, 74 percent of customers would see their bills go up by an average of $12 a month compared to today. About a quarter of customers, the heaviest power users, would see their bills decrease by $31 a month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Harming Conservation?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some environmental groups say those changes will send an anti-conservation message to California consumers. High electricity prices are meant to be painful, they say, so the heaviest users are encouraged to conserve or invest in energy efficient appliances and home upgrades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But others say the tiered pricing system as it is today is too complicated for consumers to track.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If people were really aware of which tier they were on, you would get some conservation,” says Severin Borenstein, an economist at UC Berkeley. “But I think it’s unlikely that many people other than electricity nerds actually know what tier their consumption is on. Most people just think there’s some price for electricity.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since PG&E customers with historically lower bills would have higher bills under the new rate structure, it could also encourage conservation among a new group of customers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Solar Companies Cry Foul\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The changes in electricity rates would have a major impact on PG&E’s biggest competitor: the solar industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Investor-owned utilities across the country are fighting rooftop solar,” says Sanjay Ranchod of SolarCity, the largest solar company in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"alignright\">\n\u003ch5>How Would Electric Bills Change?\u003c/h5>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/11/Five-Bill.jpg\" alt=\"Five Bill\" width=\"537\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-24183\">\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>It varies by region. Here’s a sample for customers in the East Bay in 2018:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>400 kilowatt hours per month: Your bill goes up by $17 — from $58 to $75.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>800 kilowatt hours per month: Your bill goes down by $16 — from $172 to $156.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>1,200 kilowatt hours per month: Your bill goes down by $66 — from $302 to $236.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Source: PG&E\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/p>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Ranchod says if utilities are changing electricity prices, there’s no need to add the $10 monthly charge on top of it. The only thing that does is make solar less attractive at a time when California’s trying to encourage renewable energy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A higher and higher fixed charge that customers can’t escape,” he says, “is designed to undermine the value that solar customers can get from their investment.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ranchod says it’s a sign that utilities like PG&E see solar as threat. “For a company that has depended on a monopoly, competition from SolarCity or any other solar company is scary.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The Death Spiral\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s no question – the fixed charge is the worst nightmare of the solar installers,” says Severin Borenstein.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He says the monthly fee will make it harder for solar companies to compete, though the cost of solar panels still falling. But in the bigger picture, Borenstein says, this debate is just one more sign that solar is a disruptive technology, somewhat like cell phones versus land lines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Analysts even have a name for the way solar is cutting into the utility business model: the “\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/audio/could-rooftop-solar-kill-utilities-california-grapples-with-solars-success-2/\">death spiral\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think there’s a big question in electricity industry right now about what will happen to utilities,” Borenstein says, “and what their business model will be 10 or 20 or 30 years from now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead of being power companies, he says, utilities could become electric grid companies, “where they don’t actually bring electricity in, they just shuffle it around between one house and another.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With such a large solar market, California could be one of the first places this plays out. In the meantime, the California Public Utilities Commission is expected to decide on the new pricing structure in the spring. The rates could go into effect next summer.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "AT&T Could Pay $50 Million for Illegal E-Waste Dumping",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_24110\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/11/E-Waste_Recycling_7027059003-1024x682.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-24110\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/11/E-Waste_Recycling_7027059003-1024x682.jpg\" alt='E-waste recycling (Alex Proimos/ <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0\">Wikimedia Commons</a>)' width=\"1024\" height=\"682\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">California law requires e-waste to be recycled at designated collection centers. (Alex Proimos/ \u003ca href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0\">Wikimedia Commons\u003c/a>)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>One of the nation’s largest telecom companies may be paying significant penalties for dumping of electronic waste in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Attorney General’s Office and the Alameda County District Attorney announced a preliminary settlement agreement with AT&T today covering nine years in which the company allegedly discarded hazardous electronic waste illegally, sending it to landfills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The settlement, if approved by the Alameda County Superior Court, will require the telecommunications giant to pay $21.8 million in penalties and another $28 million to update environmental compliance over the next five years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>AT&T was allegedly throwing away Internet routers, as well as cable splitters, batteries, aerosol cans and some liquid hazardous materials, prosecutors said. The primary violation was electronic waste going to landfills, in the millions of items.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This actually is the first enforcement action where the primary hazardous waste was electronic waste in the state of California,” said assistant Alameda County district attorney Ken Mifsud, who heads the office’s environmental unit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The civil enforcement action brought by state and local prosecutors alleges that more than 235 AT&T warehouses and dispatch facilities, at which technicians installing commercial and residential phone, Internet and cable services are based, were routinely throwing e-waste into general trash bins. Electronic circuit boards often contain heavy metals like lead and other materials defined as hazardous waste under California law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mifsud said investigators became aware there could be violations three years ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So we decided to take a look at their waste dumpsters to see if in fact that was true, and we determined through dozens of waste inspections for facilities in northern California that they were systematically disposing of hazardous e-waste items.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prosecutors said AT&T was extremely compliant as soon as the company was informed of the investigation. The company is voluntarily spending $28 million to upgrade environmental compliance, what Mifsud called “above and beyond” what a normal business would spend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We take environmental stewardship seriously, and we’ve cooperated closely with the state and Alameda County to resolve this issue in a way that is in the best interests of the environment, our customers and all Californians,” AT&T spokesman Marty Richter wrote in an emailed response to KQED’s inquiry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Richter wrote that AT&T is now screening and sorting “all waste materials originating from our facilities in California to ensure proper handling, recycling and disposal of all materials — hazardous and non-hazardous.” Contractors inspect “staging bins” before waste is put into the general stream, and AT&T can also expect hundreds of unannounced inspections from environmental regulators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also, Richter wrote, AT&T added more than a dozen supervisors whose principal focus is California waste regulation requirements. The company revised employee and contractor training and instituted a color-coded system, with pictures, delineating what trash goes where.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They know we could check at any time to make sure that the program’s still working,” Mifsud said. “They’ve agreed to a number of unannounced inspections of their facilities, hundreds of them, every year for the next five years.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of the $21.8 million in penalties, $3 million will fund Supplemental Environmental Projects throughout the state. The State Department of Toxic Substances Control, which performed field inspections at AT&T sites as part of the investigation, is expecting to get $1.5 million for upgraded lab equipment to test for hazardous materials. The remaining $18.8 million is earmarked for prosecution of environmental and consumer cases at the Attorney General’s Office and more than 40 county prosecutors’ offices throughout the state, including Alameda.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It can’t be used for anything else,” Mifsud said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said he couldn’t comment on potentially ongoing investigations involving other companies that may be unlawfully disposing of hazardous materials, but the Associated Press reports that five other telecommunications companies have disclosed in financial filings with regulators that they are the targets of similar investigations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Read the proposed final judgement below:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[scribd id=247434057 key=key-9ulc62waEGZONkFbUGfx mode=scroll]\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_24110\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/11/E-Waste_Recycling_7027059003-1024x682.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-24110\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2014/11/E-Waste_Recycling_7027059003-1024x682.jpg\" alt='E-waste recycling (Alex Proimos/ <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0\">Wikimedia Commons</a>)' width=\"1024\" height=\"682\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">California law requires e-waste to be recycled at designated collection centers. (Alex Proimos/ \u003ca href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0\">Wikimedia Commons\u003c/a>)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>One of the nation’s largest telecom companies may be paying significant penalties for dumping of electronic waste in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Attorney General’s Office and the Alameda County District Attorney announced a preliminary settlement agreement with AT&T today covering nine years in which the company allegedly discarded hazardous electronic waste illegally, sending it to landfills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The settlement, if approved by the Alameda County Superior Court, will require the telecommunications giant to pay $21.8 million in penalties and another $28 million to update environmental compliance over the next five years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>AT&T was allegedly throwing away Internet routers, as well as cable splitters, batteries, aerosol cans and some liquid hazardous materials, prosecutors said. The primary violation was electronic waste going to landfills, in the millions of items.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This actually is the first enforcement action where the primary hazardous waste was electronic waste in the state of California,” said assistant Alameda County district attorney Ken Mifsud, who heads the office’s environmental unit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The civil enforcement action brought by state and local prosecutors alleges that more than 235 AT&T warehouses and dispatch facilities, at which technicians installing commercial and residential phone, Internet and cable services are based, were routinely throwing e-waste into general trash bins. Electronic circuit boards often contain heavy metals like lead and other materials defined as hazardous waste under California law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mifsud said investigators became aware there could be violations three years ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So we decided to take a look at their waste dumpsters to see if in fact that was true, and we determined through dozens of waste inspections for facilities in northern California that they were systematically disposing of hazardous e-waste items.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prosecutors said AT&T was extremely compliant as soon as the company was informed of the investigation. The company is voluntarily spending $28 million to upgrade environmental compliance, what Mifsud called “above and beyond” what a normal business would spend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We take environmental stewardship seriously, and we’ve cooperated closely with the state and Alameda County to resolve this issue in a way that is in the best interests of the environment, our customers and all Californians,” AT&T spokesman Marty Richter wrote in an emailed response to KQED’s inquiry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Richter wrote that AT&T is now screening and sorting “all waste materials originating from our facilities in California to ensure proper handling, recycling and disposal of all materials — hazardous and non-hazardous.” Contractors inspect “staging bins” before waste is put into the general stream, and AT&T can also expect hundreds of unannounced inspections from environmental regulators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also, Richter wrote, AT&T added more than a dozen supervisors whose principal focus is California waste regulation requirements. The company revised employee and contractor training and instituted a color-coded system, with pictures, delineating what trash goes where.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They know we could check at any time to make sure that the program’s still working,” Mifsud said. “They’ve agreed to a number of unannounced inspections of their facilities, hundreds of them, every year for the next five years.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of the $21.8 million in penalties, $3 million will fund Supplemental Environmental Projects throughout the state. The State Department of Toxic Substances Control, which performed field inspections at AT&T sites as part of the investigation, is expecting to get $1.5 million for upgraded lab equipment to test for hazardous materials. The remaining $18.8 million is earmarked for prosecution of environmental and consumer cases at the Attorney General’s Office and more than 40 county prosecutors’ offices throughout the state, including Alameda.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It can’t be used for anything else,” Mifsud said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said he couldn’t comment on potentially ongoing investigations involving other companies that may be unlawfully disposing of hazardous materials, but the Associated Press reports that five other telecommunications companies have disclosed in financial filings with regulators that they are the targets of similar investigations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Read the proposed final judgement below:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003ciframe\n class=\"scribd_iframe_embed\"\n src=\"//www.scribd.com/embeds/247434057/content?start_page=1&view_mode=&access_key=key-9ulc62waEGZONkFbUGfx\"\n title=\"http://www.scribd.com/doc/247434057\"\n data-auto-height=\"true\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"scribd_247434057\"\n width=\"100%\" height=\"500\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\n \u003ca class=\"utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__scribdShortcode__scribd_footer\"\n href=\"http://www.scribd.com/doc/247434057\"\n target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">View this document on Scribd\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"tagline": "The flip side of gentrification, told through one town",
"info": "Gentrification is changing cities across America, forcing people from neighborhoods they have long called home. Call them the displaced. Now those priced out of the Bay Area are looking for a better life in an unlikely place. American Suburb follows this migration to one California town along the Delta, 45 miles from San Francisco. But is this once sleepy suburb ready for them?",
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},
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"tagline": "Exploring the Bay Area, one question at a time",
"info": "KQED’s new podcast, Bay Curious, gets to the bottom of the mysteries — both profound and peculiar — that give the Bay Area its unique identity. And we’ll do it with your help! You ask the questions. You decide what Bay Curious investigates. And you join us on the journey to find the answers.",
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"order": 8
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},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
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"order": 1
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"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
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"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
"airtime": "THU 10pm, FRI 1am",
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"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
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"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"order": 9
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"hidden-brain": {
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"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
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"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
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"source": "NPR"
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"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
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"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
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"hyphenacion": {
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"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"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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"jerrybrown": {
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"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
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"order": 18
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},
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"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
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},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
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},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
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"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
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},
"masters-of-scale": {
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"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
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"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
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"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"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>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
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