Timely seismic data will help more people survive tsunamis.

A new deep-sea internet cable stretching from Australia to Los Angeles will be embedded with seismographs and other sensors, in order to fill enormous gaps in the knowledge of this remote part of the Earth. “Most seismographs are on land, even though most of the planet is covered by ocean”, points out geophysicist John Orcutt of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (La Jolla, CA).

Ports on the 13 000-km cable will also accommodate climate instruments to assess ocean warming as well as hydrophones to capture sounds from whales and other marine mammals… (more)

Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 2012

Noxious invasives like this European beachgrass could spread along the California coast

As global temperatures rise, the exotic grasses that currently dominate California’s hot interior are likely to expand into its cooler ecosystems, according to a new study. “Warming temperatures should favor exotics everywhere, but a given warming should matter more in a cold area”, explains lead author Brody Sandel of Aarhus University (Denmark).

The state’s cool areas, notably the north coast and mid-elevation mountains, are richest in native grasses and lowest in exotics… (more)

Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 2011

Eating more produce cuts household carbon—and costs.

When energy expert Christopher Jones of the University of California, Berkeley, wanted to measure his carbon footprint a few years ago, he couldn’t find a calculator that was comprehensive. “There were lots out there”, he says, “but they only gave toeprints – they didn’t include everything”.

So he built one himself… (more)

Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 2011

A sharp drop in marine fog may threaten California’s state tree

Just as Southern California is famous for sunny beaches, the north coast is epitomized by fog-enshrouded redwood forests. Now, new research suggests that this fog has declined drastically, threatening these iconic trees… (more)

California Magazine, 2010

California state representatives have launched a November 2010 ballot initiative to gut AB 32, the state’s Global Warming Solutions Act, requiring a 25% cut in carbon emissions by 2020. Dubbed the California Jobs Initiative by supporters, the measure would keep AB 32 from kicking in until the state’s jobless rate falls to 5.5% or less… (more—see p.3)

Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 2010

California’s new regulations for transportation-fuel carbon emissions are shaking up the biofuels industry. When biofuels first took off, corn ethanol was touted as having the potential to cut carbon emissions by nearly 20%. But now the carbon intensity of corn ethanol can exceed that of gasoline… (more)

California Agriculture, 2009

When the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) began preparing for rising sea levels due to climate change, they solicited advice from the best. “We asked, ‘Who knows about this?’ ”, recalls Will Travis, Executive Director of the BCDC, which regulates shoreline development in the San Francisco Bay area. “So we went to the Dutch – they’ve been holding back the seas for 800 years.”… (more—see p.6)

Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 2009

“Carbon-capture” farming could rebuild soils lost to subsidence

For all the alarming signs of climate change — from earlier springs to melting polar ice — the overwhelming scientific consensus is that we haven’t seen anything yet Climate change is likely to accelerate greatly over the next century, with temperatures expected to climb faster than they have in the last 10,000 years.

California farmers face an uncertain future, where current crops may fail and water may be even more scarce. To help them adapt… (more)

California Agriculture, 2009