A California rice field at sunset. (Photo: Sirisak Baokaew, via Shutterstock)This September, 300,000 of California’s 550,000 acres of rice fields lay barren—over half the state’s rice crop. Instead of miles of soft green grasses swaying amid shimmering water, the state’s rice fields were cracked bare dirt, some crowded with weeds. “It is now just a wasteland,” a third-generation rice farmer told the San Francisco Chronicle.
The cap of a well used to monitor groundwater samples in Gilroy. (Photo: Matthew Corley, via Shutterstock)More than 60% of California’s groundwater wells are operating at below-normal levels, endangering much of the Golden State’s population that relies on the precious resource. Although relatively unknown to many Californians, who see water supply in terms of rivers, streams and reservoirs, groundwater is a hugely vital source that is largely invisible.
Wood chips that serve as a renewable heating and energy sources. (Photo: Elmar Gubisch, via Shutterstock)OPINION: Wednesday, Oct. 20, marks National Bioenergy Day, where we celebrate the benefits the industry provides. Bioenergy helps the state become less reliant on fossil fuels using resources from the agricultural and forestry sectors. The residuals from those industries are used to produce renewably fueled electricity.
Demonstrators supporting the recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom gather in Yorba Linda in Orange County. (Photo: Matt Gush, via Shutterstock)OPINION: Usually, the year after a presidential election is pretty quiet in California when it comes to high-profile political contests. But this year Republicans have managed to make the Golden State a national battleground — and a fundraising juggernaut — with their recall fight against Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Solar PV panels used to power agricultural equipment in the Central Valley. (Photo: Shippee, via Shutterstock)OPINION: When we combined the separate maps, the result was pretty remarkable: Out of the 9.5 million acres in the stakeholder study area, the groups identified 470,000 acres of ideal, non-controversial land for solar PV development, or roughly 5 percent of the Valley study area. At a generic calculation of 1 megawatt of solar PV production from 5 acres of panels, that means the lands identified could provide 94,000 megawatts of renewable power.