Our Impact

By 2035, California shoppers looking for new vehicles will have to buy electric. California made history late last week when its regulators approved an ambitious plan to phase out the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles in the state. While governments around the world have tried to incentivize consumers to purchase electric vehicles and encourage automakers […]

Gov. Gavin Newsom, left, spoke during the opening ceremony at the Summit of the Americas on Wednesday.Credit…Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press Los Angeles has transformed into a major geopolitical stage this week as President Biden and dozens of other world leaders convene here for the ninth Summit of the Americas. If you aren’t already familiar, the Summit […]

The California Coastal Commission tonight rejected the proposed construction of a desalination plant in Huntington Beach, sealing the controversial project’s fate after more than 20 years of debate. The unanimous decision about the $1.4-billion plant in Huntington Beach is pivotal because it sets a high bar for the future of turning seawater into drinking water […]

The City Council unanimously approved more than a dozen measures Wednesday to tighten restrictions on plastic bags, utensils, food containers and other disposables with a goal of making Los Angeles a “zero waste” city. The measures, 14 in all, direct the city attorney to draft ordinances to expand the already existing plastic bag ban and […]

If adopted, the new measures would make a dent in the state’s greenhouse gas emissions and set the bar for the broader auto industry. WASHINGTON — California on Wednesday made public an aggressive plan to mandate a steady increase in the sale of electric and zero-emissions vehicles, the first step in enacting a first-in-the-nation goal of […]

Winter precipitation amounts were not enough to significantly improve conditions in much of the country, government scientists said. Drought conditions are likely to continue across more than half of the continental United States through at least June, straining water supplies and increasing the risk of wildfires, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said on Thursday. […]

A volunteer with the Pacific Beach Coalition picking up trash near Pacifica Esplanade Beach last year.Credit…Justin Sullivan/Getty Images They are in your gut. They are in the ocean. They are even floating through the air in the most remote regions of the West. Microplastics — fragments of broken-down plastic no larger than a fraction of an inch — […]

Despite some wet weather last fall, warm and dry conditions have settled in and are expected to continue through spring and beyond, according to a new assessment. By Henry Fountain Feb. 17, 2022 Dry conditions across the West that have dashed hopes for a respite from relentless drought are expected to continue across the region […]

The Biden administration is restoring the stateʼs power to set its own limits on tailpipe pollution and is largely adopting the stateʼs rules regarding heavy trucks. WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is preparing strict new limits on pollution from buses, delivery vans, tractor-trailers and other heavy trucks, the first time tailpipe standards have been tightened […]