East County residents and environmentalists will  rally at SDG&E’s polluting peaker plant in El Cajon  on August 21 @ 10:15 am

By East County News Service

Photo courtesy of DreamTime 

Aug. 19, 2021 (East County) Activists say this plant and SDG&E pollute surrounding environmental justice communities, harm health, and contribute to the climate crisis with fracked gas

What: Dozens of San Diego County residents will gather outside Cuyamaca Peak Power on Saturday, August 21, to demand SDG&E stop polluting East County Communities and switch to renewable alternatives.

Why: SDG&E and Sempra are polluting El Cajon and other communities of concern in San Diego County by operating dirty gas-fired “Peaker plants,” including Cuyamaca Peak Power located at 200 N Johnson Ave.  The polluting nitrogen oxides from this plant expose residents to asthma and other health impacts in a disadvantaged community. This plant also relies on dirty energy contributing to devastating climate change effects like drought and wildfires, fracking our future. El Cajon and San Diego residents call on Sempra to not renew the permit of this plant and replace peaker plants with safe, renewable local solar energy and battery storage.  

When: Saturday, August 21, 10:15 am

Where: 104 N Johnson Ave, El Cajon, CA 92020

San Diego River Park Foundation cleanup opportunity for Santee's Forester Creek

Community service hours can be verified!

East County News Service

August 10, 2021 (Santee) - Each year, San Diego River Park Foundation volunteers remove more than 200,000 pounds of trash from our river. Without their amazing volunteers, this trash would be left to pollute native animal habitats, create unsightly piles in our parks and public spaces, leach contaminants into the water, and could be washed out into our ocean and beaches!

YOU can help with this critical work by cleaning up storm water debris and litter this Saturday, August 17 at Forester Creek in Santee from 9 a.m. to 12 noon.

By Miriam Raftery

July 30, 2021 (San Diego) – A new pedestrian and bicycle bridge will soon be built across the San Diego River Crossing Trail, thanks to a $1.5 million state grant secured by Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) for the Mission Trials Regional Park Foundation.

CAP Update Measure Development Workshop: Energy, Water, and Waste Emissions Reduction Sectors

East County News Service

July 24, 2021 (Unincorporated San Diego) - The County invites you to participate in their online Climate Action Plan (CAP) Update measure development workshop series. The July 28 virtual workshop covers Energy, water, and waste emissions reduction sectors.

Date: Wednesday, July 28, 2021 at 6:00 PM

Use this link to register for the workshop and add the event to your calendar. You will receive a confirmation e-mail and a numeric passcode to participate in the meeting. 

If you are interested in being notified of their upcoming opportunities to participate, please sign up for the County’s CAP mailing list.

By Jonathan Goetz

Photo: Screenshot of Josef Aschbacher at July 13 signing ceremony

July 21, 2021 (San Diego) — Recognizing that climate change is an urgent global challenge, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced a strategic partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA) to observe Earth and its changing environment. In a statement, NASA says, "Together we are leading and supporting a global response, with combined efforts in Earth science."

“Climate change is an all-hands-on-deck, global challenge that requires action now,” says NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “NASA and ESA are leading the way in space, building an unprecedented strategic partnership in Earth science.”

By Rachel Becker, CalMatters

CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters

Photo:  Creative Commons image via Bing

July 9, 2021 (San Diego) - As extreme drought claims most of the state, California Gov. Gavin Newsom today asked Californians to voluntarily cut their water use by 15%.

By Roddy Scheer and Doug Moss, EarthTalk 

Photo:   if you are looking for a lower price tag and a decent amount of range in a new EV, Chevrolet’s Bolt is among the better bets. Credit: Stephen Rees, FlickrCC.

July 3, 2021 (San Diego) - Dear EarthTalk: I am looking to finally ditch the old minivan and upgrade to an EV. What are the best choices out there nowadays in terms of up-front cost and fuel efficiency? -J. Wilson, Summertown, TN

Story and photos by Henri Migala 

Miriam Raftery also contributed to this report

June 30, 2021 (Jacumba Hot Springs) -- Imagine moving to a small, quiet, rural community over an hour away from a major metropolitan area to enjoy the quiet solitude of the open backcountry--only to learn that an international investment group is planning on building a massive solar project, six times larger than your entire community, within feet from you house.

By Gig Conaughton, County of San Diego Communications Office

Photo: Flinn Springs County Park will receive a shade cover over existing equipment and have some older playground equipment and a swingset replaced (photo courtesy: Jonathan Goetz)

By Suzanne Potter, Public News Service

Photo by Miriam Raftery

May 31, 2021 (Sacramento) - As the spring gardening season gets into full swing, groups fighting to save bees and other pollinators are asking nurseries and consumers to avoid plants grown with harmful pesticides.

By Miriam Raftery

Image, left: Dept. of Water Resources  map shows precipitation is far below average statewide

May 11, 2021 (Sacramento) – Following months of below normal rainfall in one of the driest years on record, Governor Gavin Newsom yesterday expanded his  April 21 drought emergency proclamation to include a total of 41 counties. San Diego is not included in the proclamation, which covers primarily Northern and Central California, areas representing about 30 percent of the state’s population. However all state residents are asked to help conserve water, a criitical resource.

Extraordinarily warm temperatures in April and early May separate this critically dry year from all others on California record. Climate change-induced early warm temperatures and extremely dry soils have further depleted runoff water from the Sierra-Cascade snowpack, resulting in historic and unanticipated reductions in water flowing to major reservoirs. The drastic reduction in water supplies means these reservoirs are extremely low for water users including farmers, also threatening fish and wildlife in the counties the drought proclamation covers.

Newsom announced $5.1 billion in funding for a menu of measures to address the drought and related water challenges. His proposal takes timely advantage of a massive $75.7 billion budget surplus, a surplus due largely to wealthy Californians who profited during the pandemic.

By Julie Cart, CalMatters

CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters

Photo:  A view of Big Basin Redwoods State Park in Boulder Creek on April 22, 2021. Most of the park burned in 2020's CZU Complex wildfire. Photo by Max Whittaker, courtesy of Save the Redwoods League

May 9, 2021 (Boulder Creek, Calif.) - In the annals of California history, no one has ever had to put a broken state park back together. There’s no guidebook, no rules. So now state officials and conservationists are attempting a complex and extraordinary Humpty Dumpty project: The reawakening of Big Basin Redwoods State Park.