First Kanye West and Jamie Foxx, now gold diggers have upset environmentalists and economists. It’s been like 1849 online with blogs abuzz over gold prices, prospectors and water use in California.

The precious metal is priced at a record dollar high now, thanks in part to China and India snapping up gold reserves. Panic and pricing like that drives laid-off Californians to go panning and miners to “explore,” sometimes damaging the farthest corners of the Earth to get gold.

Eco- and business-bloggers alike want to know: Is the …

Tags: California , fashion , gold , gold price , gold rush , jewelry , mining , recycled , recycling

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It’s not unusual in California to see from 1,500 to 2,000 sea lion deaths on our beaches each year. But this year is off – way off – and no one can figure out why.

Starting in May and continuing through September, an unexpected onslaught of emaciated, young sea lions has been beached along the coast, requiring a tremendously heightened response among the marine mammal rescue networks throughout the state.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which coordinates these networks, is just as concerned about what is …

Tags: beaches , California , Canada , disease , eco , human interference , Marine life , parasites , pollution , research , sea lions , seals , toxins , waste

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This September, The Nature Conservancy will launch the first controlled study of its kind to assess the impact of trawl fishing off California’s Central Coast-and you can be part of naming the new Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) that will be gathering the data.

The nominations are:

Beagle –Darwin’s famous ship. Did you know that it’s his 200th birthday this year?
Petrale Patrol – Our ROV has sole.
Rachel Carson – An environmental legend and an inspiration.
Rock …

Tags: California , Central Coast , Nature Conservancy , ocean , Remotely Operated Vehicle , technology , trawl fishing

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Is it possible to make great California wine in an unfriendly environment? Not according to Hall St. Helena, the first winery in California to achieve Gold LEED Certification.

LEED is an internationally-recognized green rating system that measures how well a building or community does in its efforts to save energy and water, reduce CO2 emissions, improve environmental quality and show leadership in the stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts….

Tags: California , conservation , LEED certification , local building materials , radiant floors , recycling , solar energy , wine

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A new study by University of California scientists finds exposure to local traffic-generated pollution increases a pregnant woman’s risk of developing preeclampsia (pregnancy-induced hypertension) and/or having a premature baby.

The study focused on a review of over 81,000 medical records that documented births in the Long Beach/Orange County area between 1997 and 2006. Having built a database capable of estimating what the pregnant women breathed within the three kilometres of their homes, the researchers examined the records to determine where the highest numbers …

Tags: air , birth defects , California , emissions , pollution , preeclampsia , premature birth

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Got goats? If not, there’s a family-owned and operated grazing service in Orinda, California that will deliver to you a South American shepherd, Border Collie and trained herd to graze your ranch or yard. Used primarily for fuel mitigation, star thistle eradication and reducing pesky hillside brush, the livestock comes in a variety of breeds to munch sites as expansive as 30,000 acre ranches.

The Goats R Us business was bred by …

Tags: Angoras , animals , Border Collie , brush reduction , California , family businesses , fuel mitigation , Goats , grazing , herds , livestock , Orinda , thistle eradication

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It was like lovely manna from the sky, the snow blanketing the mountains as I drove home from Lake Tahoe, flakes turning to heavy showers as we headed down the pass towards Davis.

It may not be the best conditions for driving, but the storms pounding the Bay Area and covering the Sierra Nevada with the white stuff have come just in time to rescue the state from what promised to be the worst drought in its history. In fact, new surveys taken (above) show the Sierra Nevada snowpack is at 80 percent …

Tags: California , California rain , central California farms , climate change , Drought , global warming , rain , snow conditions , water shortages

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