L.A. Times - Environment

On the shores of Playa del Rey sits L.A.'s last line of defense against sewage streaming into the Santa Monica Bay — and a jacked El Niño this winter threatens to be more than a match for it.

The report provides the most frank and in-depth review of the Eaton and Palisades fires, and points out multiple shortcomings in governmental planning and response.

One of several bills signed this week is a law to advance the use of virtual power plants to make greater use of clean energy at home.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has vetoed a bill that would have given Native tribes greater say on decisions about water. One tribal leader said it shows that the governor "doesn't care about tribes."

A second satellite, launched Thursday, will double California's chances of detecting climate-changing methane releases.

Portions of Northern California's Scott River have dried up. Critics say state regulators should do more to keep the river flowing for salmon.

The bill was prompted by Los Angeles Times reporting that revealed as many as half a million barrels of toxic waste had been dumped into the ocean off the coast of Southern California.

Prop 45 seeks to overhaul the law often blamed for delaying construction and driving up its cost: the California Environmental Quality Act.

A new California law legalizes the plug-in solar panels that are becoming popular in other states and in Europe.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill that restores California's Wildlife Coexistence Program in an effort to resolve rising conflicts with wolves, bears and mountain lions.

Up to 12 million tons of coal per year would be shipped to a Trump-backed Oakland terminal with open-air storage, defying promises of an enclosed facility.

The idea for breeding rhinos came from his son, then 15. In 2010, Muller converted the family's antelope-breeding operation into what became the Rhino Momma Project.

The state added more than 1 million acres this last year toward its goal of conserving 30% of it land by 2030. It made no progress toward conserving 30% of its coastal waters in the same time frame.

Experts say Trump's new fuel standards could complicate California's efforts to address climate change at a time when drivers face some of the nation's highest gas prices.