California
August used to be the perfect month for California’s High Sierra. It’s all different with climate change
August, my grandparents mentioned, was the perfect month to go to the Excessive Sierra. The 12,000-foot passes had been lastly freed from snow, the mosquitoes had vanished, and the chance of freak fall snowstorms, they reasoned, was nonetheless a month or extra away.
And so, in August within the Eighties, we regularly headed to the mountains for pack journeys — 10-day journeys to the backcountry with household and pals. Mules lugged our gear to a distant spot. From there, we scrambled up rocky peaks, ate lunch beside distant lakes, dodged afternoon thunderstorms, raced cups down creeks and sang by the campfire at evening.
It was great.
After which the local weather modified.
Out of the blue August was proper within the coronary heart of wildfire season.
Nowadays, I typically keep away from the Sierra in August. The danger of a wildfire casting smoke by distant areas — and even burning deep into the backcountry, as is occurring extra usually — appears to escalate with each passing summer season month, as vegetation will get drier and drier. I used to be pondering of that a couple of week in the past, when a look at Purple Air screens confirmed the Oak Hearth in Mariposa County — fortunately 67% contained as of Sunday morning — spreading smoke from Lone Pine, the jumping-off level for Mount Whitney, all the way in which as much as Lake Tahoe. The explosive new McKinney Hearth in far northern California, which pressured the evacuation of some hikers and closed a part of the Pacific Crest Path, is one other reminder of how all of a sudden a risk can come up.
Kenneth Brower, who (like my mom’s household) went on the Sierra Membership’s 150-person “Excessive Journeys” to the backcountry within the Fifties, famous that one of many nice issues in regards to the mountains has all the time been the readability of the celebrities at excessive altitude.
“That’s the province that’s now polluted,” he mentioned. “It was once such clear air.”
Kate Pope, whose household additionally used to go together with mine to the backcountry, remembers being shocked by seeing smoke from a hearth in 1960 on Donner Ridge as she was leaving the Mount Whitney space. The blaze, in the end about 45,000 acres, started as street crews labored to construct Interstate 80 throughout Donner Summit.
“There was smoke within the Sierra — it was completely extraordinary,” she mentioned.
A few of my colleagues have modified their journeys to go earlier to the mountains, to make sure there is no such thing as a smoke. It’s simpler to do now: There may be far much less snow than there was once. Meaning, maybe, that the mosquito season has additionally shifted earlier some years, and the timing of stream crossings may additionally be totally different.
The final time my household went to the Sierra was in June 2019. We stayed in Yosemite — a straightforward vacation spot with young children and getting old mother and father. I made reservations a yr prematurely.
Not everybody has modified their schedule.
Brower, an environmental author who’s the son of the late Sierra Membership chief David Brower, has continued to hike steadily, however has been “run out of the mountains season after season by smoke.”
August and early September stay the perfect time to go to the excessive nation, says Chris Benner, an environmental research and sociology professor at UC Santa Cruz whose mother and father helped arrange the large, weeks-long Excessive Journeys in the course of the final century (such enormous teams are not allowed). Wildfires these days can occur basically any time of yr, he notes.
“For me, essentially the most disagreeable time within the Excessive Sierra is the mosquitoes,” he mentioned. “That’s a way more vital consideration for me (than) the smoke.”
Benner notes that fireside was a significant presence throughout California in pre-colonial instances; the final 150 years of fireplace suppression was an aberration.
Benner was within the backcountry in early September 2020 when the fast-moving Creek Hearth — which in the end triggered helicopter rescues of 200 folks trapped by a reservoir — broke out in Sierra Nationwide Forest. His group had a alternative: hike 7 miles again within the path of the hearth to retrieve their automobile, or hike 25 miles out in a unique path. They selected to get the automobile, and emerged with it by ash and smoke.
“It ended up being high-quality, simply scary,” he mentioned.
Brower famous that for his father and different twentieth century environmentalists like photographer Ansel Adams, the battles had been totally different. It was onerous sufficient “holding these mountains away from the exploiters,” he mentioned.
After which got here the fires and smoke. “I don’t suppose anyone anticipated that (the mountains) could be taken away from us on this manner,” he mentioned.
Chronicle information reporter Yoohyun Jung contributed to this report.
Kate Galbraith is the Local weather Editor on the San Francisco Chronicle. Electronic mail: kgalbraith@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kategalbraith
California
California Gov. Gavin Newsom says state will provide rebates if Trump removes tax credit for electric vehicles
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state will provide rebates to residents if President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration does away with a federal tax credit for electric vehicles.
In a news release issued Monday, Newsom said he would restart the state’s Clean Vehicle Rebate Program, which provided financial incentives on more than 590,000 vehicles before it was phased out late 2023.
“We will intervene if the Trump Administration eliminates the federal tax credit, doubling down on our commitment to clean air and green jobs in California,” Newsom said. “We’re not turning back on a clean transportation future — we’re going to make it more affordable for people to drive vehicles that don’t pollute.”
The federal rebates on new and used electric vehicles were implemented in the Inflation Reduction Act that President Joe Biden signed into law in 2022. When Trump’s second term in office begins next year, he could work with Congress to change the rules around those rebates. Those potential changes could limit the federal rebates, including by reducing the amount of money available or limiting who is eligible.
Limiting federal subsidies on electric vehicle purchases would hurt many American automakers, including Ford, General Motors and the EV startup Rivian. Tesla, which also builds its automobiles in the United States, would take a smaller hit since that company currently sells more EVs and has a higher profit margin than any other EV manufacturer.
Newsom also announced earlier this month that he will convene a special session “to protect California values,” including fundamental civil rights and reproductive rights, that he said “are under attack by this incoming administration.”
“Whether it be our fundamental civil rights, reproductive freedom, or climate action — we refuse to turn back the clock and allow our values and laws to be attacked,” Newsom said on X on Nov. 7.
A spokesperson for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This isn’t the first time California will be taking action against the Trump’s administration concerning clean transportation legislation.
In 2019, California and 22 other states sued his administration for revoking its ability to set standards for greenhouse gas emission and fuel economy standards for vehicles, The Associated Press reported.
California sued the Trump administration over 100 times during his first term, primarily on matters including gun control, health care, education and immigration, the Los Angeles Times reported.
California
45 Years Later, California Murder Mystery Solved Through DNA Evidence
A 45-year-old cold case of a 17-year-old girl brutally raped and murdered has been resolved, bringing closure to the family. On February 9, 1979, Esther Gonzalez walked from her parents’ home to her sister’s in Banning, California, roughly 137 km east of Los Angeles. She never arrived. The next day, her body was discovered in a snowpack near a highway in Riverside County, California. Authorities determined she had been raped and bludgeoned to death, leading to an investigation that spanned decades.
The lab was able to match the DNA to a man named Lewis Randolph “Randy” Williamson, who died in 2014. Williamson, a US Marine Corps veteran, called authorities on the fateful day to report finding Ms Gonzalez’s body. At the time, he claimed he could not identify whether the body was male or female. Described as “argumentative” by deputies, Williamson was asked to take a polygraph test, which he passed, clearing him of suspicion in the pre-DNA era. He had faced assault allegations in the past but was never convicted of any violent crimes, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Despite limited leads, the Riverside County cold case homicide team didn’t give up. A semen sample recovered from Ms Gonzalez’s body in 1979 was preserved but remained unmatched in the national Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) for decades.
In 2023, forensic technology finally caught up. The homicide team collaborated with a genetic lab in Texas that specialises in forensic genealogy. A sample of Williamson’s blood from his 2014 autopsy provided the DNA match needed to confirm him as the 17-year-old’s rapist and killer.
The Gonzalez family had mixed emotions—relief at finally having answers and sadness knowing Williamson would not face justice, as he died in Florida ten years ago. Ms Gonzalez, remembered by her family as a shy yet funny and mild-mannered young woman, was the fourth of seven children. Her oldest brother, Eddie Gonzalez, wrote on Facebook, “The Gonzalez family would like to thank the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department on a job well done. After 40 years, the Gonzalez family has closure.”
“We are very happy that we finally have closure,” Ms Gonzalez’s sister, Elizabeth, 64, shared with CNN. “We are happy about it but, since the guy has died, a little sad that he won’t spend any time for her murder.”
California
Bird Flu Virus Identified In Raw Milk Sold In California
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has detected the avian influenza or “bird flu” virus in a sample of a raw milk product. The product which was for sale at retailers at the time of the testing has now been recalled by the producer after the state of California requested it’s withdrawal from sale.
The affected product is cream top, whole raw milk produced and packaged by Raw Farm, LLC of Fresno County with lot code 2024110. The best buy date of the batch is 11. Nov, 2024 meaning consumers could still have it in their homes. No illnesses have currently been reported from this batch of milk, but people can take several days to develop bird flu after exposure. According to the World Health Organization, most people develop symptoms within 2-5 days, but can take up to 17 days to develop.
According to the CDC, bird flu symptoms may include fever or feeling feverish or chills, eye redness or irritation, and respiratory symptoms, such as cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle or body aches, headaches, and tiredness.
Customers should not consume any product matching the description above and should return the product to stores or dispose of it. The CDPH is also in the process of informing re also in the process of informing retailers about the infected product to notify them to remove it from their shelves. The CDPH has since visited both locations of the company’s farms and has found no further evidence of bird flu. The CDPH will continue to test the farm’s milk twice a week.
The CDPH stresses that there is no risk of consuming pasteurized milk as the milk is heated to temperatures which inactivate bacteria and viruses. However raw milk does not go through this process, meaning any bacteria or viruses in the milk can be transferred to the consumer. Public health departments, as well as the CDC have long warned against the dangers of consuming raw milk, which has been responsible for outbreaks of Listeria, E. coli, Campylobacter and Salmonella, among other microbes.
California has been hit with bird flu outbreaks in both dairy cow herds and poultry farms with over 400 dairy herds affected as of 22. November. Twenty-nine human cases have also been recorded in the state, mostly individuals who have had close contact with infected livestock. The numbers of infected individuals are likely to be under reported and very little is known about the severity of disease in humans so far. Just two days ago, the CDC confirmed a case of H5N1 bird flu in a child in California with no known contact with livestock.
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