California
California’s trees are dying and might not be coming back: Scientists
Scientists have quantified California’s lack of tree cowl and the way it advanced, displaying in unprecedented element the lack of bushes over the span of 37 years.
The co-authors of latest analysis printed in AGU Advances used LANDSAT satellite tv for pc knowledge to doc how tree-cover modified in California from 1985 to 2021, being shrunk by wildfires, logging, and droughts.
In an electronic mail to Zenger Information, examine co-author Jonathan Wang wrote that California has misplaced 6.7 % of its tree-cover over that point, whereas many of the loss occurred on account of “mega-fires” since 2010.
This was regardless of temporary progress within the Nineteen Nineties, he wrote, on account of elevated rainfall and scale back tree-cutting. A lot of the loss, he added, happens in the course of the sizzling and dry summer time months. Additionally, he predicted that “local weather warming” might make forests extra susceptible.
“The forests will not be maintaining with these giant fires,” stated examine co-author James Randerson of the College of California-Irvine, in response to a information launch. Referring to the lack of bushes, he added: “These are large modifications in lower than 4 a long time.”
One of many starkest declines in forest cowl was noticed in Southern California, the place 14 % of the tree inhabitants in native mountains vanished, probably completely.
In keeping with Wang, “The southern a part of California is significantly hotter and drier than the northern mountains or the Sierra Nevada, and the bushes that exist there are already near the restrict of their habitability.”
Wang wrote that quickly rising temperatures and extended droughts are “stopping forests from recovering from disturbance by hampering, for instance, the power of seeds to germinate post-fire.”
For Wang, this implies the potential for a “biome shift,” during which forest cowl “could also be changed by chaparral shrublands sooner or later.”
A press launch quoted Wang, a post-doctoral researcher who led the examine, saying: “The flexibility of forests to recuperate from fireplace seems to be dwindling within the south,” who added,
“On the identical time, the state’s protection of shrubs and grasses is rising, which might foreshadow extra everlasting ecosystem shifts.”
As for subsequent steps for analysis, Wang wrote that he and colleagues had been stunned by the dearth of restoration within the forests of Southern California, which for him brings into query the Golden State’s capability to sequester carbon and meet net-zero emissions targets.
“California is banking on its forests to fulfill its local weather motion targets, and we hope to construct out a complete map of above-ground biomass to higher perceive the vulnerability and distribution of the state’s forest carbon shares,” wrote Wang.
Lastly, Wang wrote: “We additionally need to use these datasets to grasp higher how forest administration and prescribed fireplace are impacting the severity of fires all through the state, as a historical past of fireside suppression has led to a harmful build-up of fuels in California’s forests which can be resulting in much more catastrophic wildfires.”
The northern a part of the state has proven loads of restoration after fires, Wang affirmed, attributing it to its cooler temperatures and better rainfall patterns, though mega-fires of 2018, 2020, and 2021 devastated some areas.
He added: “This risk to California’s local weather options is not going away anytime quickly.
“We is perhaps coming into a brand new age of intense fireplace and susceptible forests.”
This story was supplied to Newsweek by Zenger Information.
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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