California

Monarch butterflies cluster together to stay warm.

Monarch Butterfly Numbers Soar in California After Dramatic Losses

The orange-winged insect's population increased from 2,000 in 2020 to nearly 250,000 in 2021

A murder of crows flies around an apartment building in downtown Sunnyvale, California.

A California City Overrun With Crows Turns to Lasers and a Boombox to Scare Them Away

City employees will spend an hour every night shining green lasers and playing corvid distress calls to humanely harass the birds into leaving

Orange and lemon groves as well as the residence of the citrus pioneer William Wolfskill, c. 1882. 

The Bug That Saved California

The Golden State’s citrus industry faced a lethal threat. The solution would herald a new kind of pest control

When a surfer reported this fish on the beach, biologists rushed to see what it was. 

For the Third Time This Year, a Deep-Ocean 'Football' Fish Has Washed Ashore California's Beaches

Prior to this year, a beached specimen hadn't been seen since 2001

A starlit night at Joshua Tree National Park.

What Does the Future Hold for the Joshua Tree?

The beloved desert denizen is feeling the heat

A cluster of western monarch butterflies clings to a branch as it overwinters in California.

The Best Place to Watch Monarch Butterflies Migrate Might Be This Little California Beach Town

Thousands of western monarchs migrate to Pismo Beach each fall to escape winter cold, but climate change threatens the species' survival

Severe drought has contributed to the state’s historic wildfire season and threatened some of its most famous trees.

California Firefighters Race to Protect Giant Sequoia Trees

Officials say the historically significant trees were thankfully unscathed by recent blazes

A historic drought has choked the state’s water supply and threatened future almond production.

California Drought Hits World's Top Almond Producer

Extreme heat and a limited water supply are jeopardizing the future of the $6 billion industry

Smoke from nearby wildfires turned the sky above San Francisco a dark orange color last September.

Wildfire Smoke Linked to Covid-19 Cases and Deaths in the West

Thousands of coronavirus cases and hundreds of deaths may be attributable to the particulate matter in wildfire smoke

Pork producers are challenging the law in Iowa, where a third of the country’s hogs are raised, claiming it will cost “tens of millions of dollars” annually to meet the requirements.

New Animal Welfare Law Could Drive Up Pork Prices in California—and Nationwide

In 2018, Californians overwhelmingly supported Proposition 12, an initiative designed to create humane conditions for farm animals

Rodents within the area undergo regular tests where officials trap them, anesthetize them, and comb them for fleas.

Chipmunks Test Positive for the Bubonic Plague in Several South Lake Tahoe Locations

Officials closed some recreational sites while the areas undergo eradication efforts

The butterflies have experienced major losses in populations on both the East and West coasts.

Climate Change Is Decimating Monarch Populations, Research Shows

Western monarchs have lost 99.9 percent of their numbers since the 1980s

The entrance to Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California.

Fifty Years Ago, Berkeley Restaurant Chez Panisse Launched the Farm-to-Table Movement

'Local, organic, sustainable' are common buzzwords on American menus now, but it wasn't always that way

Via Getty: "An unofficial thermometer reads 133 degrees Fahrenheit at Furnace Creek Visitor Center on July 11, 2021 in Death Valley National Park, California."

Death Valley Records Hottest Average Temperature Over 24 Hours

The Stovepipe Wells weather station measured an average temperature of 118.1 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday

Rain, waves, and seeping groundwater can destabilize seaside bluffs, making them prone to collapse.

The Science of Predicting When Bluffs in Southern California Will Collapse

Researchers are using lidar to better understand the erosional forces that cause oceanfront cliffs to crumble

The Forever Marilyn statue's June 20 unveiling attracted protesters who view Seward Johnson's 26-foot-tall sculpture as an outdated symbol of sexism.

Why a Newly Installed Statue of Marilyn Monroe Is So Controversial

In the era of #MeToo, some view the sculpture—now on view in California—as a symbol of sexism

Queer artist Gilbert Baker preserved this 10- by 28-foot section of an original 1978 pride flag.

Long-Lost Fragment of First Rainbow Pride Flag Resurfaces After Four Decades

The brilliantly colored banner—now on view in San Francisco—flew on "Gay Freedom Day" in 1978

The mini museum is housed on the first floor of an Oakland, California, house whose exterior is decorated with a mural honoring the women of the Black Panther Party.

Mini Museum Honoring the Black Panther Party Will Debut on Juneteenth

A pop-up exhibition dedicated to the Black power organization is set to open in Oakland, California, on June 19

“Not much in my life in the natural world has made me cry, but this did,” Nate Stephenson, an ecologist at the USGS who has been studying sequoias for 40 years, tells the Chronicle. “It hit me like a ton of bricks.”

Fire Destroyed 10 Percent of World's Giant Sequoias Last Year—Can They Survive Climate Change?

A new draft report suggests between 7,500 and 10,600 of the massive trees were killed by wildfire in 2020

Around 1,200 residents stopped by to touch, photograph, and view the Alameda corpse flower. (Not pictured)

Corpse Flower Steals the Spotlight at Abandoned California Gas Station

A local nursery owner grew the rare botanical wonder and shared the bloom with the community, where they could touch and interact with the plant

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