Ventura County Star Stories: Environment

Eye On The Environment: County companies setting green goals

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 07:00:00 -0000

Cutting consumption of fossil fuels would not only clean the air and help meet climate change goals but also cut energy costs by lowering demand, improve American energy independence and address the nation's trade imbalance.

Reducing plastic in sea urged in report

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 07:00:00 -0000

A report to be released next week by the governor's Ocean Protection Council says state leaders should ban smoking on beaches and require markets to recycle or ban plastic bags to reduce plastic debris in the sea.

Eye On The Environment: County's beaches get better grades

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 07:00:00 -0000

Over the past two months, two environmental groups have issued positive reports about beaches in Ventura County. First, Heal the Bay, which is based in Santa Monica but monitors beaches statewide, said Ventura County beaches proved to have "the best water quality in Southern California again this year." It gave every beach in the county an A or B grade for having clean water.

Navy fears fuel rule will affect its testing range

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 07:00:00 -0000

The 36,000-square-mile Point Mugu Sea Range off the Southern California coast is an oceanic no man's land, an ideal spot in international waters for the U.S. and its allies to test equipment and train forces. The expanse of the Pacific is where the Navy honed its skill in firing precision-guided missiles, including the Tomahawk cruise missile.

Pair spends 5 days walking the coast of Ventura County, sampling life

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 07:00:00 -0000

The geographic line that divides Ventura and Los Angeles counties is not an especially pretty place to start what is expected to be a beautiful weeklong journey along our county's coast.

Years of rain and runoff from Highway 1 have eaten away at sand and rock, creating a gully lined with prickly pear cactus and trunks of manzanita that threaten hikers following the beach access sign. As the morning sun tried to poke through the gray haze that carpeted the sky, I picked my way down the worn path, past the beer bottles and cactus, down the eroded wash to the beach below.

Eye On The Environment: What to do with dog doo? Bag it, trash it

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 07:00:00 -0000

Today from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Canine Adoption and Rescue League is holding its 11th annual Pooch Parade at San Buenaventura State Beach in Ventura. Organizers hope to raise money, promote dog adoptions and recruit volunteers to care for dogs in need of homes.

EPA set to take charge of survey at Field Lab

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 07:00:00 -0000

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is poised to take control of a long-sought survey of radiation contamination at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory, a sprawling hilltop facility south of Simi Valley.

Condors survive Big Sur wildfire

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 07:00:00 -0000

As wildfire whipped toward a remote sanctuary of the endangered California condor last month, the rare birds got their biggest test in survival after years of pampering by biologists: They had to live completely on their own.

Gore challenge: Transition to carbon-free power within 10 years

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 07:00:00 -0000

Former Vice President Al Gore called Thursday for a "man on the moon" effort to switch all of the nation's electricity production to wind, solar and other carbon-free sources within 10 years, a goal that he said would solve global warming as well as economic and national security crises caused by dependence on fossil fuels.

Hawaii may export tons of its garbage to West Coast soon

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 07:00:00 -0000

With sugar cane and pineapples fading, Hawaii's next big export to the U.S. mainland could be less sweet — 100,000 tons of trash a year

Healthy young eagle returning to Santa Cruz Island

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 07:00:00 -0000

A 3-month-old bald eagle huddled in the back of its carrier crate Monday as cameras flashed in the auditorium of the Channel Islands National Park visitor center in Ventura.

Eye On The Environment: Correct bins, clear signs make new recycle plan easier

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 07:00:00 -0000

Do you want to start or improve a recycling program at your apartment, school or business? To determine what kind of recycling system is the best fit for your situation, first find out whether a refuse hauler is providing recycling service to the location.

EPA tightens controls on 5 dangerous pesticides

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 07:00:00 -0000

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency strengthened regulations Thursday for five dangerous, commonly used pesticides and for the first time required farmers to set up sizable buffer zones around fields treated with the chemicals.

Council members told of 'profound' emissions pledge

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 07:00:00 -0000

The state of California's pledge to cut greenhouse gas emissions could be the most important environmental law the state has ever passed, a planner with Southern California's regional government association told a group of Ventura County's city council members on Thursday.

Recycled water project under way in Camarillo

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 07:00:00 -0000

Leisure Village in Camarillo has completed the first half of a recycled water program that will drastically reduce water costs and conserve 180 million gallons of water a year, officials say. The final phase of the project will begin late this summer.

Proposal lets fish farms operate in U.S. waters

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 07:00:00 -0000

Fish farms could be allowed to operate for the first time in federal waters off the nation's coasts under a Bush administration proposal that critics say is a blatant attempt to bypass Congress and set up a marine program that lawmakers have been reluctant to approve.

Ships face new rules on pollution

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 07:00:00 -0000

Oceangoing vessels off the shores of Ventura County and other areas would have to reduce their air pollution emissions under federal legislation that received final approval in Congress on Tuesday.

Unlike others, Mount Shasta glaciers are growing

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 07:00:00 -0000

Reaching more than 14,000 feet above sea level, Mount Shasta dominates the landscape of high plains and conifer forests in far Northern California.

US, allies pledge to halve greenhouse gas by 2050

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 07:00:00 -0000

World leaders embraced for the first time on Tuesday an ambitious but nonbinding goal of slashing greenhouse-gas emissions in half by midcentury to stave off global warming. Unimpressed environmentalists called the effort too slow and too uncertain.

G-8 progress slow on global warming

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 07:00:00 -0000

President Bush and German Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged today to keep working together on common problems, but progress appeared slow on reaching a consensus on climate change as the Group of Eight major economies tackled that and other knotty global issues.