California

"SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- From an urban puma's perspective, the news of late from greater Los Angeles has been mixed."

"LOS ANGELES — A swath of California closed out 2013 as the driest year on record, marked by above-normal temperatures and thirsty reservoirs."

"Veteran marijuana farmers say newcomers to Northern California’s pot hotbed use toxic, harmful methods to cash in."

"The driest year on record is turning the golden hills of California to dust, drying up wells, pastures and cash reserves in a season that is traditionally lush and generous."

"The California Public Utilities Commission has called on utilities and private companies to install about $5 billion worth of batteries and other forms of energy storage to help the state power grid cope with the erratic power supplied by wind and solar energy."

"SAN FRANCISCO -- Chevron Corp. failed to maintain equipment at a California refinery and has not responded adequately to multiple airborne chemical releases, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday."

"Department of Toxic Substances Control sets urgent deadline for battery recycler, saying rains could wash lead and other metals into Los Angeles River."

"SAN JOSE -- A Santa Clara County judge on Monday handed a billion-dollar victory to 10 California cities and counties that sued the paint industry in the interest of cleaning up old lead toxins permeating the walls of millions of homes."

"In recent years, California’s Agassiz’s desert tortoise population has been decimated by shootings, residential and commercial development, vehicle traffic, respiratory disease and predation by ravens, dogs and coyotes. Now, dwindling populations of the reptiles with scruffy carapaces and skin as tough as rhino hide are facing an even greater threat: longer droughts spurred by climate change in their Sonoran Desert kingdom of arroyos and burrows, according to a new U.S. Geological Survey study."