California

"The drought-stricken Colorado River is fueling golf courses and growth across the Coachella Valley."

"An oil pipeline that ruptured and spilled an estimated 383,000 litres (101,000 gallons) of crude near Santa Barbara in May had been allowed to corrode to a tiny fraction of its original thickness, federal regulators have said."

"ALONG THE SALTON SEA, CALIF. — The bone-dry lake bed burned crystalline and white in the midday sun. Ecologist Bruce Wilcox hopped out of his truck and bent down to scoop up a handful of the gleaming, crusty soil."

In a letter to pipeline safety regulators, two California Senators called "insufficient" the response of pipeline operators to a large spill near Santa Barbara.

"Environmentalists urged California regulators on Wednesday to reject a proposed expansion of the only offshore drilling operation still permitted in state waters along the Santa Barbara coastline, seizing on public outrage over last week's nearby oil spill."

"California continues to allow one of agriculture’s most popular and potent chemicals to be used under rules its own toxicologists have said aren’t scientifically sound."

"Koko Panossian is on death watch. The Glendale senior park services manager gingerly steps around fresh tree stumps, ghosts of 30-year-old coast redwood trees. His eyes meet the brown, scratchy limbs of two towering gentle giants."

"HERMOSA BEACH, CALIF. — Christopher Knight makes no apologies: He likes a green lawn. But the actor best known for playing middle son Peter on “The Brady Bunch” also wants to do his part to conserve water. The solution? Fake grass."

"The pipeline that leaked thousands of gallons of oil on the California coast was the only pipe of its kind in the county not required to have an automatic shut-off valve because of a court fight nearly three decades ago, a county official said."

"Stephanie Mutz makes a living plucking sea urchins from the Santa Barbara coast and selling the prickly treasure to upscale restaurants in Southern California. Now, she needs new hunting grounds."