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Alastair Bland, CalMatters

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Alastair Bland lives in Sonoma County, California. He writes about water, climate, marine research, agriculture and the environment, and his work has appeared at NPR, Time, East Bay Express, Audubon, Hakai, Slate, Smithsonian and other news outlets.

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Craggy brown and white deposits rise up from the middle of a glassy lake under a dramatic sky streaked with pink and purple clouds
Advocates are pressuring California state water officials to halt diversions from Mono Lake's tributaries to Los Angeles, which has used a small but significant amount of this clean mountain water for decades.
A pair of dirt-stained hands grasp two ends of a green, leafy plant with a sprout growing out of the end
Farmers in California are pivoting to frost-sensitive and heat-tolerant crops as temperatures rise with climate change — introducing some new and unfamiliar fruits and other foods to the state, including mangoes, cherimoya, dragonfruit, white sapote, coffee and more.
Bottled water is routinely delivered to residents of Tombstone Territory, a cluster of homes in central Fresno County reliant on increasingly scarece groundwater. | Courtesy of the Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability
SGMA could help secure safe and reliable water for disadvantaged communities dependent on groundwater, while forcing farmers to reduce their crop production. But that’s only if SGMA goes as planned, and it might not.
Less water in the Delta could negatively impact the Sacramento River | Photo by Yichuan Cao/NurPhoto via Getty Images salmon runs. |
State officials quietly gave away a significant portion of Southern California’s water supply to farmers in the Central Valley as part of a deal with the Trump administration in December 2018, potentially harming California salmon and L.A. County.
Still from "Earth Focus"
Once an abundant attraction off northern California's coast, red abalone and the lush kelp forests they relied on have been replaced by an overpopulation of kelp-eating purple sea urchins.
 Sign indicating buried water line from a new well to serve Allensworth. (narrow) | Carla Pineda
Today, roughly 100,000 people in Central Valley cannot drink the water that flows from their taps, for it is contaminated with high levels of toxins.
Great White Shark Chasing a Seal
Amid the media hype over sharks and a wealth of inconclusive data, West Coast biologists can’t seem to agree whether or not great white numbers are increasing.
Vineyards in Napa County occupy almost ten percent of the county's total land cover. | Photo: James Faulkner, some rights reserved
If you're in the wine trade, Napa County officials are willing to overlook a multitude of Zins.
Golden trout on Cottonwood Creek in the High Sierra | Photo: Anthony Greco, some rights reserved
Three-quarters of California's salmon and trout species are in danger of extinction. What can we learn from the ones that aren't?
Photo collage: Longfin smelt and Alviso Slough | Photos Satish J,/US Bureau of Reclamation
The endangered Delta smelt gets all the attention, but the longfin smelt may be in even worse trouble — despite the wet winter.
Salmon jumping at the Ballard Locks, Washington | Photo: Ingrid Taylar, some rights reserved
"Our tradition says that if we don’t catch salmon, they’ll stop coming back.”
An oyster at Whiskey Creek Shellfish Hatchery in Netarts Bay, Oregon | Photo: Oregon State University
Increasing acidity in our oceans is already harming coral reefs.... and a whole lot more. Oysters, for instance.
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