This week’s newsletter also has a look at how tiny bubbles can help with a big problem, trains going down and sand finally coming to San Clemente.
Welcome to The Compost, a weekly newsletter on key environmental news impacting Southern California. Subscribe now to get it in your inbox! In today’s edition…
Southern California got a welcome reprieve from being on the front lines of climate change in 2023, with a wet winter and relatively mild summer buffering us from the deadly wildfires and extreme weather that plagued so much of the warming planet this year.
Our state – along with some local governments, regulators and activists of all stripes – also made big moves over the past 12 months to try and rein in global warming.
Some of those efforts got weakened or killed along the way, though, while the fate of others remains unclear. But from a disappearing drought to a controversial hydrogen hub to a fight over an underwater pit, there was certainly no shortage of environmental news this year.
As the year winds down, I took a look at how five major climate and environment stories shaped Southern California in 2023.
I like lists. The Notes app in my iPhone has 227 files in it at the moment, and many of them are lists of my favorite movies I’ve seen this year, hikes I want to go on, books I’d like to read, an evolving gear list for backpacking trips… So here are a few more “top five” lists to help us reflect on what happened this year in the climate and environment spaces.
Five environment stories that got big traffic on Southern California News Group sites in 2023:
Five helpful 2023 climate story roundups from other outlets:
Five favorite stories I worked on this year:
What will be the top climate stories of 2024 for Southern California and beyond? Are there key dates, events or milestones you’re looking forward to — or dreading? Do you have a resolution for the new year centered around climate action? Send your thoughts to me at BStaggs@scng.com and you might see them in future coverage!
Have a safe and happy New Year’s, Composters.
— By Brooke Staggs, environment reporter
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Cleaner gardening ahead: Irvine will start banning gas-powered lawn equipment next summer to improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Hanna Kang reports. It’s the first city in Orange County to take that step, with several L.
