Danielle Venton is a reporter for KQED Science. She covers wildfires, space and oceans (though she is prone to sea sickness).
Before joining KQED in 2015, Danielle was a staff reporter at KRCB in Sonoma County and a freelancer. She studied science communication at UC Santa Cruz and formerly worked at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland where she wrote about computing. She lives in Sonoma County and enjoys backpacking.
Dry Lightning Brews Over California, Increasing Fire Risks
California FAIR Plan Announces 29.1% Rate Hike for Homeowners This Fall
California Scientists Find Early Warning Sign of Irreversible Groundwater Damage
Can Controlled Burns Reduce California’s Air Pollution?
California Launches Sweeping Rules Aimed at Cutting Plastic Packaging Waste
Kim Leads Early as Insurance Commissioner Race Heads Toward General Election
California Must Move Faster on Wildfire Risk, Experts Warn
Bay Area Beaches Are Chock-Full of Mysterious Blue Creatures Again. Here’s How to See Them
California Asks Ships to Hit the Brakes for Whales
‘Who’s Not Paying?’: Fire Survivors Back California Bill to Hold Big Oil Accountable
California Insurance Commissioner Candidates Debate Solutions to Wildfire-Driven Crisis
In 2026, the Bay Area Still Has Lots to Learn from ‘Silent Spring’
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"content": "\u003cp>Even as crews battle the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12094533/big-sur-wildfire-map-evacuation-timber-fire-august-2026\">Timber Fire\u003c/a> and other wildfires across California, the state overall is at around just a quarter-million acres burned — making 2026 so far within the lowest 10% of years for acres burned in recent decades. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“In the scheme of things, this has been a relatively quiet year in California so far,” climate scientist with UC Agriculture and Natural Resources Daniel Swain said in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/live/wxPHDkC1dIE\">livestream \u003c/a>briefing on Wednesday. “It is getting more active as we speak, and the peak of the season is probably still yet to come.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Swain said that the next few days are expected to bring much of the West isolated lightning storms, some fostering dry lightning, a term reserved for thunderstorms on this side of the Mississippi River that drop 0.10 inch or less of rainfall nearby. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/TimberFireGetty6.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12094843\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/TimberFireGetty6.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/TimberFireGetty6-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/TimberFireGetty6-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A firefighter battles with flames as the Timber Fire continues in Big Sur, California, Aug. 10, 2026. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory, a division of the U.S. Forest Service, notes that dry lightning is the \u003ca href=\"https://research.fs.usda.gov/firelab/projects/lightningstrikes\">most common ignition source\u003c/a> for natural wildland fire, meaning tracking dry lightning storms is of interest to land managers. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Big Sur could see some additional fire starts, as well as the eastern Sierra, the Tahoe-Reno area and some areas of Southern California. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Looking past this week, forecasts indicate possible widespread dry lightning along northwest California, and into Oregon and Washington, through next week. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Because there’s no indication of widespread rain up there between now and then, that could be a problem,” Swain said. “We might actually see an episode of fires break out in far northern California into the Pacific Northwest.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Swain said that there are already evacuation orders for the MP 18 Fire — referring to Mile Post 18 — north of Hoopa in Humboldt County. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>During his briefing, Swain highlighted lightning signatures above Big Sur, where the Timber Fire is currently raging. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The fire could cause enough damage to the watershed along steep slopes in the region that it would trigger mudslides cutting off access along the Pacific Coast Highway this winter. Forecasters expect a very wet, very strong \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12089721/why-this-could-be-an-unpredictable-year-for-fires-in-california\">El Niño winter\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The odds that Highway 1 has big problems this winter were already high, and along this segment they might be even higher now,” Swain said.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“In the scheme of things, this has been a relatively quiet year in California so far,” climate scientist with UC Agriculture and Natural Resources Daniel Swain said in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/live/wxPHDkC1dIE\">livestream \u003c/a>briefing on Wednesday. “It is getting more active as we speak, and the peak of the season is probably still yet to come.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Swain said that the next few days are expected to bring much of the West isolated lightning storms, some fostering dry lightning, a term reserved for thunderstorms on this side of the Mississippi River that drop 0.10 inch or less of rainfall nearby. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory, a division of the U.S. Forest Service, notes that dry lightning is the \u003ca href=\"https://research.fs.usda.gov/firelab/projects/lightningstrikes\">most common ignition source\u003c/a> for natural wildland fire, meaning tracking dry lightning storms is of interest to land managers. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Looking past this week, forecasts indicate possible widespread dry lightning along northwest California, and into Oregon and Washington, through next week. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Because there’s no indication of widespread rain up there between now and then, that could be a problem,” Swain said. “We might actually see an episode of fires break out in far northern California into the Pacific Northwest.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Swain said that there are already evacuation orders for the MP 18 Fire — referring to Mile Post 18 — north of Hoopa in Humboldt County. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>During his briefing, Swain highlighted lightning signatures above Big Sur, where the Timber Fire is currently raging. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The fire could cause enough damage to the watershed along steep slopes in the region that it would trigger mudslides cutting off access along the Pacific Coast Highway this winter. Forecasters expect a very wet, very strong \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12089721/why-this-could-be-an-unpredictable-year-for-fires-in-california\">El Niño winter\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The odds that Highway 1 has big problems this winter were already high, and along this segment they might be even higher now,” Swain said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Forecasters warn that a surge of lightning storms expected to hit California and the Pacific Northwest this summer threatens what have been historically low numbers of burned acreage in 2026.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Even as crews battle the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12094533/big-sur-wildfire-map-evacuation-timber-fire-august-2026\">Timber Fire\u003c/a> and other wildfires across California, the state overall is at around just a quarter-million acres burned — making 2026 so far within the lowest 10% of years for acres burned in recent decades. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“In the scheme of things, this has been a relatively quiet year in California so far,” climate scientist with UC Agriculture and Natural Resources Daniel Swain said in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/live/wxPHDkC1dIE\">livestream \u003c/a>briefing on Wednesday. “It is getting more active as we speak, and the peak of the season is probably still yet to come.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Swain said that the next few days are expected to bring much of the West isolated lightning storms, some fostering dry lightning, a term reserved for thunderstorms on this side of the Mississippi River that drop 0.10 inch or less of rainfall nearby. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/TimberFireGetty6.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12094843\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/TimberFireGetty6.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/TimberFireGetty6-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/TimberFireGetty6-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A firefighter battles with flames as the Timber Fire continues in Big Sur, California, Aug. 10, 2026. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory, a division of the U.S. Forest Service, notes that dry lightning is the \u003ca href=\"https://research.fs.usda.gov/firelab/projects/lightningstrikes\">most common ignition source\u003c/a> for natural wildland fire, meaning tracking dry lightning storms is of interest to land managers. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Big Sur could see some additional fire starts, as well as the eastern Sierra, the Tahoe-Reno area and some areas of Southern California. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Looking past this week, forecasts indicate possible widespread dry lightning along northwest California, and into Oregon and Washington, through next week. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Because there’s no indication of widespread rain up there between now and then, that could be a problem,” Swain said. “We might actually see an episode of fires break out in far northern California into the Pacific Northwest.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Swain said that there are already evacuation orders for the MP 18 Fire — referring to Mile Post 18 — north of Hoopa in Humboldt County. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>During his briefing, Swain highlighted lightning signatures above Big Sur, where the Timber Fire is currently raging. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The fire could cause enough damage to the watershed along steep slopes in the region that it would trigger mudslides cutting off access along the Pacific Coast Highway this winter. Forecasters expect a very wet, very strong \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12089721/why-this-could-be-an-unpredictable-year-for-fires-in-california\">El Niño winter\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The odds that Highway 1 has big problems this winter were already high, and along this segment they might be even higher now,” Swain said.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>California’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12026808/fair-plan-bailout-from-insurance-companies-policyholders-following-la-fires\">insurer of last resort\u003c/a> is about to get significantly more expensive for policyholders starting Oct. 15, 2026. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The California FAIR Plan will be increasing its rates by an average of 29.1% for its more than \u003ca href=\"https://www.cfpnet.com/key-statistics-data/\">675,000\u003c/a> customers — the highest rate bump in recent history. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The exact increase depends on each homeowner’s situation. Those living in areas at a high risk of wildfire may pay significantly more. Some will see their wildfire premiums double. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s definitely going to cause pain for some people,” said Karl Sussman, broker and insurance expert. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Policyholders with less risk will be less impacted. In residential, urban communities in the Bay Area, some might even see reductions. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260123-Insurance-Home-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12071333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260123-Insurance-Home-01-KQED.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260123-Insurance-Home-01-KQED-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260123-Insurance-Home-01-KQED-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/260123-Insurance-Home-01-KQED-1200x675.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Overhead shot of a newly completed model home in what will become Northern California’s first wildfire-prepared neighborhood. (Courtesy of Rachael Gauthier)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The FAIR Plan asked for a higher rate hike of 35.8% from the California Department of Insurance, which oversees rate setting, last September. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://woods.stanford.edu/news/californias-home-insurance-crisis-spreading-beyond-wildfire-country\">study \u003c/a>released in June by Stanford University researchers found California homeowners insurance premiums are up 84% since 2020. FAIR Plan enrollment has nearly tripled — from under 2% to 5% of homes. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The FAIR Plan was designed as a temporary way to get coverage, not as a long-term insurance provider. But years of catastrophic fire damage and inflation prompted traditional insurers to pull back from areas at high risk of wildfire damage. For many Californians, the Plan became their first and only option. Half of homes in some high fire risk areas, such as Truckee, Nevada City, Malibu and Lake Arrowhead, are insured through the FAIR Plan. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As of June 2026, the FAIR Plan’s total exposure is $768 billion, reflecting an 11% increase since September 2025 and a 250% increase since September 2022. This dwarfs its direct cash balance, which sits between $200 and $400 million. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>To pay out catastrophic claims, the Plan relies on reinsurance, bonds and the ability to get money from private insurance companies and surcharges on policyholders. Some insurance experts have questioned how the FAIR Plan spends its money, citing bureaucratic inefficiencies and lengthy and costly legal battles, such as its fight to \u003ca href=\"https://www.fmglaw.com/insurance-4/los-angeles-court-finds-california-fair-plan-policy-coverage-for-smoke-damage-illegal/\">avoid\u003c/a> paying for smoke damage. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While enrollments in the FAIR Plan are still increasing, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.cfpnet.com/key-statistics-data/#:~:text=The%20FAIR%20Plan's%20total%20NB%20through%209,in%20September%202022%20(Fiscal%20Year%20End%202022\">pace of growth\u003c/a> appears to be slowing, according to recent data from the FAIR Plan. New business this year is down 25% over last year. Insurance regulators are hopeful this is a sign reforms passed through in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.insurance.ca.gov/01-consumers/180-climate-change/sustainable-insurance-strategy.Cfm\">Sustainable Insurance Strategy\u003c/a> are working. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At the same time, California is seeing more traditional insurers writing policies again. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have markets that didn’t exist a month ago. And in another month, we’ll probably have more markets, again, that didn’t exist,” Sussman said. “So, while we see the FAIR Plan rates going up, we [also] see the ability for people that are with the FAIR Plans to go and find private insurance, which, at the end of the day, is what we want them to be doing.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The California FAIR Plan will be increasing its rates by an average of 29.1% for its more than \u003ca href=\"https://www.cfpnet.com/key-statistics-data/\">675,000\u003c/a> customers — the highest rate bump in recent history. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The exact increase depends on each homeowner’s situation. Those living in areas at a high risk of wildfire may pay significantly more. Some will see their wildfire premiums double. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Policyholders with less risk will be less impacted. In residential, urban communities in the Bay Area, some might even see reductions. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The FAIR Plan asked for a higher rate hike of 35.8% from the California Department of Insurance, which oversees rate setting, last September. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://woods.stanford.edu/news/californias-home-insurance-crisis-spreading-beyond-wildfire-country\">study \u003c/a>released in June by Stanford University researchers found California homeowners insurance premiums are up 84% since 2020. FAIR Plan enrollment has nearly tripled — from under 2% to 5% of homes. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The FAIR Plan was designed as a temporary way to get coverage, not as a long-term insurance provider. But years of catastrophic fire damage and inflation prompted traditional insurers to pull back from areas at high risk of wildfire damage. For many Californians, the Plan became their first and only option. Half of homes in some high fire risk areas, such as Truckee, Nevada City, Malibu and Lake Arrowhead, are insured through the FAIR Plan. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As of June 2026, the FAIR Plan’s total exposure is $768 billion, reflecting an 11% increase since September 2025 and a 250% increase since September 2022. This dwarfs its direct cash balance, which sits between $200 and $400 million. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>To pay out catastrophic claims, the Plan relies on reinsurance, bonds and the ability to get money from private insurance companies and surcharges on policyholders. Some insurance experts have questioned how the FAIR Plan spends its money, citing bureaucratic inefficiencies and lengthy and costly legal battles, such as its fight to \u003ca href=\"https://www.fmglaw.com/insurance-4/los-angeles-court-finds-california-fair-plan-policy-coverage-for-smoke-damage-illegal/\">avoid\u003c/a> paying for smoke damage. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We have markets that didn’t exist a month ago. And in another month, we’ll probably have more markets, again, that didn’t exist,” Sussman said. “So, while we see the FAIR Plan rates going up, we [also] see the ability for people that are with the FAIR Plans to go and find private insurance, which, at the end of the day, is what we want them to be doing.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Nearly 700,000 customers will see the largest rate increase in the insurer’s recent history. \n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://woods.stanford.edu/news/californias-home-insurance-crisis-spreading-beyond-wildfire-country\">study \u003c/a>released in June by Stanford University researchers found California homeowners insurance premiums are up 84% since 2020. FAIR Plan enrollment has nearly tripled — from under 2% to 5% of homes. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The FAIR Plan was designed as a temporary way to get coverage, not as a long-term insurance provider. But years of catastrophic fire damage and inflation prompted traditional insurers to pull back from areas at high risk of wildfire damage. For many Californians, the Plan became their first and only option. Half of homes in some high fire risk areas, such as Truckee, Nevada City, Malibu and Lake Arrowhead, are insured through the FAIR Plan. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As of June 2026, the FAIR Plan’s total exposure is $768 billion, reflecting an 11% increase since September 2025 and a 250% increase since September 2022. This dwarfs its direct cash balance, which sits between $200 and $400 million. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>To pay out catastrophic claims, the Plan relies on reinsurance, bonds and the ability to get money from private insurance companies and surcharges on policyholders. Some insurance experts have questioned how the FAIR Plan spends its money, citing bureaucratic inefficiencies and lengthy and costly legal battles, such as its fight to \u003ca href=\"https://www.fmglaw.com/insurance-4/los-angeles-court-finds-california-fair-plan-policy-coverage-for-smoke-damage-illegal/\">avoid\u003c/a> paying for smoke damage. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While enrollments in the FAIR Plan are still increasing, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.cfpnet.com/key-statistics-data/#:~:text=The%20FAIR%20Plan's%20total%20NB%20through%209,in%20September%202022%20(Fiscal%20Year%20End%202022\">pace of growth\u003c/a> appears to be slowing, according to recent data from the FAIR Plan. New business this year is down 25% over last year. Insurance regulators are hopeful this is a sign reforms passed through in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.insurance.ca.gov/01-consumers/180-climate-change/sustainable-insurance-strategy.Cfm\">Sustainable Insurance Strategy\u003c/a> are working. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At the same time, California is seeing more traditional insurers writing policies again. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have markets that didn’t exist a month ago. And in another month, we’ll probably have more markets, again, that didn’t exist,” Sussman said. “So, while we see the FAIR Plan rates going up, we [also] see the ability for people that are with the FAIR Plans to go and find private insurance, which, at the end of the day, is what we want them to be doing.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Some farming towns in California’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/central-valley\">Central Valley\u003c/a> have sunk by more than 11 feet in recent years because of groundwater pumping, the extraction of water from underground aquifers using wells and electric pumps for drinking, farming and industry. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While some land subsidence is temporary, excessive pumping can cause aquifers to permanently collapse, reducing storage capacity and damaging homes, roads, bridges and canals.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>New research from UCLA and Caltech has outlined a way to detect when temporary land subsidence becomes permanent and irreversible. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The research, \u003ca href=\"https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2526041123\">published this week\u003c/a> in \u003cem>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences\u003c/em>, uses satellite imagery to identify the “abrupt transition to irreversible damage.” Researchers hope this will give decision makers new tools to keep an eye on water resources. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“If you start seeing that the ground is subsiding this fast, like we’re seeing, we’re hoping this is really an early warning signal that, okay, something is wrong, we need to stop pumping groundwater right now,” said \u003ca href=\"https://epss.ucla.edu/epss-welcomes-new-assistant-professor-dr-stacy-larochelle/\">Stacy Larochelle,\u003c/a> an assistant professor at UCLA. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Larochelle and co-authors found that parts of the Sacramento Valley, which has a centurylong history of groundwater exploitation to sustain the region’s intensive agricultural economy, underwent an abrupt and widespread change around 2021, indicating a shift to rapid, permanent subsidence. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Essentially, researchers saw if ground movement, as detected by satellites, linked up with water levels in wells, which indicated temporary sinking. If the ground didn’t bounce back when water levels did, the sink was permanent. Larochelle’s hope is that one day this monitoring can be done by satellites alone.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We think this is the first time that we’re really able to image this transition with such high- quality data,” Larochelle said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://vcresearch.berkeley.edu/faculty/roland-burgmann\">Roland Bürgmann\u003c/a>, a UC Berkeley geophysicist who was not involved in the research, said the research clearly showed how permanent damage was done to the Sacramento Valley water system by overuse during the recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/tag/california-drought\">drought\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This could and should have been avoided by proper monitoring and water management,” Bürgmann said. “Every water district in the world should probably be using the kind of satellite imaging data and analysis the authors relied on, so they can recognize when their valuable water storage systems are in danger of such irreversible loss of storage capacity.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The U.S Geological Survey’s California Water Center \u003ca href=\"https://www.usgs.gov/publications/groundwater-sustainability-and-land-subsidence-californias-central-valley\">estimates 15%\u003c/a> of the Central Valley’s groundwater storage capacity has been permanently lost because of subsidence.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“If you start seeing that the ground is subsiding this fast, like we’re seeing, we’re hoping this is really an early warning signal that, okay, something is wrong, we need to stop pumping groundwater right now,” said \u003ca href=\"https://epss.ucla.edu/epss-welcomes-new-assistant-professor-dr-stacy-larochelle/\">Stacy Larochelle,\u003c/a> an assistant professor at UCLA. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://vcresearch.berkeley.edu/faculty/roland-burgmann\">Roland Bürgmann\u003c/a>, a UC Berkeley geophysicist who was not involved in the research, said the research clearly showed how permanent damage was done to the Sacramento Valley water system by overuse during the recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/tag/california-drought\">drought\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“This could and should have been avoided by proper monitoring and water management,” Bürgmann said. “Every water district in the world should probably be using the kind of satellite imaging data and analysis the authors relied on, so they can recognize when their valuable water storage systems are in danger of such irreversible loss of storage capacity.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The U.S Geological Survey’s California Water Center \u003ca href=\"https://www.usgs.gov/publications/groundwater-sustainability-and-land-subsidence-californias-central-valley\">estimates 15%\u003c/a> of the Central Valley’s groundwater storage capacity has been permanently lost because of subsidence.\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Some farming towns in California’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/central-valley\">Central Valley\u003c/a> have sunk by more than 11 feet in recent years because of groundwater pumping, the extraction of water from underground aquifers using wells and electric pumps for drinking, farming and industry. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While some land subsidence is temporary, excessive pumping can cause aquifers to permanently collapse, reducing storage capacity and damaging homes, roads, bridges and canals.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>New research from UCLA and Caltech has outlined a way to detect when temporary land subsidence becomes permanent and irreversible. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The research, \u003ca href=\"https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2526041123\">published this week\u003c/a> in \u003cem>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences\u003c/em>, uses satellite imagery to identify the “abrupt transition to irreversible damage.” Researchers hope this will give decision makers new tools to keep an eye on water resources. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“If you start seeing that the ground is subsiding this fast, like we’re seeing, we’re hoping this is really an early warning signal that, okay, something is wrong, we need to stop pumping groundwater right now,” said \u003ca href=\"https://epss.ucla.edu/epss-welcomes-new-assistant-professor-dr-stacy-larochelle/\">Stacy Larochelle,\u003c/a> an assistant professor at UCLA. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Larochelle and co-authors found that parts of the Sacramento Valley, which has a centurylong history of groundwater exploitation to sustain the region’s intensive agricultural economy, underwent an abrupt and widespread change around 2021, indicating a shift to rapid, permanent subsidence. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Essentially, researchers saw if ground movement, as detected by satellites, linked up with water levels in wells, which indicated temporary sinking. If the ground didn’t bounce back when water levels did, the sink was permanent. Larochelle’s hope is that one day this monitoring can be done by satellites alone.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We think this is the first time that we’re really able to image this transition with such high- quality data,” Larochelle said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://vcresearch.berkeley.edu/faculty/roland-burgmann\">Roland Bürgmann\u003c/a>, a UC Berkeley geophysicist who was not involved in the research, said the research clearly showed how permanent damage was done to the Sacramento Valley water system by overuse during the recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/tag/california-drought\">drought\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This could and should have been avoided by proper monitoring and water management,” Bürgmann said. “Every water district in the world should probably be using the kind of satellite imaging data and analysis the authors relied on, so they can recognize when their valuable water storage systems are in danger of such irreversible loss of storage capacity.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The U.S Geological Survey’s California Water Center \u003ca href=\"https://www.usgs.gov/publications/groundwater-sustainability-and-land-subsidence-californias-central-valley\">estimates 15%\u003c/a> of the Central Valley’s groundwater storage capacity has been permanently lost because of subsidence.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Iván Higuera-Mendieta had never experienced a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/wildfires\">wildfire \u003c/a>season before arriving in California as a Stanford University Ph.D. student. Then, during a bike ride around Palo Alto in the summer of 2021, the Colombian-born researcher noticed what smelled like a neighborhood barbecue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He remarked to his colleagues how interesting it was that it smelled like wood outside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He recalls their response with a laugh: “People said, ‘Well, it’s fire season, dummy. You shouldn’t be outside. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1969739/smoke-from-californias-record-wildfires-is-its-own-disaster\">It’s bad for you\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The experience prompted Higuera-Mendieta to investigate a question that has become increasingly urgent in California: How can we reduce smoke from future wildfires?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His research, published in the June 11 issue of \u003cem>Science,\u003c/em> found that a sustained campaign of yearly prescribed burning — in line with \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2019/12/31/california-certifies-statewide-programmatic-environmental-impact-review-to-protect-californians-from-catastrophic-wildfires/\">pre-existing state goals\u003c/a> — could reduce smoke severity during bad wildfire years by 25%. Averaged over a decade of good, normal and bad fire years, the net reduction in smoke pollution is about 10%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The study, conducted with co-author Marshall Burke, examined two decades of fire and smoke data and provides the first large-scale estimate of how prescribed-fire-like burns influence future smoke exposure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We know that smoke is killing a lot of people. Any reduction in that is meaningful,” said Burke, \u003ca href=\"https://sustainability.stanford.edu/people/marshall-burke\">professor\u003c/a> in the Doerr School of Sustainability at Stanford and Higuera-Mendieta’s advisor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999165\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999165\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_257_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_257_QED-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_257_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_257_QED-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_257_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Participants in the prescribed burn add fuel to fires as part of a CAL-TREX prescribed burn in Berry Creek on Nov. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Andri Tambunan for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Prescribed fire, or the intentional and cautious burning of land at low severity, is a smoke solution that comes with trade-offs. A prescribed burn produces its own smoke, so the net benefits to air pollution are felt during the next wildfire, which may be soon or may be years away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You’re not eliminating the problem,” Burke said. “But you’re making a meaningful dent in the problem, particularly in the worst years, and to me, that’s important.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In past research, Burke’s group at Stanford has estimated that wildfire smoke will be the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1972725/wildfire-smoke-could-be-the-main-way-californians-experience-climate-change\">key way most Californians\u003c/a> will feel the harmful effects of climate change. A drying, heating atmosphere, caused primarily by the burning of fossil fuel, is leading us to more severe wildfires, which are reversing decades of air quality improvements in California and across the West.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wildfire smoke will kill an estimated \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12056655/wildfire-smoke-could-kill-over-5000-californians-a-year-by-2050-study-shows\">70,000 Americans each year by 2050\u003c/a>, if the planet continues to warm at its current rate, according to research Burke and colleagues published last September.[aside postID=news_12086933 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-21603288801.jpg']California has set a goal of treating half a million acres annually with low-severity fire. The state is about 20% of the way towards that goal, depending on how you count the progress. But such fires don’t have unalloyed support from the public. Some people complain about the smoke they inevitably produce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the implications of Burke and Higuera-Mendieta’s research is that policymakers who support prescribed fires should emphasize educating the public about the delayed benefits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A message to all of us living in California that we are probably going to have to tolerate some low-severity smoke during parts of the year when we’re not used to seeing it,” Burke said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve been putting out fires for a century. This has caused a big problem. We’ve got a warming climate, and these put us in a world of hard trade-offs. We just have to be clear-eyed about those trade-offs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the study, researchers mined decades of satellite readings, from data sources like the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. national parks and the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Working in such a data-rich environment stood out to Higuera-Mendieta as one of the best things about studying a scientific problem in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wish people knew that part of America’s greatness is this investment in all the open data,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Building on earlier work done by Burke’s group, they used models to trace smoke detected by satellites to the originating fire. They could then simulate how much less smoke those fires would have produced if they’d been less severe because there was a history of prescribed fire in the area. They used natural low-severity fire as a proxy for prescribed fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1996121\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1996121\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo.jpg\" alt=\"A before and after picture of a small, one-story, nicely kept home, and the remains of it after it was burned down.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"990\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-800x396.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-1020x505.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-160x79.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-768x380.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-1536x760.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-1920x950.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A family home in Altadena, California, before and after the Eaton Fire ravaged the community. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of the Moreno family)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A parallel, but not novel, finding was that low-severity fire reduced the chance of very severe fires in the area by more than 90%, with reductions trailing off over a decade. This finding is backed by a large body of pre-existing research.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One interesting wrinkle was that the greatest benefits were found in conifer forests, the site of many of the most severe fires, but not all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But if you think of the L.A. fires,” Higuera-Mendieta said, “that’s a completely different animal.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Southern California’s brushy, chaparral landscapes, low-severity fires were not very protective from future fires and future smoke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to find solutions for that second half [of the state],” Higuera-Mendieta said. “I think that opens new research avenues for me, asking what interventions work for Southern California.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "A new Stanford University study finds that annual prescribed burning could substantially reduce smoke pollution during California’s worst wildfire years.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Iván Higuera-Mendieta had never experienced a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/wildfires\">wildfire \u003c/a>season before arriving in California as a Stanford University Ph.D. student. Then, during a bike ride around Palo Alto in the summer of 2021, the Colombian-born researcher noticed what smelled like a neighborhood barbecue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He remarked to his colleagues how interesting it was that it smelled like wood outside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He recalls their response with a laugh: “People said, ‘Well, it’s fire season, dummy. You shouldn’t be outside. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1969739/smoke-from-californias-record-wildfires-is-its-own-disaster\">It’s bad for you\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The experience prompted Higuera-Mendieta to investigate a question that has become increasingly urgent in California: How can we reduce smoke from future wildfires?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His research, published in the June 11 issue of \u003cem>Science,\u003c/em> found that a sustained campaign of yearly prescribed burning — in line with \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2019/12/31/california-certifies-statewide-programmatic-environmental-impact-review-to-protect-californians-from-catastrophic-wildfires/\">pre-existing state goals\u003c/a> — could reduce smoke severity during bad wildfire years by 25%. Averaged over a decade of good, normal and bad fire years, the net reduction in smoke pollution is about 10%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The study, conducted with co-author Marshall Burke, examined two decades of fire and smoke data and provides the first large-scale estimate of how prescribed-fire-like burns influence future smoke exposure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We know that smoke is killing a lot of people. Any reduction in that is meaningful,” said Burke, \u003ca href=\"https://sustainability.stanford.edu/people/marshall-burke\">professor\u003c/a> in the Doerr School of Sustainability at Stanford and Higuera-Mendieta’s advisor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999165\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999165\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_257_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_257_QED-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_257_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_257_QED-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_257_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Participants in the prescribed burn add fuel to fires as part of a CAL-TREX prescribed burn in Berry Creek on Nov. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Andri Tambunan for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Prescribed fire, or the intentional and cautious burning of land at low severity, is a smoke solution that comes with trade-offs. A prescribed burn produces its own smoke, so the net benefits to air pollution are felt during the next wildfire, which may be soon or may be years away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You’re not eliminating the problem,” Burke said. “But you’re making a meaningful dent in the problem, particularly in the worst years, and to me, that’s important.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In past research, Burke’s group at Stanford has estimated that wildfire smoke will be the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1972725/wildfire-smoke-could-be-the-main-way-californians-experience-climate-change\">key way most Californians\u003c/a> will feel the harmful effects of climate change. A drying, heating atmosphere, caused primarily by the burning of fossil fuel, is leading us to more severe wildfires, which are reversing decades of air quality improvements in California and across the West.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wildfire smoke will kill an estimated \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12056655/wildfire-smoke-could-kill-over-5000-californians-a-year-by-2050-study-shows\">70,000 Americans each year by 2050\u003c/a>, if the planet continues to warm at its current rate, according to research Burke and colleagues published last September.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>California has set a goal of treating half a million acres annually with low-severity fire. The state is about 20% of the way towards that goal, depending on how you count the progress. But such fires don’t have unalloyed support from the public. Some people complain about the smoke they inevitably produce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the implications of Burke and Higuera-Mendieta’s research is that policymakers who support prescribed fires should emphasize educating the public about the delayed benefits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A message to all of us living in California that we are probably going to have to tolerate some low-severity smoke during parts of the year when we’re not used to seeing it,” Burke said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve been putting out fires for a century. This has caused a big problem. We’ve got a warming climate, and these put us in a world of hard trade-offs. We just have to be clear-eyed about those trade-offs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the study, researchers mined decades of satellite readings, from data sources like the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. national parks and the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Working in such a data-rich environment stood out to Higuera-Mendieta as one of the best things about studying a scientific problem in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wish people knew that part of America’s greatness is this investment in all the open data,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Building on earlier work done by Burke’s group, they used models to trace smoke detected by satellites to the originating fire. They could then simulate how much less smoke those fires would have produced if they’d been less severe because there was a history of prescribed fire in the area. They used natural low-severity fire as a proxy for prescribed fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1996121\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1996121\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo.jpg\" alt=\"A before and after picture of a small, one-story, nicely kept home, and the remains of it after it was burned down.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"990\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-800x396.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-1020x505.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-160x79.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-768x380.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-1536x760.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-1920x950.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A family home in Altadena, California, before and after the Eaton Fire ravaged the community. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of the Moreno family)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A parallel, but not novel, finding was that low-severity fire reduced the chance of very severe fires in the area by more than 90%, with reductions trailing off over a decade. This finding is backed by a large body of pre-existing research.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One interesting wrinkle was that the greatest benefits were found in conifer forests, the site of many of the most severe fires, but not all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But if you think of the L.A. fires,” Higuera-Mendieta said, “that’s a completely different animal.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Southern California’s brushy, chaparral landscapes, low-severity fires were not very protective from future fires and future smoke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to find solutions for that second half [of the state],” Higuera-Mendieta said. “I think that opens new research avenues for me, asking what interventions work for Southern California.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "California Launches Sweeping Rules Aimed at Cutting Plastic Packaging Waste",
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"content": "\u003cp>In the 1967 film \u003cem>The Graduate\u003c/em>, a businessman offers career advice to a young Dustin Hoffman with a single word: “Plastics.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the time, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/climate\">plastics\u003c/a> were the future. Since then, as production has \u003ca href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/plastic-pollution\">exploded worldwide\u003c/a>, scientists have found plastic pollution everywhere from Arctic ecosystems to human breast milk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With global production projected to \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352550924002823#f0005\">triple in the next 25 years\u003c/a>, California is attempting something no state has done before: requiring producers to dramatically reduce plastic packaging and take responsibility for the waste they create.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://calrecycle.ca.gov/packaging/packaging-epr/\">Regulations are now rolling out\u003c/a> to make manufacturers responsible for reducing the amount of plastic they use, recycling currently single-use plastic and ensuring that all of their packaging is recyclable or compostable by 2032.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The regulations, spurred by a state law signed in 2022, also require producers to pay into a fund to help clean up plastic pollution and restore ecosystems, focusing on low-income communities and rural areas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The producers of a material should be responsible for the end-of-life costs to manage that material, not the local communities who pay for waste management and recycling,” state Sen. Ben Allen, the bill’s author, said while advocating for SB 54 on the floor of the Senate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001237\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001237\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-12-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-12-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-12-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-12-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-12-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ben Allen, a California state senator, speaks during a forum for candidates for California insurance commissioner at the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) in San Francisco on April 9, 2026. The event brought together candidates to discuss the state’s insurance market, including affordability and coverage challenges facing homeowners. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The SB 54 regulations approved last month will set step-by-step targets for packaging producers over the next several years: reduce single-use plastic 10% by 2027, 20% by 2030 and 25% by 2032; and recycle 30% of their single-use plastic by 2028; 40% by 2030 and 65% by 2032.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This week, producers were required to submit baseline data about how much plastic packaging they produce to California’s Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, or CalRecycle, which is administering the regulations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s bigger than anything we’ve ever done at CalRecycle,” said Zoe Heller, the department’s director. “Right now about 40% by volume of what we’re sending to landfill is packaging. This is an opportunity for us to reduce that material that’s being sold into the state in a very meaningful way.”[aside postID=science_2001163 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/20260531-RENTERSELECTRIFY-JY-15-KQED.jpg']Some producers have warned that the regulations will increase food costs. While compliance will call for major investments and may increase the cost of packaged foods, \u003ca href=\"https://dof.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/352/2025/07/2025-SB-54-Standardized-Regulatory-Impact-Assessment-063025-1.pdf\">a state analysis\u003c/a> (PDF) indicated Californians would save money overall — at a rate of about $2.50 for every additional dollar spent — by bearing less cleanup costs and avoiding illness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many producers are working with the Circular Action Alliance, a nonprofit set up to help them comply with the law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a webinar hosted by the CAA, plastic producers asked questions about the finer details of how to accurately measure the amount of packaging in products and requested that the organization advocate for more time to comply with deadlines, which was denied.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We can’t do anything about the implementation timelines,” said Shane Buckingham, chief of staff for the CAA.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some environmental groups, meanwhile, have expressed concern with how the regulations were drawn up and announced Thursday they are suing CalRecycle in a San Francisco court, hoping to close workarounds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The regulations create giant loopholes that undermine the law’s recycling and plastic reduction goals,” said Avi Kar, senior attorney and senior director for toxics at the Natural Resources Defense Council.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1998283\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1998283\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/RohnertParkProcessingPlant1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/RohnertParkProcessingPlant1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/RohnertParkProcessingPlant1-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/RohnertParkProcessingPlant1-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/RohnertParkProcessingPlant1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Resynergi facility, located in Rohnert Park’s SOMO Village, uses a process called pyrolysis in order to recycle plastic. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Resynergi)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The law is meant to exclude types of plastic recycling that produce significant amounts of hazardous waste. But according to the NRDC, lots of the chemical plastic recycling that should be exempted is allowed as long as the producer has a permit from the Department of Toxic Substances Control.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Right now, the regulations say as long as you have a permit, no matter how much hazardous waste you might produce, you’re okay under the regulations. And we think that’s inconsistent with the law,” Kar said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>NRDC joined Californians Against Waste Foundation and international advocacy coalition Oceana in filing the \u003ca href=\"https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/2026-06/sb-54-loopholes-legal-petition.pdf\">complaint \u003c/a>on June 2.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The CAA has until June 15 to submit a plan to the state detailing how its members will comply with the regulations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In the 1967 film \u003cem>The Graduate\u003c/em>, a businessman offers career advice to a young Dustin Hoffman with a single word: “Plastics.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the time, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/climate\">plastics\u003c/a> were the future. Since then, as production has \u003ca href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/plastic-pollution\">exploded worldwide\u003c/a>, scientists have found plastic pollution everywhere from Arctic ecosystems to human breast milk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With global production projected to \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352550924002823#f0005\">triple in the next 25 years\u003c/a>, California is attempting something no state has done before: requiring producers to dramatically reduce plastic packaging and take responsibility for the waste they create.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://calrecycle.ca.gov/packaging/packaging-epr/\">Regulations are now rolling out\u003c/a> to make manufacturers responsible for reducing the amount of plastic they use, recycling currently single-use plastic and ensuring that all of their packaging is recyclable or compostable by 2032.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The regulations, spurred by a state law signed in 2022, also require producers to pay into a fund to help clean up plastic pollution and restore ecosystems, focusing on low-income communities and rural areas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The producers of a material should be responsible for the end-of-life costs to manage that material, not the local communities who pay for waste management and recycling,” state Sen. Ben Allen, the bill’s author, said while advocating for SB 54 on the floor of the Senate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001237\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001237\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-12-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-12-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-12-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-12-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-12-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ben Allen, a California state senator, speaks during a forum for candidates for California insurance commissioner at the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) in San Francisco on April 9, 2026. The event brought together candidates to discuss the state’s insurance market, including affordability and coverage challenges facing homeowners. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The SB 54 regulations approved last month will set step-by-step targets for packaging producers over the next several years: reduce single-use plastic 10% by 2027, 20% by 2030 and 25% by 2032; and recycle 30% of their single-use plastic by 2028; 40% by 2030 and 65% by 2032.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This week, producers were required to submit baseline data about how much plastic packaging they produce to California’s Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, or CalRecycle, which is administering the regulations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s bigger than anything we’ve ever done at CalRecycle,” said Zoe Heller, the department’s director. “Right now about 40% by volume of what we’re sending to landfill is packaging. This is an opportunity for us to reduce that material that’s being sold into the state in a very meaningful way.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Some producers have warned that the regulations will increase food costs. While compliance will call for major investments and may increase the cost of packaged foods, \u003ca href=\"https://dof.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/352/2025/07/2025-SB-54-Standardized-Regulatory-Impact-Assessment-063025-1.pdf\">a state analysis\u003c/a> (PDF) indicated Californians would save money overall — at a rate of about $2.50 for every additional dollar spent — by bearing less cleanup costs and avoiding illness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many producers are working with the Circular Action Alliance, a nonprofit set up to help them comply with the law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a webinar hosted by the CAA, plastic producers asked questions about the finer details of how to accurately measure the amount of packaging in products and requested that the organization advocate for more time to comply with deadlines, which was denied.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We can’t do anything about the implementation timelines,” said Shane Buckingham, chief of staff for the CAA.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some environmental groups, meanwhile, have expressed concern with how the regulations were drawn up and announced Thursday they are suing CalRecycle in a San Francisco court, hoping to close workarounds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The regulations create giant loopholes that undermine the law’s recycling and plastic reduction goals,” said Avi Kar, senior attorney and senior director for toxics at the Natural Resources Defense Council.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1998283\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1998283\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/RohnertParkProcessingPlant1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/RohnertParkProcessingPlant1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/RohnertParkProcessingPlant1-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/RohnertParkProcessingPlant1-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/08/RohnertParkProcessingPlant1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Resynergi facility, located in Rohnert Park’s SOMO Village, uses a process called pyrolysis in order to recycle plastic. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Resynergi)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The law is meant to exclude types of plastic recycling that produce significant amounts of hazardous waste. But according to the NRDC, lots of the chemical plastic recycling that should be exempted is allowed as long as the producer has a permit from the Department of Toxic Substances Control.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Right now, the regulations say as long as you have a permit, no matter how much hazardous waste you might produce, you’re okay under the regulations. And we think that’s inconsistent with the law,” Kar said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>NRDC joined Californians Against Waste Foundation and international advocacy coalition Oceana in filing the \u003ca href=\"https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/2026-06/sb-54-loopholes-legal-petition.pdf\">complaint \u003c/a>on June 2.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The CAA has until June 15 to submit a plan to the state detailing how its members will comply with the regulations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Kim Leads Early as Insurance Commissioner Race Heads Toward General Election",
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"content": "\u003cp>Progressive activist Jane Kim appeared poised to advance to the general election in November, besting other candidates in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2000611/california-insurance-commissioner-candidates-debate-solutions-to-wildfire-driven-crisis\">insurance commissioners race\u003c/a>, with 24.1% of early returns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The second-place finisher, appearing to be Ben Allen, who garnered 20.2% of the early returns, will also advance to the general election.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If elected, Kim’s tenure as commissioner would likely mean far more government involvement in shaping the insurance industry. She proposes a statewide guaranteed, affordable disaster insurance program, modeled on systems in France and New Zealand. She also has promised to work for guaranteed health insurance for all children in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re feeling very optimistic,” Kim said late Tuesday. “Our message of taking on the insurance industry and the status quo is really resonating with voters across the state.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kim has the backing of notable progressive leaders, including Bernie Sanders, Dolores Huerta, SEIU California and the Working Families Party.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State Sen. Ben Allen represents areas affected by the Palisades Fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Allen has promised to work with local and state officials to make neighborhoods safer from fire, by designing programs that harden homes and reduce fire spread.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000650\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000650\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-25-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-25-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-25-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-25-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-25-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jane Kim, former San Francisco supervisor, speaks during a forum for candidates for California insurance commissioner at the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) in San Francisco on April 9, 2026. The event brought together candidates to discuss the state’s insurance market, including affordability and coverage challenges facing homeowners. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He also wants to expand financial help for homeowners preparing their properties for fire. He has said he would seek to modernize the Department of Insurance and make it work more efficiently.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s also said he wants fossil fuel companies to bear some costs for their role in driving up insurance prices due to human-caused climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re looking very strong to go into the second round,” Allen said. “We were able to tell a really good story statewide about my experience and record and my standing up for consumers. And I think it paid off. And ultimately, we’re going to head to a strong, robust runoff in the fall.”[aside label=\"Live 2026 Election Results\" link1='https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/california/insurance-commissioner,Learn about the results of the California Insurance Commissioner Election' hero=https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/80/2026/04/Aside-California-Insurance-Commissioner-2026-Primary-Election-1200x1200@2x.png]Allen’s campaign was backed by U.S. Sens. Padilla and Schiff, California Environmental Voters, California Professional Firefighters and the Sierra Club.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The once sleepy race for insurance commissioner has earned significant attention this year. Wildfires and inflation have thrown California into an insurance crisis, with many residents finding insurance hard to obtain or afford.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The commissioner is the chief regulator of the state’s $3 trillion insurance industry and holds considerable power over how companies process claims and set prices for coverage for properties, cars, life insurance and workers compensation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two years ago, the Department of Insurance, under Ricardo Lara, rolled out the biggest regulatory reforms in a generation, known as the Sustainable Insurance Strategy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Industry experts say the changes have led to some easing of the insurance market, but more needs to be done to drive down risk from disasters like fires, and increase coverage options while limiting rapidly rising prices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Early returns show progressive activist Jane Kim leading the insurance commissioner race while State Sen. Ben Allen appears to also advance, setting up a general election contest focused on California’s insurance crisis, wildfire risk and regulatory reform.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re feeling very optimistic,” Kim said late Tuesday. “Our message of taking on the insurance industry and the status quo is really resonating with voters across the state.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kim has the backing of notable progressive leaders, including Bernie Sanders, Dolores Huerta, SEIU California and the Working Families Party.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State Sen. Ben Allen represents areas affected by the Palisades Fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Allen has promised to work with local and state officials to make neighborhoods safer from fire, by designing programs that harden homes and reduce fire spread.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000650\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000650\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-25-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-25-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-25-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-25-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-25-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jane Kim, former San Francisco supervisor, speaks during a forum for candidates for California insurance commissioner at the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) in San Francisco on April 9, 2026. The event brought together candidates to discuss the state’s insurance market, including affordability and coverage challenges facing homeowners. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He also wants to expand financial help for homeowners preparing their properties for fire. He has said he would seek to modernize the Department of Insurance and make it work more efficiently.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s also said he wants fossil fuel companies to bear some costs for their role in driving up insurance prices due to human-caused climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re looking very strong to go into the second round,” Allen said. “We were able to tell a really good story statewide about my experience and record and my standing up for consumers. And I think it paid off. And ultimately, we’re going to head to a strong, robust runoff in the fall.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Allen’s campaign was backed by U.S. Sens. Padilla and Schiff, California Environmental Voters, California Professional Firefighters and the Sierra Club.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The once sleepy race for insurance commissioner has earned significant attention this year. Wildfires and inflation have thrown California into an insurance crisis, with many residents finding insurance hard to obtain or afford.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The commissioner is the chief regulator of the state’s $3 trillion insurance industry and holds considerable power over how companies process claims and set prices for coverage for properties, cars, life insurance and workers compensation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two years ago, the Department of Insurance, under Ricardo Lara, rolled out the biggest regulatory reforms in a generation, known as the Sustainable Insurance Strategy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Industry experts say the changes have led to some easing of the insurance market, but more needs to be done to drive down risk from disasters like fires, and increase coverage options while limiting rapidly rising prices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "California Must Move Faster on Wildfire Risk, Experts Warn",
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"content": "\u003cp>Fire risk experts cautioned California lawmakers this week that the state needs to change course to both survive and bounce back from \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12021019/la-fires-threaten-california-insurance-market-stability-housing-costs\">wildfires\u003c/a> and other natural catastrophes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the state Capitol on Tuesday, Nancy Watkins, an actuary at financial adviser Milliman who specializes in fire risk and insurance, counseled lawmakers that the state needs to stop “nibbling around the edges.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Nobody is going to save California from our decisions,” she said. “The state has to really step in and be more strategic about how to make things happen faster.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a \u003ca href=\"https://sd18.senate.ca.gov/news/senate-leader-taps-senators-becker-and-padilla-advance-effort-wildfire-recovery-and-energy\">statement on \u003c/a>Wednesday, state Sen. Steve Padilla, D-San Diego, and Sen. Josh Becker, D-Menlo Park, said they would study the report’s findings and develop a plan to help strengthen recovery efforts and protect residents from rising energy and insurance costs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This work is essential,” Becker said. “We must advance reforms that protect access to insurance, lower costs, support wildfire resilience, and provide fair outcomes for those impacted — while ensuring our utilities are both accountable for safety and financially stable enough to attract low-cost capital on behalf of ratepayers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wildfires over the past decade have driven up \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1985175/insurance-in-california-is-changing-heres-how-it-may-affect-you\">home insurance \u003c/a>rates and made coverage harder to obtain in many parts of California. In response, the state has invested heavily in firefighting capacity, early fire-detection technology and vegetation management. But Watkins told legislators those efforts alone are not enough.[aside postID=science_2000680 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/12/480270735_qed-1020x680.jpg']“The buildup of wildfire risk is a state and a local issue. It’s arising from climate change, it also arises from decades of decisions that we’ve made on land use, building, fire suppression, and decades of regulatory decisions,” Watkins said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Watkins said the state should focus more heavily on making communities less vulnerable to wildfire by making them less ready to burn, rather than relying primarily on detecting and extinguishing fires quickly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We cannot address this problem through ignition reduction, fuel reduction, or fire suppression, and we definitely can’t get it just through early detection. This all has to include home hardening and defensible space within communities at a much, much greater scale than has been done,” Watkins said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Watkins recently co-authored an\u003ca href=\"https://www.milliman.com/en/insight/state-wildfire-mitigation-framework-measure-twice-cut-once\"> article\u003c/a> with Michael Wara of the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University and Dave Winnacker, wildfire policy adviser of the Western Fire Chiefs Association, which outlined a roadmap for reducing wildfire risk in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an email to KQED, Watkins said the paper was intended to give policymakers “explicit, tangible steps” to better protect communities and reduce the state’s growing wildfire exposure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"headline": "California Must Move Faster on Wildfire Risk, Experts Warn",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Fire risk experts cautioned California lawmakers this week that the state needs to change course to both survive and bounce back from \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12021019/la-fires-threaten-california-insurance-market-stability-housing-costs\">wildfires\u003c/a> and other natural catastrophes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the state Capitol on Tuesday, Nancy Watkins, an actuary at financial adviser Milliman who specializes in fire risk and insurance, counseled lawmakers that the state needs to stop “nibbling around the edges.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Nobody is going to save California from our decisions,” she said. “The state has to really step in and be more strategic about how to make things happen faster.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a \u003ca href=\"https://sd18.senate.ca.gov/news/senate-leader-taps-senators-becker-and-padilla-advance-effort-wildfire-recovery-and-energy\">statement on \u003c/a>Wednesday, state Sen. Steve Padilla, D-San Diego, and Sen. Josh Becker, D-Menlo Park, said they would study the report’s findings and develop a plan to help strengthen recovery efforts and protect residents from rising energy and insurance costs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This work is essential,” Becker said. “We must advance reforms that protect access to insurance, lower costs, support wildfire resilience, and provide fair outcomes for those impacted — while ensuring our utilities are both accountable for safety and financially stable enough to attract low-cost capital on behalf of ratepayers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wildfires over the past decade have driven up \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1985175/insurance-in-california-is-changing-heres-how-it-may-affect-you\">home insurance \u003c/a>rates and made coverage harder to obtain in many parts of California. In response, the state has invested heavily in firefighting capacity, early fire-detection technology and vegetation management. But Watkins told legislators those efforts alone are not enough.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“The buildup of wildfire risk is a state and a local issue. It’s arising from climate change, it also arises from decades of decisions that we’ve made on land use, building, fire suppression, and decades of regulatory decisions,” Watkins said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Watkins said the state should focus more heavily on making communities less vulnerable to wildfire by making them less ready to burn, rather than relying primarily on detecting and extinguishing fires quickly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We cannot address this problem through ignition reduction, fuel reduction, or fire suppression, and we definitely can’t get it just through early detection. This all has to include home hardening and defensible space within communities at a much, much greater scale than has been done,” Watkins said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Watkins recently co-authored an\u003ca href=\"https://www.milliman.com/en/insight/state-wildfire-mitigation-framework-measure-twice-cut-once\"> article\u003c/a> with Michael Wara of the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University and Dave Winnacker, wildfire policy adviser of the Western Fire Chiefs Association, which outlined a roadmap for reducing wildfire risk in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an email to KQED, Watkins said the paper was intended to give policymakers “explicit, tangible steps” to better protect communities and reduce the state’s growing wildfire exposure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Bay Area Beaches Are Chock-Full of Mysterious Blue Creatures Again. Here’s How to See Them",
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"content": "\u003cp>They’re an otherworldly sight: blue and iridescent. They have no clear eyes, mouths or body parts analogous to our own.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And rising from one side — is it their back; hard to tell — is a transparent sail, which these little seafarers use to catch the wind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sightings of \u003cem>Velella velella\u003c/em>, also known as “by-the-wind sailors,” have proliferated along the Bay Area coastline this week, captivating beachgoers and drawing the attention of the climate- and ocean-curious.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1996552/thousands-mysterious-blue-creatures-bay-area-beaches-san-francisco\">These compelling creatures visited our shores last year, too\u003c/a>. But this year they seem especially abundant — to the extent that “beaches in this area appear blue from a distance because of the numbers of \u003cem>Velella \u003c/em>right now,” according to Jackie Sones, research coordinator at the UC Davis Bodega Marine Reserve in Bodega Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What \u003cem>are \u003c/em>these things?\u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Velella velella\u003c/em> are best described as colonies of cells, living and working together. They’re classified as hydrozoans, related to jellyfish and sea anemones.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Every specimen has a gas-filled “float” or raft, with a mantle surrounding it, tentacles dangling below to catch prey and a mouth at the center of its underside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/hinzebruce/status/2048962245716251125?s=46&t=PMxn5DJx4Cr-fWgaQBUvVA\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They also have reproductive structures that bud off tiny, jellyfish-like offspring and a sail that rises from the top of the raft to catch the prevailing wind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These sailors eat plankton and are eaten by larger animals, including ocean sunfish (aka \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1938601/strangest-fish-ive-ever-seen-scientists-shocked-by-rare-giant-sunfish-in-california\">\u003cem>Mola mola\u003c/em>\u003c/a>) — itself one of evolution’s strangest and most delightful concoctions.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Where can I see \u003cem>Velella velella\u003c/em> in the Bay Area?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>They’ve been reported in San Francisco — at Baker Beach, Crissy Field and Ocean Beach — as well as along Santa Cruz, Pescadero and in Bodega Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Head to your local stretch of coast, and there’s a chance you’ll spot them.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>For how much longer will I be able to see them?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>How long they’ll stick around depends on the wind. Velella velella often appear in spring or early summer in Northern California, when upwelling and winds align to help them proliferate and be pushed ashore. The good news, though: Sightings tend to last days to weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s because of springtime \u003ca href=\"https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/upwelling.html\">“upwelling” \u003c/a>in the ocean: When deep and cold water rises toward the surface. “Upwelling brings lots of nutrients, and lots of nutrients bring phytoplankton and zooplankton,” Raphael Kudela, professor of ocean science at UC Santa Cruz, told KQED in 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000932\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000932\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/250403-BlueJellies-08-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/250403-BlueJellies-08-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/250403-BlueJellies-08-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/250403-BlueJellies-08-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/250403-BlueJellies-08-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Thousands of Velella velella, blue jellyfish-like creatures, are scattered along the beach at Aquatic Park in San Francisco on April 3, 2025, after washing up on shore. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This year, they could persist longer. Velella numbers are linked to warm water, and the Pacific Ocean is experiencing a marine heat wave, with the possibility of a strong El Niño system developing. If that happens — and if prevailing winds keep pushing them onshore — we could continue to see by-the-wind sailors through the summer.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Can I touch \u003cem>Velella velella\u003c/em>?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Yes, cautiously. Handling \u003cem>Velella velella\u003c/em> doesn’t pose much risk, especially if they’re dead and dried out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Be warned, though: Living Velella do have stinging tentacles, like their Portuguese man o’ war cousins. A child or dog putting one in their mouth could get hurt.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1996556\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1996556\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250403-BLUEJELLIES-16-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250403-BLUEJELLIES-16-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250403-BLUEJELLIES-16-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250403-BLUEJELLIES-16-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250403-BLUEJELLIES-16-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250403-BLUEJELLIES-16-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250403-BLUEJELLIES-16-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250403-BLUEJELLIES-16-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Thousands of Velella velella are scattered along the beach at Aquatic Park in San Francisco on April 3, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Are they here because of global warming?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Maybe — but not necessarily.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While their appearance is fairly typical this time of year, climate change is nonetheless expected to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1982750/blue-jellyfish-like-creatures-ride-california-waves-a-climate-change-indicator\">increase the frequency and intensity of marine heat waves\u003c/a>, likely leading to more abundant and frequent sightings of \u003cem>Velella velella\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/smohamad\">\u003cem>Sarah Mohamad\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed reporting to this story.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>They’re an otherworldly sight: blue and iridescent. They have no clear eyes, mouths or body parts analogous to our own.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And rising from one side — is it their back; hard to tell — is a transparent sail, which these little seafarers use to catch the wind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sightings of \u003cem>Velella velella\u003c/em>, also known as “by-the-wind sailors,” have proliferated along the Bay Area coastline this week, captivating beachgoers and drawing the attention of the climate- and ocean-curious.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1996552/thousands-mysterious-blue-creatures-bay-area-beaches-san-francisco\">These compelling creatures visited our shores last year, too\u003c/a>. But this year they seem especially abundant — to the extent that “beaches in this area appear blue from a distance because of the numbers of \u003cem>Velella \u003c/em>right now,” according to Jackie Sones, research coordinator at the UC Davis Bodega Marine Reserve in Bodega Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What \u003cem>are \u003c/em>these things?\u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Velella velella\u003c/em> are best described as colonies of cells, living and working together. They’re classified as hydrozoans, related to jellyfish and sea anemones.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Every specimen has a gas-filled “float” or raft, with a mantle surrounding it, tentacles dangling below to catch prey and a mouth at the center of its underside.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>They also have reproductive structures that bud off tiny, jellyfish-like offspring and a sail that rises from the top of the raft to catch the prevailing wind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These sailors eat plankton and are eaten by larger animals, including ocean sunfish (aka \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1938601/strangest-fish-ive-ever-seen-scientists-shocked-by-rare-giant-sunfish-in-california\">\u003cem>Mola mola\u003c/em>\u003c/a>) — itself one of evolution’s strangest and most delightful concoctions.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Where can I see \u003cem>Velella velella\u003c/em> in the Bay Area?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>They’ve been reported in San Francisco — at Baker Beach, Crissy Field and Ocean Beach — as well as along Santa Cruz, Pescadero and in Bodega Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Head to your local stretch of coast, and there’s a chance you’ll spot them.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>For how much longer will I be able to see them?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>How long they’ll stick around depends on the wind. Velella velella often appear in spring or early summer in Northern California, when upwelling and winds align to help them proliferate and be pushed ashore. The good news, though: Sightings tend to last days to weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s because of springtime \u003ca href=\"https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/upwelling.html\">“upwelling” \u003c/a>in the ocean: When deep and cold water rises toward the surface. “Upwelling brings lots of nutrients, and lots of nutrients bring phytoplankton and zooplankton,” Raphael Kudela, professor of ocean science at UC Santa Cruz, told KQED in 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000932\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000932\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/250403-BlueJellies-08-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/250403-BlueJellies-08-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/250403-BlueJellies-08-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/250403-BlueJellies-08-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/250403-BlueJellies-08-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Thousands of Velella velella, blue jellyfish-like creatures, are scattered along the beach at Aquatic Park in San Francisco on April 3, 2025, after washing up on shore. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This year, they could persist longer. Velella numbers are linked to warm water, and the Pacific Ocean is experiencing a marine heat wave, with the possibility of a strong El Niño system developing. If that happens — and if prevailing winds keep pushing them onshore — we could continue to see by-the-wind sailors through the summer.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Can I touch \u003cem>Velella velella\u003c/em>?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Yes, cautiously. Handling \u003cem>Velella velella\u003c/em> doesn’t pose much risk, especially if they’re dead and dried out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Be warned, though: Living Velella do have stinging tentacles, like their Portuguese man o’ war cousins. A child or dog putting one in their mouth could get hurt.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1996556\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1996556\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250403-BLUEJELLIES-16-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250403-BLUEJELLIES-16-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250403-BLUEJELLIES-16-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250403-BLUEJELLIES-16-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250403-BLUEJELLIES-16-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250403-BLUEJELLIES-16-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250403-BLUEJELLIES-16-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/04/250403-BLUEJELLIES-16-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Thousands of Velella velella are scattered along the beach at Aquatic Park in San Francisco on April 3, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Are they here because of global warming?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Maybe — but not necessarily.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While their appearance is fairly typical this time of year, climate change is nonetheless expected to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1982750/blue-jellyfish-like-creatures-ride-california-waves-a-climate-change-indicator\">increase the frequency and intensity of marine heat waves\u003c/a>, likely leading to more abundant and frequent sightings of \u003cem>Velella velella\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/smohamad\">\u003cem>Sarah Mohamad\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed reporting to this story.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Whales traveling along the coast of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California\u003c/a> are about to get a break. Or, more literally, the ships sharing space with whales will be asked to put on the brakes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Wednesday, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1998038/in-a-deadly-year-for-whales-ca-considers-statewide-program-to-slow-ships\">a long-awaited program\u003c/a> to incentivize large ships to slow to 10 knots or less — a whale-safe speed — goes into effect all along the state’s coastline.\u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB14\"> \u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, South Bay Rep. Sam Liccardo is also introducing federal legislation on Wednesday with parallel goals. His Save Willy Act would establish a “whale desk” at San Francisco’s Coast Guard station, creating a centralized place for whale sightings to be reported and mariners to be alerted, helping large ships avoid collisions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ship strikes are a leading cause of death for whales. Last year was especially deadly for whales in and around the San Francisco Bay, with more ship-killed whales than usual being found. Also, last year, U.S. government scientists reported gray whale numbers were \u003ca href=\"https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/eastern-north-pacific-gray-whales-continue-decline-after-downturn-during-unusual\">not bouncing back\u003c/a> from recent die-offs, and fewer calves were born than typical.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s statewide rollout of the Blue Whales Blue Skies program has been more than a decade in the making, culminating in October’s signing of \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB14\">AB 14\u003c/a>, a bill authored by Assemblymember Gregg Hart, D-Santa Barbara.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a really big and positive step forward in maximizing whale protection in California,” said Jessica Morten, director of marine resource protection at the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation, who has worked on the program for the last 10 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It started in 2014 as a voluntary trial for vessels to reduce their speed in the Santa Barbara Channel off Southern California. It has grown to encompass more areas that are hot spots for both ship traffic and whales, including the San Francisco Bay region. Researchers estimate it has reduced the risk of death by ship strike for whales in the area by 40%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000813\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000813\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/004_KQED_CargoShipSFBay_03082022_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1331\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/004_KQED_CargoShipSFBay_03082022_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/004_KQED_CargoShipSFBay_03082022_qed-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/004_KQED_CargoShipSFBay_03082022_qed-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/004_KQED_CargoShipSFBay_03082022_qed-1536x1022.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Maersk Line cargo ship sits idle in the San Francisco Bay on March 8, 2022. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It’s been really exciting to see the conservation wins we’ve been able to achieve in specific areas,” Morten said\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, Morten said, studying the problem of whale-ship collisions also highlighted that “the way we had the zones implemented in the past, we’re not covering all of the important whale habitat that exists off of California.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That, she said, is why Wednesday’s expansion of the program is so important.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Much like school zones, where cars must slow down to protect children, slowing a ship down can make high-traffic areas safer for whales. It’s easier for a whale to move out of the way and avoid slower-traveling ships, or for a ship’s captain to avoid a whale. And whales have a better chance of surviving a slower-moving crash.[aside postID=news_12044187 hero='https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2019/05/A.-Grey-whale_necropsy-at-Angel-Island-State-Park_Credit-Cara-Field-%C2%A9-The-Marine-Mammal-Center-1020x765.jpg']A less speedy boat is also a cleaner-burning boat — a parallel goal of the program is to get ships to produce less pollution. Dirty air created by burning fuel on the water can blow onshore. In some areas of California, marine shipping is the biggest source of nitrogen oxides, such as in Santa Barbara County (73%) and Ventura County (54%). Nitrogen oxides are a precursor to smog.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Morten describes industry reaction to the statewide expansion of Blue Whales Blue Skies as “mixed.” While some shipping lines have expressed concern about being able to achieve high compliance, more lines have signed up for the program this year — 52, compared to 44 last year. She’s seen compliance grow over time as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back in 2015, the program had about a 20% cooperation level. Last year, it was about 70%. Shipping lines that are good at complying receive honors in a yearly awards program, and an additional ambassador program allows brands and cargo owners to sign on to motivate shipping lines to prioritize whale safety and air quality. Current ambassadors include Patagonia, Sonos and the makers of Uggs, Hokas and Tevas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California has both some of the best whale-watching opportunities in the world and some critically endangered populations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s basically nowhere else on Earth where you can almost guarantee that if you’re out on a boat regularly during certain times of the year, you can actually see a large aggregation of [blue whales] — incredibly large, amazing animals,” Morten said. “We have that right off of our coastline, right in our ocean backyard.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But blue whales are also critically endangered, and they rely on the California coast as their main foraging habitat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000825\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000825\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/Gray-Whale-Getty.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/Gray-Whale-Getty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/Gray-Whale-Getty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/Gray-Whale-Getty-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/Gray-Whale-Getty-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A gray whale in Magdalena Bay, in Baja California. \u003ccite>(Mark Conlin/VW PICS/UIG via Getty Image)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Gray whales are also experiencing extreme difficulties. \u003ca href=\"https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2026.1775666/full\">Recent research\u003c/a> out of Sonoma State University and the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito estimates that 1 in 5 gray whales entering the San Francisco Bay dies there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Federal scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration believe changes in gray whale feeding grounds in the Arctic — accelerated by climate change — are changing whale behavior, driving them into San Francisco Bay as they search for food.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The legislation introduced Wednesday by Sam Liccardo would seek to help whales by directing the Coast Guard to collect reports about their locations and alert vessel operators to their presence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Researchers track these whales daily, but we can scale their impact by crowd-sourcing data from the many more numerous commercial and recreational boats, and building a centralized alert system,” Liccardo said in a statement. “A whale desk will protect these magnificent creatures and help mariners avoid costly, harrowing collisions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Whales traveling along the coast of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California\u003c/a> are about to get a break. Or, more literally, the ships sharing space with whales will be asked to put on the brakes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Wednesday, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1998038/in-a-deadly-year-for-whales-ca-considers-statewide-program-to-slow-ships\">a long-awaited program\u003c/a> to incentivize large ships to slow to 10 knots or less — a whale-safe speed — goes into effect all along the state’s coastline.\u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB14\"> \u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, South Bay Rep. Sam Liccardo is also introducing federal legislation on Wednesday with parallel goals. His Save Willy Act would establish a “whale desk” at San Francisco’s Coast Guard station, creating a centralized place for whale sightings to be reported and mariners to be alerted, helping large ships avoid collisions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ship strikes are a leading cause of death for whales. Last year was especially deadly for whales in and around the San Francisco Bay, with more ship-killed whales than usual being found. Also, last year, U.S. government scientists reported gray whale numbers were \u003ca href=\"https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/eastern-north-pacific-gray-whales-continue-decline-after-downturn-during-unusual\">not bouncing back\u003c/a> from recent die-offs, and fewer calves were born than typical.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s statewide rollout of the Blue Whales Blue Skies program has been more than a decade in the making, culminating in October’s signing of \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB14\">AB 14\u003c/a>, a bill authored by Assemblymember Gregg Hart, D-Santa Barbara.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a really big and positive step forward in maximizing whale protection in California,” said Jessica Morten, director of marine resource protection at the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation, who has worked on the program for the last 10 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It started in 2014 as a voluntary trial for vessels to reduce their speed in the Santa Barbara Channel off Southern California. It has grown to encompass more areas that are hot spots for both ship traffic and whales, including the San Francisco Bay region. Researchers estimate it has reduced the risk of death by ship strike for whales in the area by 40%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000813\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000813\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/004_KQED_CargoShipSFBay_03082022_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1331\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/004_KQED_CargoShipSFBay_03082022_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/004_KQED_CargoShipSFBay_03082022_qed-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/004_KQED_CargoShipSFBay_03082022_qed-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/004_KQED_CargoShipSFBay_03082022_qed-1536x1022.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Maersk Line cargo ship sits idle in the San Francisco Bay on March 8, 2022. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It’s been really exciting to see the conservation wins we’ve been able to achieve in specific areas,” Morten said\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, Morten said, studying the problem of whale-ship collisions also highlighted that “the way we had the zones implemented in the past, we’re not covering all of the important whale habitat that exists off of California.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That, she said, is why Wednesday’s expansion of the program is so important.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Much like school zones, where cars must slow down to protect children, slowing a ship down can make high-traffic areas safer for whales. It’s easier for a whale to move out of the way and avoid slower-traveling ships, or for a ship’s captain to avoid a whale. And whales have a better chance of surviving a slower-moving crash.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>A less speedy boat is also a cleaner-burning boat — a parallel goal of the program is to get ships to produce less pollution. Dirty air created by burning fuel on the water can blow onshore. In some areas of California, marine shipping is the biggest source of nitrogen oxides, such as in Santa Barbara County (73%) and Ventura County (54%). Nitrogen oxides are a precursor to smog.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Morten describes industry reaction to the statewide expansion of Blue Whales Blue Skies as “mixed.” While some shipping lines have expressed concern about being able to achieve high compliance, more lines have signed up for the program this year — 52, compared to 44 last year. She’s seen compliance grow over time as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back in 2015, the program had about a 20% cooperation level. Last year, it was about 70%. Shipping lines that are good at complying receive honors in a yearly awards program, and an additional ambassador program allows brands and cargo owners to sign on to motivate shipping lines to prioritize whale safety and air quality. Current ambassadors include Patagonia, Sonos and the makers of Uggs, Hokas and Tevas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California has both some of the best whale-watching opportunities in the world and some critically endangered populations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s basically nowhere else on Earth where you can almost guarantee that if you’re out on a boat regularly during certain times of the year, you can actually see a large aggregation of [blue whales] — incredibly large, amazing animals,” Morten said. “We have that right off of our coastline, right in our ocean backyard.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But blue whales are also critically endangered, and they rely on the California coast as their main foraging habitat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000825\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000825\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/Gray-Whale-Getty.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/Gray-Whale-Getty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/Gray-Whale-Getty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/Gray-Whale-Getty-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/Gray-Whale-Getty-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A gray whale in Magdalena Bay, in Baja California. \u003ccite>(Mark Conlin/VW PICS/UIG via Getty Image)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Gray whales are also experiencing extreme difficulties. \u003ca href=\"https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2026.1775666/full\">Recent research\u003c/a> out of Sonoma State University and the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito estimates that 1 in 5 gray whales entering the San Francisco Bay dies there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Federal scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration believe changes in gray whale feeding grounds in the Arctic — accelerated by climate change — are changing whale behavior, driving them into San Francisco Bay as they search for food.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The legislation introduced Wednesday by Sam Liccardo would seek to help whales by directing the Coast Guard to collect reports about their locations and alert vessel operators to their presence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Researchers track these whales daily, but we can scale their impact by crowd-sourcing data from the many more numerous commercial and recreational boats, and building a centralized alert system,” Liccardo said in a statement. “A whale desk will protect these magnificent creatures and help mariners avoid costly, harrowing collisions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "‘Who’s Not Paying?’: Fire Survivors Back California Bill to Hold Big Oil Accountable",
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"content": "\u003cp>As worsening \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/climate\">climate\u003c/a>-related disasters like fires and floods drive up insurance costs in California, state Sen. Scott Wiener and fire survivors are pushing for a bill that could give the state a way to force oil companies to pay for their role.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SB 982, a streamlined \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12024206/fire-survivors-insurers-could-sue-big-oil-climate-disasters-under-california-bill\">version of a bill\u003c/a> that did not pass last year in the wake of the devastating Los Angeles-area fires, aims to blunt rising insurance costs by allowing the state attorney general to sue fossil fuel companies for damages connected to a climate disaster such as a wildfire, heat wave, drought or storm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a hearing at the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, supporters and opponents shared their thoughts on the bill with lawmakers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gayle Ali and her husband, Rasheed, said they were celebrating their 43rd wedding anniversary when the Eaton Fire destroyed their house in Altadena, where they have lived for 30 years. The fire took her photo studio, her husband’s music studio, furniture, cars and family photos.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A life erased,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’re rebuilding with the help of their community and crowdfunding grants, but they don’t know if insurance will be available or how much it will cost in the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999799\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999799\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/240109-CAWindStorm-055_qed-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/240109-CAWindStorm-055_qed-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/240109-CAWindStorm-055_qed-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/240109-CAWindStorm-055_qed-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/240109-CAWindStorm-055_qed-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The remains of a house in Altadena, California, after the Eaton Fire swept through the area northeast of Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 9, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“What truly angers me is knowing that this wasn’t just bad luck,” Ali said. “I’ve since learned that back in the ’80s, years before we bought our home, Exxon’s own scientists warned the effects of their products would be catastrophic. They chose to hide the truth and spend millions on PR campaigns that are still running today. They keep profiting while putting our communities in danger.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oil companies such as ExxonMobil had their own internal research \u003ca href=\"https://insideclimatenews.org/project/exxon-the-road-not-taken/\">decades ago\u003c/a> showing that burning fossil fuel would contribute to global warming, which intensifies extreme disasters like fires and floods. Publicly, however, they sought to undermine the science and cast doubt on the effects of human-caused climate change. Meanwhile, they have continued to \u003ca href=\"https://www.nypirg.org/pubs/202603/Big_Oil_Profits_Release_Draft_3.15.26.pdf\">rake in large profits\u003c/a> year after year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While so much of our community has lost everything — I mean everything — and so many families can barely afford food, let alone rebuild, the five largest oil corporations made nearly $400 billion in profit over the last three years,” Ali said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet right now, taxpayers and disaster survivors are the only ones paying for climate change, she said.[aside postID=science_2000611 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-25-BL_qed.jpg']“We have to ask, who’s not paying?” Wiener said while speaking in support of his bill. “We know that the victims, the survivors, are paying in profound ways. Taxpayers are paying. And of course, policyholders are paying with much higher premiums. Who’s not paying? The answer is the fossil fuel industry, the corporations whose products fueled this crisis by fueling climate change.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bill’s \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billCompareClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB982&showamends=false\">current version\u003c/a> is simplified from the proposal that Wiener and a colleague introduced last year, which would have allowed disaster survivors or insurance companies themselves to sue for damages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We heard the feedback [from last year],” Wiener said. “This bill is profoundly narrower.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the bill’s current version, the amount of damages sought in a civil action filed by the attorney general would be in proportion to a company’s market share. Any payouts would go to a newly created Attorney General Climate Disaster Fund and be distributed to policyholders; the California FAIR plan, which is the state’s insurer of last resort; the California Safe Homes grant program, which provides funding for fire-hardening work in high-risk areas; and to cover litigation costs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Industry opponents say the bill would raise gas prices and kill jobs. A \u003ca href=\"https://centerforjobs.org/wp-content/uploads/SB-982-Consumer-and-Economic-Impacts-Report.pdf\">report released\u003c/a> this month by the California Center for Jobs and the Economy details concerns ranging from higher premiums to less tax revenue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wiener rebutted these concerns, saying that gas is a global commodity, with prices set by worldwide market forces and not “the threat of hypothetical litigation,” and that the analyses ignore the benefits of payments to disaster survivors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Louise Bedsworth, executive director of UC Berkeley’s Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment, spoke in support of the bill and pointed out that by the end of the century, the average area burned by wildfire in the state is projected to \u003ca href=\"https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/californias-mega-fires-have-arrived-30-years-early/\">increase by 77%\u003c/a> if emissions continue to rise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>As worsening \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/climate\">climate\u003c/a>-related disasters like fires and floods drive up insurance costs in California, state Sen. Scott Wiener and fire survivors are pushing for a bill that could give the state a way to force oil companies to pay for their role.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SB 982, a streamlined \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12024206/fire-survivors-insurers-could-sue-big-oil-climate-disasters-under-california-bill\">version of a bill\u003c/a> that did not pass last year in the wake of the devastating Los Angeles-area fires, aims to blunt rising insurance costs by allowing the state attorney general to sue fossil fuel companies for damages connected to a climate disaster such as a wildfire, heat wave, drought or storm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a hearing at the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, supporters and opponents shared their thoughts on the bill with lawmakers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gayle Ali and her husband, Rasheed, said they were celebrating their 43rd wedding anniversary when the Eaton Fire destroyed their house in Altadena, where they have lived for 30 years. The fire took her photo studio, her husband’s music studio, furniture, cars and family photos.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A life erased,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’re rebuilding with the help of their community and crowdfunding grants, but they don’t know if insurance will be available or how much it will cost in the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999799\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999799\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/240109-CAWindStorm-055_qed-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/240109-CAWindStorm-055_qed-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/240109-CAWindStorm-055_qed-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/240109-CAWindStorm-055_qed-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/01/240109-CAWindStorm-055_qed-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The remains of a house in Altadena, California, after the Eaton Fire swept through the area northeast of Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 9, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“What truly angers me is knowing that this wasn’t just bad luck,” Ali said. “I’ve since learned that back in the ’80s, years before we bought our home, Exxon’s own scientists warned the effects of their products would be catastrophic. They chose to hide the truth and spend millions on PR campaigns that are still running today. They keep profiting while putting our communities in danger.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oil companies such as ExxonMobil had their own internal research \u003ca href=\"https://insideclimatenews.org/project/exxon-the-road-not-taken/\">decades ago\u003c/a> showing that burning fossil fuel would contribute to global warming, which intensifies extreme disasters like fires and floods. Publicly, however, they sought to undermine the science and cast doubt on the effects of human-caused climate change. Meanwhile, they have continued to \u003ca href=\"https://www.nypirg.org/pubs/202603/Big_Oil_Profits_Release_Draft_3.15.26.pdf\">rake in large profits\u003c/a> year after year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While so much of our community has lost everything — I mean everything — and so many families can barely afford food, let alone rebuild, the five largest oil corporations made nearly $400 billion in profit over the last three years,” Ali said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet right now, taxpayers and disaster survivors are the only ones paying for climate change, she said.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“We have to ask, who’s not paying?” Wiener said while speaking in support of his bill. “We know that the victims, the survivors, are paying in profound ways. Taxpayers are paying. And of course, policyholders are paying with much higher premiums. Who’s not paying? The answer is the fossil fuel industry, the corporations whose products fueled this crisis by fueling climate change.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bill’s \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billCompareClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB982&showamends=false\">current version\u003c/a> is simplified from the proposal that Wiener and a colleague introduced last year, which would have allowed disaster survivors or insurance companies themselves to sue for damages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We heard the feedback [from last year],” Wiener said. “This bill is profoundly narrower.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the bill’s current version, the amount of damages sought in a civil action filed by the attorney general would be in proportion to a company’s market share. Any payouts would go to a newly created Attorney General Climate Disaster Fund and be distributed to policyholders; the California FAIR plan, which is the state’s insurer of last resort; the California Safe Homes grant program, which provides funding for fire-hardening work in high-risk areas; and to cover litigation costs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Industry opponents say the bill would raise gas prices and kill jobs. A \u003ca href=\"https://centerforjobs.org/wp-content/uploads/SB-982-Consumer-and-Economic-Impacts-Report.pdf\">report released\u003c/a> this month by the California Center for Jobs and the Economy details concerns ranging from higher premiums to less tax revenue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wiener rebutted these concerns, saying that gas is a global commodity, with prices set by worldwide market forces and not “the threat of hypothetical litigation,” and that the analyses ignore the benefits of payments to disaster survivors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Louise Bedsworth, executive director of UC Berkeley’s Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment, spoke in support of the bill and pointed out that by the end of the century, the average area burned by wildfire in the state is projected to \u003ca href=\"https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/californias-mega-fires-have-arrived-30-years-early/\">increase by 77%\u003c/a> if emissions continue to rise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Candidates vying for the position of state insurance commissioner in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/politics\">June primary election\u003c/a> met at a forum in downtown San Francisco on Thursday to make the case for why they’re right for the job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The normally sleepy race is attracting a lot of attention as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/wildfires\">wildfires\u003c/a> and inflation have caused a crisis in the state’s home insurance market — where coverage can be both difficult to obtain and costly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state’s insurance commissioner has the primary job of setting the rules insurance companies need to follow in the state. It’s a role currently held by Ricardo Lara, who is termed out in November.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Asked about what would be considered a benchmark for success, state Sen. Ben Allen said with a laugh, “One real benchmark would be that there would be less interest in the insurance commissioners’ position. Because it’s always been kind of under-the-radar. It’s become so high-profile because of all the problems that we have.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The future commissioner will need to balance requirements for insurance companies with being business-friendly enough that companies still want to sell policies in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000651\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000651\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-30-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-30-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-30-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-30-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-30-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Steven Bradford (center), a former California state assemblymember and state senator, speaks during a forum for candidates for California insurance commissioner at the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) in San Francisco on April 9, 2026. The event brought together candidates to discuss the state’s insurance market, including affordability and coverage challenges facing homeowners. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>They will also face widespread problems with the FAIR Plan, the state’s insurer of last resort, and concerns about how to keep a healthy insurance market amid the acceleration of climate-fueled disasters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think everyone wants the insurance Commissioner’s position to go back to just doing work as opposed to this existential crisis that we’re in right now,” Allen said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most candidates expressed similar aims, with varying plans for how to achieve them. Ideas ranged from creating a public disaster insurance program to securing more money to help neighborhoods harden homes against fires.[aside postID=news_12068943 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/gettyimages-2192342554-2000x1333.jpeg']Eight candidates will be on the ballot for the June primary, with the top two advancing to the November general election. Five of those were in attendance at the Thursday forum hosted by SPUR, the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association — a nonprofit public policy organization.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Allen represents portions of Los Angeles that were affected by last year’s fires. He spoke of bills he’d authored to improve consumer and environmental protections, including Proposition 4, a $10 billion bond passed in 2024 that provides money for climate resilience, including wildfire prevention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He spoke of the need to focus on community-wide fire risk reduction and push insurance companies to better support customers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Steven Bradford, former State Assemblymember and Senator, highlighted the need to give the Department of Insurance more resources and more modern tools. He also spoke of wanting to have the department approve rate adjustments more quickly and for insurance companies to be more transparent in their rate-making.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000652\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000652\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-20-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-20-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-20-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-20-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-20-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Merritt Farren, an attorney and tech executive, speaks during a forum for candidates for California insurance commissioner at the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) in San Francisco on April 9, 2026. The event brought together candidates to discuss the state’s insurance market, including affordability and coverage challenges facing homeowners. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Merritt Farren, a media and technology executive, lost his home in LA during the fires and was part of fighting State Farm’s recent rate hikes in court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He spoke of his experience working for Disney and Amazon, saying these companies could provide inspiration for simplifying the process of regulating and buying insurance and creating new tech jobs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He also proposed a public reinsurance program, modeled after Florida’s catastrophe fund for hurricanes and the U.K.’s public–private reinsurance program for floods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jane Kim, a former San Francisco supervisor, perhaps had the most concrete suggestions for radical change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She proposed creating a single-payer public disaster insurance program run by the state, which would guarantee coverage and be modeled on programs in France, Spain and New Zealand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000653\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000653\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-04-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-04-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-04-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-04-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-04-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Patrick Wolff, a financial analyst, speaks during a forum for candidates for California insurance commissioner at the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) in San Francisco on April 9, 2026. The event brought together candidates to discuss the state’s insurance market, including affordability and coverage challenges facing homeowners. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Beyond home insurance, she suggested expanding the low-cost nonprofit auto insurance program created by the legislature in 1999 and guaranteeing healthcare for every child in California. “I think California can do it,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Patrick Wolff, a financial analyst, worked in the 2000s building an insurance brokerage for a bank, which, he said, gave him insights into how the industry operates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He suggested the FAIR Plan should have broader coverage and said the state was starting to make progress in allowing companies “to operate more economically and effectively, but there’s a lot more that needs to be done.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Candidates vying for the position of state insurance commissioner in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/politics\">June primary election\u003c/a> met at a forum in downtown San Francisco on Thursday to make the case for why they’re right for the job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The normally sleepy race is attracting a lot of attention as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/wildfires\">wildfires\u003c/a> and inflation have caused a crisis in the state’s home insurance market — where coverage can be both difficult to obtain and costly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state’s insurance commissioner has the primary job of setting the rules insurance companies need to follow in the state. It’s a role currently held by Ricardo Lara, who is termed out in November.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Asked about what would be considered a benchmark for success, state Sen. Ben Allen said with a laugh, “One real benchmark would be that there would be less interest in the insurance commissioners’ position. Because it’s always been kind of under-the-radar. It’s become so high-profile because of all the problems that we have.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The future commissioner will need to balance requirements for insurance companies with being business-friendly enough that companies still want to sell policies in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000651\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000651\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-30-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-30-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-30-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-30-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-30-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Steven Bradford (center), a former California state assemblymember and state senator, speaks during a forum for candidates for California insurance commissioner at the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) in San Francisco on April 9, 2026. The event brought together candidates to discuss the state’s insurance market, including affordability and coverage challenges facing homeowners. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>They will also face widespread problems with the FAIR Plan, the state’s insurer of last resort, and concerns about how to keep a healthy insurance market amid the acceleration of climate-fueled disasters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think everyone wants the insurance Commissioner’s position to go back to just doing work as opposed to this existential crisis that we’re in right now,” Allen said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most candidates expressed similar aims, with varying plans for how to achieve them. Ideas ranged from creating a public disaster insurance program to securing more money to help neighborhoods harden homes against fires.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Eight candidates will be on the ballot for the June primary, with the top two advancing to the November general election. Five of those were in attendance at the Thursday forum hosted by SPUR, the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association — a nonprofit public policy organization.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Allen represents portions of Los Angeles that were affected by last year’s fires. He spoke of bills he’d authored to improve consumer and environmental protections, including Proposition 4, a $10 billion bond passed in 2024 that provides money for climate resilience, including wildfire prevention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He spoke of the need to focus on community-wide fire risk reduction and push insurance companies to better support customers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Steven Bradford, former State Assemblymember and Senator, highlighted the need to give the Department of Insurance more resources and more modern tools. He also spoke of wanting to have the department approve rate adjustments more quickly and for insurance companies to be more transparent in their rate-making.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000652\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000652\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-20-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-20-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-20-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-20-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-20-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Merritt Farren, an attorney and tech executive, speaks during a forum for candidates for California insurance commissioner at the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) in San Francisco on April 9, 2026. The event brought together candidates to discuss the state’s insurance market, including affordability and coverage challenges facing homeowners. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Merritt Farren, a media and technology executive, lost his home in LA during the fires and was part of fighting State Farm’s recent rate hikes in court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He spoke of his experience working for Disney and Amazon, saying these companies could provide inspiration for simplifying the process of regulating and buying insurance and creating new tech jobs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He also proposed a public reinsurance program, modeled after Florida’s catastrophe fund for hurricanes and the U.K.’s public–private reinsurance program for floods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jane Kim, a former San Francisco supervisor, perhaps had the most concrete suggestions for radical change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She proposed creating a single-payer public disaster insurance program run by the state, which would guarantee coverage and be modeled on programs in France, Spain and New Zealand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000653\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000653\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-04-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-04-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-04-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-04-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260409-InsuranceCandidateForum-04-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Patrick Wolff, a financial analyst, speaks during a forum for candidates for California insurance commissioner at the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) in San Francisco on April 9, 2026. The event brought together candidates to discuss the state’s insurance market, including affordability and coverage challenges facing homeowners. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Beyond home insurance, she suggested expanding the low-cost nonprofit auto insurance program created by the legislature in 1999 and guaranteeing healthcare for every child in California. “I think California can do it,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Patrick Wolff, a financial analyst, worked in the 2000s building an insurance brokerage for a bank, which, he said, gave him insights into how the industry operates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He suggested the FAIR Plan should have broader coverage and said the state was starting to make progress in allowing companies “to operate more economically and effectively, but there’s a lot more that needs to be done.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2000354/read-with-kqed-the-book-that-changed-how-we-see-nature\">\u003cem>Silent Spring\u003c/em>\u003c/a> is one of those books where many people think they know what it says, have opinions about it, even if they haven’t read it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a science book that, when you sit down and crack it open, surprises you with its technical, but compelling, depth. Carson is an extremely skilled writer. And the book changed the world, opening eyes to patterns and consequences that had been hidden.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We’re now in a time when its lessons are more important than ever: the Make America Healthy Again movement has swept to power in this country with calls for less chemical use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Superficially, MAHA and its figurehead Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — whose uncle John F. Kennedy, as president, used his administration to defend Carson against the chemical industry’s attacks — appear to share intellectual tenets with \u003cem>Silent Spring\u003c/em>: a skepticism of corporate power, concern over environmental toxins, and industrial influence over public health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But RFK., Jr. has attacked vaccines. And the Trump administration has taken a soft line on regulating pesticides. It’s hard to imagine that Carson would agree, and a close reading of her book can remind us: chemical impacts travel far beyond their intended use, and what the data actually says matters enormously.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000547\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/polsky_claudia_2019.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000547\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/polsky_claudia_2019.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/polsky_claudia_2019.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/polsky_claudia_2019-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/polsky_claudia_2019-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/polsky_claudia_2019-1024x1536.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">UC Berkeley Environmental Law professor Claudia Polsky will join KQED to talk about Silent Spring at the Night of Ideas on April 11, 2026. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of UC Berkeley Law)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Join KQED for a discussion of \u003cem>Silent Spring\u003c/em> and its legacy and lessons for us on April 11 at the San Francisco Public Library as part of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/event/6104\">Night of Ideas\u003c/a>, at 7:30 p.m. inside the Periodical Room. Don’t worry if you haven’t read the book yet. Come just as you are.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The discussion will shine a spotlight on the work of Claudia Polsky, the founding director of the Environmental Law Clinic at UC Berkeley, who is a guest for the discussion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Rachel Carson’s book pointed at ways to engage people,” Polsky said, “how you engage people who care about pets, people who are bird watchers, people who care about what’s in breast milk they’re feeding to their children.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Carson explored how manufactured chemicals found in the environment were appearing in wildlife, in household pets and in our bodies, like no other writer had.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Polsky, in her own work, partly inspired by Carson, has spent years protecting vulnerable people and communities from harmful chemicals. She has represented communities contaminated by PFAs, stubborn “forever chemicals” used to make food packaging, nonstick pans, waterproof materials that don’t break down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a deputy attorney general for California, she helped get formaldehyde-laden Brazilian blowout chemicals – which leave hair with a glossy sheen – off the market here by demonstrating the carcinogen was sickening and disabling salon workers. She worked on policies to reduce the risks associated with pesticides and industrial chemicals at the Department of Toxic Substances Control in Sacramento. Most recently, she successfully \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-06-25/trump-lawsuit-university-of-california-researchers\">led a legal fight against the Trump administration\u003c/a> to restore hundreds of millions in canceled research funding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite her differences with the Trump administration, Polsky has compassion for some of the MAHA movement’s concerns. She said it has a “good intuition” for the ways in which the public lacks health protections, as well as the government’s “insufficient focus” on broad-level public health and prevention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although she points out that the level of skepticism about vaccine safety backed by RFK Jr. lacks empirical support and is unjustified.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Polsky’s work, however, she seeks to find ways to connect people across political divides. She has a book project in her sights that would focus on how environmental concerns can be detected within human bodies, such as in breast milk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t want to write for Bernie Sanders and Kamala Harris voters,” she said. “I actually want to write something that speaks to the incredible political horseshoe I’ve seen around issues of human exposure to chemicals … I feel there’s a huge opportunity here once we can get past this hyperpartisan moment.”[aside postID=science_2000234 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/Condors1.jpg'] Some people have criticized \u003cem>Silent Spring\u003c/em> and Rachel Carson for fostering intense fear of chemicals in a way that has partially led to our anti-science moment. People attribute to her a call for a ban on all pesticides. Polsky said \u003ca href=\"https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/crazy-lies-haters-threw-at-rachel-carson-25183450/\">laying these critiques at Carson’s door\u003c/a> is unfounded.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t think we can attribute to her the fact that people have over-read what she said and what she testified in Congress. She actually did not call for a ban on pesticides. She said they have their place. It’s much narrower than how they’re deployed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Carson encouraged saving DDT – the pesticide she’s most associated with – to control malarial outbreaks. That doesn’t stop her detractors from attributing malarial deaths to her, and by extension, seeking to undermine the case for environmental regulations altogether.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Women, especially, who raise concerns about environmental chemicals are criticized and called hysterical or emotional or over-invested in the issue. This was true of Carson, too, who died of breast cancer in 1964, two years after the book was published.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She testified about pesticides in front of Congress after a double mastectomy, which I find incredibly poignant,” Polsky said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She wore a wig to hide the fact that she had cancer so that [her testimony] wouldn’t be seen as a personal vendetta, which is just so heartbreaking. The idea that if you’re personally affected, you’re seen as unable to make sense of the data rather than as having the highest possible stake in ensuring that people understand the data.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A more serious issue than people being over-worried about what manufactured chemicals are doing to themselves and their surroundings, Polsky said, is that they don’t seem to be worried enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeeeKhyuk-_odJH80iw5eAlpLBF-YWJnOi_Yqs4BEN9fY1YJA/viewform?usp=publish-editor\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Superficially, MAHA and its figurehead Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — whose uncle John F. Kennedy, as president, used his administration to defend Carson against the chemical industry’s attacks — appear to share intellectual tenets with \u003cem>Silent Spring\u003c/em>: a skepticism of corporate power, concern over environmental toxins, and industrial influence over public health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But RFK., Jr. has attacked vaccines. And the Trump administration has taken a soft line on regulating pesticides. It’s hard to imagine that Carson would agree, and a close reading of her book can remind us: chemical impacts travel far beyond their intended use, and what the data actually says matters enormously.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000547\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/polsky_claudia_2019.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000547\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/polsky_claudia_2019.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/polsky_claudia_2019.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/polsky_claudia_2019-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/polsky_claudia_2019-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/polsky_claudia_2019-1024x1536.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">UC Berkeley Environmental Law professor Claudia Polsky will join KQED to talk about Silent Spring at the Night of Ideas on April 11, 2026. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of UC Berkeley Law)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Join KQED for a discussion of \u003cem>Silent Spring\u003c/em> and its legacy and lessons for us on April 11 at the San Francisco Public Library as part of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/event/6104\">Night of Ideas\u003c/a>, at 7:30 p.m. inside the Periodical Room. Don’t worry if you haven’t read the book yet. Come just as you are.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The discussion will shine a spotlight on the work of Claudia Polsky, the founding director of the Environmental Law Clinic at UC Berkeley, who is a guest for the discussion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Rachel Carson’s book pointed at ways to engage people,” Polsky said, “how you engage people who care about pets, people who are bird watchers, people who care about what’s in breast milk they’re feeding to their children.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Carson explored how manufactured chemicals found in the environment were appearing in wildlife, in household pets and in our bodies, like no other writer had.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Polsky, in her own work, partly inspired by Carson, has spent years protecting vulnerable people and communities from harmful chemicals. She has represented communities contaminated by PFAs, stubborn “forever chemicals” used to make food packaging, nonstick pans, waterproof materials that don’t break down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a deputy attorney general for California, she helped get formaldehyde-laden Brazilian blowout chemicals – which leave hair with a glossy sheen – off the market here by demonstrating the carcinogen was sickening and disabling salon workers. She worked on policies to reduce the risks associated with pesticides and industrial chemicals at the Department of Toxic Substances Control in Sacramento. Most recently, she successfully \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-06-25/trump-lawsuit-university-of-california-researchers\">led a legal fight against the Trump administration\u003c/a> to restore hundreds of millions in canceled research funding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite her differences with the Trump administration, Polsky has compassion for some of the MAHA movement’s concerns. She said it has a “good intuition” for the ways in which the public lacks health protections, as well as the government’s “insufficient focus” on broad-level public health and prevention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although she points out that the level of skepticism about vaccine safety backed by RFK Jr. lacks empirical support and is unjustified.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Polsky’s work, however, she seeks to find ways to connect people across political divides. She has a book project in her sights that would focus on how environmental concerns can be detected within human bodies, such as in breast milk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t want to write for Bernie Sanders and Kamala Harris voters,” she said. “I actually want to write something that speaks to the incredible political horseshoe I’ve seen around issues of human exposure to chemicals … I feel there’s a huge opportunity here once we can get past this hyperpartisan moment.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp> Some people have criticized \u003cem>Silent Spring\u003c/em> and Rachel Carson for fostering intense fear of chemicals in a way that has partially led to our anti-science moment. People attribute to her a call for a ban on all pesticides. Polsky said \u003ca href=\"https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/crazy-lies-haters-threw-at-rachel-carson-25183450/\">laying these critiques at Carson’s door\u003c/a> is unfounded.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t think we can attribute to her the fact that people have over-read what she said and what she testified in Congress. She actually did not call for a ban on pesticides. She said they have their place. It’s much narrower than how they’re deployed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Carson encouraged saving DDT – the pesticide she’s most associated with – to control malarial outbreaks. That doesn’t stop her detractors from attributing malarial deaths to her, and by extension, seeking to undermine the case for environmental regulations altogether.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Women, especially, who raise concerns about environmental chemicals are criticized and called hysterical or emotional or over-invested in the issue. This was true of Carson, too, who died of breast cancer in 1964, two years after the book was published.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She testified about pesticides in front of Congress after a double mastectomy, which I find incredibly poignant,” Polsky said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She wore a wig to hide the fact that she had cancer so that [her testimony] wouldn’t be seen as a personal vendetta, which is just so heartbreaking. The idea that if you’re personally affected, you’re seen as unable to make sense of the data rather than as having the highest possible stake in ensuring that people understand the data.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A more serious issue than people being over-worried about what manufactured chemicals are doing to themselves and their surroundings, Polsky said, is that they don’t seem to be worried enough.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cdiv class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__shortcodes__shortcodeWrapper'>\n \u003ciframe\n src='https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeeeKhyuk-_odJH80iw5eAlpLBF-YWJnOi_Yqs4BEN9fY1YJA/viewform?usp=publish-editor?embedded=true'\n title='https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeeeKhyuk-_odJH80iw5eAlpLBF-YWJnOi_Yqs4BEN9fY1YJA/viewform?usp=publish-editor'\n width='760' height='500'\n frameborder='0'\n marginheight='0' marginwidth='0'>\u003c/iframe>\u003c/div>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"soldout": {
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