If you enjoy eating fruits or nuts, you can thank California for providing over two-thirds of the entire country’s supply. California is an absolutely critical crop producer in America, but climate change threatens to decimate the state’s ability to keep producing at its current rate. California: A Major Crop Producer A new study, published…
San Francisco’s fourth-tallest skyscraper has a big, expensive problem: it’s sinking. Not only that, but it’s sinking twice as fast as originally feared. How does something like this happen? What can be done? The Curious Case of The Sinking Tower Usually, you might think that a massive, 58-story skyscraper in one of America’s wealthiest…
The cliffs along California’s coastline are eroding faster than you think. Some may even be close to collapse. A new study in the journal Geomorphology identifies some of the most high-risk areas, and attempts to pin down the erosion’s cause. Heading Over The Cliffs As the sea level rises on planet Earth, more serious issues arise…
On September 27 and 29, two enormous instances of rockfall proved that geological time includes right now. Huge Rockfall Proves That Geology Marches Forward As we visit Yosemite and marvel at its exquisiteness, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that sometimes nature will display its power in devastating and fatal ways. Larger…
The Healthy Soils Program Is Ready To Spend The California Department of Food and Agriculture is giving farmers and ranchers until September 19 to apply for a slice of the nearly $7 million in grants earmarked for the Healthy Soils Program. The goal? To subsidize the hopefully soon to be ubiquitous practice of California farmers…
Many people looking to start a new home construction project are surprised to find out that they need a geotechnical engineering report. The reason? You don’t want to be building your home’s foundation on just any soil. Starting Off On The Right Foundation New home construction is an exciting time for anyone jumping into such…
Oklahoma’s Largest Quake Since The 1950’s When you think of seismically active states, Oklahoma probably isn’t the first one that comes to mind. So you could be forgiven for your surprise upon hearing that the recent 5.8 magnitude quake in Pawnee, OK occurred — and that it was the largest such event in nearly 70…
Chances are, especially if you live in California, that you’ve heard the name John Muir before. After all, his name graces parks, schools, trails, libraries, and more all across our great state. There’s a reason Muir’s influence still echoes 103 years after his death: he is largely responsible for much of the conservation and preservation…
California’s Drought If you live in California, there’s no way you haven’t noticed the massive amounts of snow and rain being dumped onto our parched, drought-stricken state. There’s no doubt about it: the recent precipitation has unquestionably eased drought conditions in California, and has brought critical relief to wide swaths of the state. But is…
If you live in California, you’d better get used to hearing about the “Pineapple Express.” That’s the atmospheric current of moisture that forms over the Pacific Ocean and gets pushed north via the jet stream, and it’s what is responsible for birthing some of California’s recent storms. California is experiencing more and more strange, outlier-type…
