Nature and the Environment

Orange County Register Wildfire Coverage Has a Huge Hole in It: Media Watchdog

Orange County fire officials recently held a press conference to go over their strategies and, more importantly, warn the public about an ever-earlier fire season. The Orange County Register covered this, as it did Southern California's recent wildfires, but a media watchdog saw a huge hole in the c ... More >>

[VIDEO:] Whale and Dolphins Put On Another Visual Feast for Capt. Dave and His Passengers

Not quite a whale doing the backstroke in your soup, it was still a rare spectacle none the same Monday when a whale and dolphins were seen playing together in front of passengers and crew on a Dana Point Harbor sightseeing boat."It was pretty amazing," remarked eyewitness Patti Soltero of Eastvale. ... More >>

Loretta Sanchez Cites Los Alamitos Serval Cats Incident in Push for Wildlife Ownership Ban

In light of three serval cats, who resemble small cheetahs, escaping from a Los Alamitos apartment recently, Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove) today renewed her call for a federal law prohibiting private possession of big cats except at facilities like accredited zoos. "This incident ... More >>

Gary DeLong, Climate Change Denying Hopeful for Congress, Logrolled by Bill Clinton at UCI

Last night's The Colbert Report featured another partisan logrolling clip that makes that Comedy Central program and The Daily Show so priceless, with a Fox News pundit-blonde and anchors Brit Hume and Chris Wallace repeating that day's GOP talking point: that Mitt Romney appeared to be a "plausible ... More >>

If You Think It's Hot in Santa Ana and Long Beach Now, Just Wait Until 2050

It's getting hot in here, so take off all your non-essential items of clothing.According to a new UCLA climate study, average temperatures are going to rise in Santa Ana and Long Beach by nearly four degrees.But you still have time to stock up on sunscreen.

As Orange County Register Denies Climate Change, Media Matters for America Burns

We here at the World Weekly HQ have our platters full when it comes to passing along racism, immigrant bashing and let-them-eat-caking in the pages (virtual and otherwise) of the Orange County Register. So, it's been up to Media Matters for America, a progressive national watchdog, to chronicle the ... More >>

Santa Ana Sucker, Little Fish at Center of Water Agencies' Suit Against Feds, Gets a Legal Assist

​Inland water agencies may say they want to work with government regulators on a Santa Ana River habitat for a tiny fish known as the Santa Ana Sucker, but as long as the H2O providers press their lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, four conservation groups will press back. The Si ... More >>

Pacific Blue Whale Gets Up Close and Personal with Viewing Boat Off Dana Point

​Passengers, a videographer and even the skipper are still shaking their heads over an unusually close encounter with a Pacific blue whale from a viewing boat in the fleet of Captain Dave's Dolphin and Whale Safari Friday afternoon off Dana Point."Dude, that was a miracle," a woman can be heard sa ... More >>

$10 Million Anonymously Donated to UC Irvine

​While its student body works toward wrapping up another fulfilling school year at UC Irvine, the university administration received one heck of an anonymous end-of-the-year gift: $10 million. That's one way to say thanks for the memories.The gift was received from an anonymous donor. The universi ... More >>

Waddle, Waddle, Mug, Repeat

Jim Carrey and his tuxedoed friends on a grim march to nowhere in 'Mr. Popper's Penguins'

Santa Ana Sucker Habitat Expansion Sucks, Lawsuit-Threatening Water Agencies Tell Feds

Sucker punched​A dozen water agencies serving nearly 3 million Southern California residents have formally warned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) that it the federal agency does not want to be sued, it must rescind the recent expansion of critical habitat areas for the Santa Ana Sucker, ... More >>

Sea Birds Under Attack in Huntington Beach

Chasen Marshall/OC WeeklyIf only they could talk ...​From the way the experts explain the nature of the injuries, it certainly appears there's a formulated attack on birds, mainly seagulls, going on in and around Huntington Beach. The Wetland and Wildlife Care Center (WWCC) has tended to more ... More >>

Go Green Auto Rally is a Different Kind of Event for the Home of the Grand Prix

​Long Beach is home to an annual grand prix that has high-performance race cars zooming through city streets.But this weekend, a different kind of racing event starts in the LBC and follows a 100-mile course that ends in Malibu, one that does not necessarily reward its drivers for speed.

Getting into Green Homes Takes Less Green

​It ain't easy being green housing.Two highly publicized Orange County homes built with recycled or Earth-friendly materials and packed with energy-efficient appliances and many more green features are languishing on the market. A couple weeks ago, a home in Costa Mesa with the nation's highest ra ... More >>

Inaugural CleanTech OC Conference Should Have Been Better Attended

​If attendees took anything other than swag away from the inaugural CleanTech OC Conference & Expo in Irvine Monday, it was this: the green revolution is back, baby. After a red hot 2008, the clean technology industry was battered for a spell by the recession, but banks are back to lending, ve ... More >>

Rossmoor War on Coyotes Ugly

​So, the residents of Rossmoor, Seal Beach, Los Alamitos and East Long Beach are perturbed because coyotes are apparently attacking defenseless Fidos and Garfields with ever more frequency, and the response from officialdom is to leave the American jackals be. But close readers of this space shoul ... More >>

At the Farmers' Market: Squash Blossoms

Since the recipe yesterday involved fresh squash blossoms, it seemed like a good time to explore the ins and outs of the bright yellow or orange flowers.Dave Lieberman​

New UCI Research Will Have You Looking at Earthquakes and Lawns Differently

UC Irvine researchers have discovered new ways to look at earthquakes and your front lawn. No, not how shakers rip up your green playground. We're talking one study that dispels notions about how experts estimate the potential for the next so-called "Big One," and a second that disproves the idea th ... More >>

OC Environmentalists Celebrate Momentous Decisions

Ancestor walks take on new meaning after efforts to carve a toll road through Pahne failed.​Holiday celebrating started early for local environmental groups.On Friday, a diverse coalition of allies marked the one-year anniversary of a U.S. Department of Commerce decision that effectively stopped t ... More >>

Global Warming Activists as Inescapable as Global Warming this Weekend

​Last week, we posted about the Global Climate Change Day of Action event taking place at Irvine Regional Park tomorrow. There'll be bells tolling, bikes biking, and a bunch of people forming a "350" for an aerial camera.But there are a bunch more of these shindigs tomorrow all over the world, inc ... More >>

Clothes Lines: a Green Solution That's Been Clotheslined

​They are an old-fashioned device that could save household energy as well as machine-damaed and worn-out clothing. Unfortunately, they are also banned in several U.S. communities. Just try installing a clothes line in Irvine or any Orange County gated community and see what happens. T ... More >>

Surfrider, Other Enviros Agree: Go Green By Having Fewer Kids

Doh! The carbon footprint just got bigger.​Based on the huzzahs the Surfrider Foundation posted on its Facebook account, the San Clemente-based clean-ocean advocates are apparently down with notion that having fewer children is a more effective way of going green than changing lightbulbs, driving ... More >>

Birds of Prey

Fullerton Arboretum

Vespas Bring Musicians, Global Warming Message to Sutra

Singer-songwriters Jason Reeves, Brendan James and Amber Rubarth, who today began a two-week ride up the California coast on Vespas to raise awareness of global warming, make a stop at 7 p.m. Friday at Sutra Lounge, 1870 Harbor Blvd., Costa Mesa. "It seems like back in the late '60s and early ... More >>

Nixon Library Museum Store is Green With Ennui

The private Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace Foundation (not to be confused with the public Richard Nixon Library and Museum) has really gotten into the spirit of Earth Day. The foundation is directing shoppers to its cash cow, the museum store, with an email blast that states:Celebrate Earth ... More >>

Puff Puff Passing at Coachella

I've been to one Coachella and that was in 2003. Although the motive behind the hellacious trek from Long Beach to Indio was to see the first Stooges gig in nearly three decades, I ended up witnessing something way cooler than a shirtless Iggy. Elephants. You heard me. I saw a train of circus elepha ... More >>

Letters From OC Weekly Readers

UC Irvine Eggheads on the March

Twenty UC Irvine science and engineering researchers were named last week as Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, representing the largest class this year of any American university or institution. Eighty-five current and former UCI faculty members have previously earn ... More >>

UCI Scientist Helps Add More Culprits to the Global Warming List

Anyone worth Al Gore's salt knows that cars, factories and farting cows contribute to global warming, but an international study that includes the research of a UC Irvine scientist has found drought and deforestation can also help fuel the pesky phenomenon and should be included in future climate pa ... More >>

[CD Review] Department of Eagles, 'In Ear Park' (4AD)

Plants and Animals Make Orchestral Rock Fun

Thursday's Headlines. No Surprises: Bishop Brown citation dropped

Bishop Brown citation dropped: The Los Angeles Times reports that a contempt-of-court citation against Orange Bishop Tod Brown has been dropped as part of an almost-$7 million sex abuse settlement. Plaintiff's attorney John Manly said the diocese forced them to drop their bid for the citation: "The ... More >>

On the Range

Ridin’, ropin’, rasslin’ & other games of skill & contests of  strength, blazing trails, seeing sights &, of course, Anteaters

Beach Break: Killing Nemo

Cut off from the powerful, cleansing waves of the Pacific ocean by a massive concrete breakwater, the gentle swells that lap the Long Beach coastline are so dirty that they were recently ranked the most polluted beach water in California by the Santa Monica-based environmental group Heal The Bay. A ... More >>

Animal Uprising in Long Beach

Crazy animals have begun invading Long Beach by sea and land. Yesterday, a six-foot female blue shark was spotted swimming in circles near docked boats at the Marina Pacifica. The shark was in good health except a for a fishing hook and line hanging from its mouth. Marine workers were forced to sc ... More >>

The Virgin Birth (Deadly lizard edition)

It's a familiar sounding story this time of year-- a virgin with child. Only this time the natural world is outdoing the supernatural, because this virgin is with children. Seven, in fact. And these virgin offspring will have grow up to have mouths filled with toxic bacteria-- though I'm not sure ... More >>

Arnold Cuts Some Gas

We keep waiting for Arnold Schwarzenegger to show his true colors, especially with the media reports over the weekend indicating that while the country may swing left in the next election, California may swing back to the right. Surely, then, Schwarzenegger is just biding his time, waiting for more ... More >>

Let justice roll down...

"Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an overflowing stream." That passage from the Book of Amos (5:24) is the sort of thing lawyers working for nonprofit organizations repeat to themselves before marching off to court to fight the good fight. Of course, it may not be what the la ... More >>

An Injury to One...

Pat Brennan (no relation) reports in the Register that fire ants are resurgent in OC. As someone who grew up in South Louisiana, where the ants have freely roamed since Truman was in the White House, allow me to explain what this means to you: it means you're fucked. It means pain. It means little p ... More >>

Good Timing, Bad Air

The Orange County Register reports this morning that the Irvine-based Beckman Foundation has donated $20 million to the City of Hope in Duarte, to help finance cancer research. The Foundation has an excellent sense of timing– because, as every other newspaper in the state is reporting this mor ... More >>

Environment and Sports

Villa Park

For Those About Duroque, We Salute You!

Only God Can Water a Tree . . .

. . . at former El Toro Marine base, where mere mortals dont have clearance

We Respond to Register Letters!

Deep Do-Do

Treading Red Water

Return of the Native?

Wish they all could be California plants

No Food to Free Willy

Eco-activist fasts 31 days to protest Navy sonar linked to sea-mammal deaths

Poop Chute

County agency will ask EPA to renew ocean-dumping permit