- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
OPINION: Environmental education for kids: It's only natural
(Chico E-R) Laura Lukes, Nov. 29
If you have school-age children, you may have noticed that something new is infusing science education in California classrooms.
...All of these new directives are intended to be fundamental components of K-12 science education. The UC Master Gardeners of Butte County share these goals. To encourage you to go out and explore nature with your children, we will occasionally be proposing activities and projects focusing on our local natural environment, beginning today with an activity for this time of year as the seasons change.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Are Blackouts Here to Stay? A Look into the Future
(E&E News) Anne C. Mulkern, Nov. 15
…Throughout the United States, between roughly 2000 and 2010, about 75% of homes that burned in wildfires were located in the WUI, said Van Butsic, a land use specialist at the University of California, Berkeley. The rest was mostly in rural areas, with about 2% in cities.
People go back after they lose homes, Butsic said. He surveyed the 28 largest fires in California from about 1975 to 2005, and through aerial photos tracked what was rebuilt. About 90% of destroyed homes were rebuilt within a decade, he found. New homes also filled in large tracts of undeveloped land in formerly burned...
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Strategies for Increasing Ranch Income
(AgNetWest) Brian German, Oct. 31
There are multiple approaches that producers can take to help increase ranch income that ranges from improving traditional avenues of revenue to taking a more unconventional approach to the diversification of income. A workshop coming up on November 20 in Watsonville is focused on helping producers better understand the value of marketing their products.
“Some of the things that we're going to be talking about in this workshop are really basic things like what is marketing? How can we demystify marketing? What are its functions in...
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Why we need to treat wildfire as a public health issue in California
(The Conversation) Faith Kearns and Max Moritz, Oct 15
… As researchers who have worked extensively on fire in California, we believe it is time to treat fires that affect communities as the public health challenge they have become. This means taking a more robust approach to a host of issues, including focusing on where and how we build, taking the needs of vulnerable populations seriously, and ensuring that solutions are equitable.
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
While many California communities have been left without power, UC Cooperative Extension fire scientist Lenya Quinn-Davidson worries that last year's Camp Fire has put too much focus on utility companies as the cause of fires, reported Tara Law in TIME.
Major fires are sometimes caused by utilities, but there are many other potential causes, including lightning, arson and sparks from dragging chains. All of these factors, are compounded by "lack of fuel management, poor land-use planning, and homes that aren't ready for fire and aren't resilient to fire," Quinn-Davidson said.
Power outages can...
