Geography of California

If Twitter wants to keep the recently added sleeping quarters at its main San Francisco office, the company has to make a few changes. The city’s Department of Building Inspection issued a correction notice to Twitter this week, ordering the tech giant to revise how the rooms containing beds are labeled in its building permit and floor plan. Or, alternately, Twitter could opt to restore the spaces to their original conference room use. The company was granted 15 days from the notice to make the adjustments, as first…

Photo: Justin Sullivan (Getty Images)This story was originally published by Grist. You can subscribe to its weekly newsletter here.In early 1862, a storm of biblical proportions struck California, dropping more than 120 inches of rain and snow on the state over two months. The entire state flooded, but nowhere was the deluge worse than in the Central Valley, a gash of fertile land that runs down the middle of the state between two mountain ranges. In the spring, as melting snow mixed with torrential rain, the valley…

A bleached ‘bathtub ring’ is visible on the banks of Lake Mead near the Hoover Dam on August 19, 2022 in Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Arizona.Photo: Justin Sullivan (Getty Images)Angely Mercado covers climate change for Gizmodo. She has written stories about the megadrought in the American West, how California celebrities guzzled water in 2022, and reports of mass tree deaths. She hopes to write more positive climate news in 2023. The top story:Don’t be fooled by the massive storms and floods hitting California…

In an aerial view, a car is submerged in floodwater after heavy rain moved through the area on January 09, 2023 in Windsor, California. Photo: Justin Sullivan (Getty Images)After more than a week of successive storms that have brought floods, landslides, and high winds, California is facing down new flood warnings and widespread power outages. The state is set to get more rain today and tomorrow, according to a forecast from the National Weather Service.“The cumulative effect of successive heavy rainfall events will lead…

Twitter’s headquarters could be investigated by San Francisco building inspectors over allegations it illegally converted some of its space into bedrooms.Photo: Justin Sullivan (Getty Images)The world’s richest man and Twitter owner Elon Musk is clearly miffed at the idea that San Francisco city officials would dare question him trying to make the company HQ into an ugly, soul-crushing motel for all the employees he’s exhausting. The San Francisco Chronicle first reported Tuesday that city officials were investigating a…

U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) speaks to the media at a canvasing location at Llantera Garcia’s Auto Service on November 07, 2022 in Tucson, Arizona.Photo: Kevin Dietsch (Getty Images)This story is part of the Grist series Parched, an in-depth look at how climate change-fueled drought is reshaping communities, economies, and ecosystems. You can subscribe to Grist’s weekly newsletter here.Mark Kelly, the incumbent Democratic senator from Arizona, is facing a strong reelection challenge from far-right Republican nominee Blake…

A sign welcomes visitors to Salton City, California, on the west coast of the Salton Sea, December 16, 2021.Photo: ROBYN BECK/AFP (Getty Images)This story was originally published by Grist. You can subscribe to its weekly newsletter here. This article is part of the Grist series Parched, an in-depth look at how climate change-fueled drought is reshaping communities, economies, and ecosystems.In the spring of 1905, the Colorado River, bursting with seasonal rain, topped an irrigation canal and flooded the site of a dried…

Those visiting Ocean City, New Jersey this fall probably want to hit the beach one last time.Image: Gary C. Tognoni (Shutterstock)Fall is the best season, and I’m not here to discuss this any further. As winter (and seasonal affective disorder) lingers right around the corner, fall is also the best time to get your last bit of traveling in before the weather gets too cold to do anything except stay in bed.Airbnb released a list of their most booked cities for the fall, and some are quite surprising. Overall the list skews…

Photo: Mario Taima (Getty Images)Like Lake Mead and Lake Powell along the Colorado River, New Mexico’s largest reservoir has reached alarmingly low levels. Photos taken last week at Elephant Butte Reservoir, which is located along the Rio Grande, show stark “bathtub rings”—mineral lines that show where the water levels previously sat—and huge swathes of newly exposed shore as the water keeps dropping.As of Thursday, the water level in the reservoir sat at just above 4,291 feet (1,308 meters)—well below the August monthly…

The Colorado River, which provides drinking water to about 40 million people in the U.S., is in dire straits. Widespread and severe drought (worsened by climate change), coupled with ongoing high water demand, have left the river and the reservoirs along it at record lows. This week, a key deadline for decisive planning action has come and gone, with no resolution.Federal officials issued something of an ultimatum to all seven states that rely on the waterway back in June: Figure out how to cut down on water usage by a…