Monitoring a Microcosm: Study Yields Valuable Air Quality Data Most people in the Bay Area have never heard of Forest Knolls, a small unincorporated community nestled in the San Geronimo Valley of western Marin County. However, it serves as a key site …
The Crystal Springs Regional Trail, which offers this view of Crystal Springs Reservoir in San Mateo County, received more than half a million dollars for improvements from the Land and Water Conservation Fund in 2012. Photo by Topher Simon, San Mateo …
When statistician David Fairley first joined the Bay Area Air Quality Management District in 1987, the agency was paying special attention to carbon monoxide, because the region’s levels of that toxic gas did not meet federal standards and threatened p …
The Faucet as Power Switch: Water’s Hidden Energy Consumption Most of us hardly think about it, but when we turn on the tap, we’re not just using water — we’re also using energy. And, if you’re like me, you’ll be surprised to find out how much. Statewi …
Resurgent Economy Likely to Lift Priority Development Areas The City of Berkeley has begun a 24-to-30-month planning process to pinpoint community goals for revamping the Adeline Corridor, one of nearly 200 Priority Development Areas (PDAs) throughout …
The decade between 1995 and 2005 included the dot-com bubble, 9/11, and the birth of social media. And in the Bay Area, as seen through articles in the Bay Area Monitor, these years also included hydrogen fuel cell buses, Caltrain’s “Baby Bullet,” and …
By the mid-1980s, the Bay Area was flourishing — but not without consequences. Growing suburbs meant freeways jammed with commuters, jeopardizing progress toward meeting air quality standards. Water management agencies, required to meet the increasing …
Flooding inundated Rockville Hills Regional Park in Solano County after the December storms. Photo by Robin Meadows. When the big rains drenched us in December, my daughter in Palo Alto called me in Fairfield to see if our drought was finally over. You …
Rising Tides Expected to Take Toll on Transportation Infrastructure One of the more significant impacts of climate change on the Bay Area’s built environment will be to transportation infrastructure. Many freeways, tunnels, bridge approaches, and trans …
Soil Storage: Sequestering Carbon Dioxide in Agricultural Land California’s agricultural industry ships a staggering amount of prized products all over the world: almonds, grapes, and strawberries, to name a few. But in the future, our farms may become …