Articles by Terence Chea

California Drought Hurting World’s Top Almond Producer

As temperatures recently reached triple digits, farmer Joe Del Bosque inspected the almonds in his parched orchard in California’s agriculture-rich San Joaquin Valley, where a deepening drought threatens one of the state’s most profitable crops. Del Bosque doesn’t have enough …

Wildfires Advancing Through Northern California

Northern California wildfires that incinerated two mountain communities continued marching through the Sierra Nevada while a utility purposely blacked out as many as 51,000 customers to prevent new blazes. Two weeks after the Dixie Fire destroyed most of the Gold …

Startup California Construction Company Working on Robotic Vehicles

As a teenager working for his dad’s construction business, Noah Ready-Campbell dreamed that robots could take over the dirty, tedious parts of his job, such as digging and leveling soil for building projects. Now the former Google engineer is turning …

California is Taking Global Warming Fight to Dairy Cows

California is taking its fight against global warming to the farm. The nation’s leading agricultural state is now targeting greenhouse gases produced by dairy cows and other livestock. Despite strong opposition from farmers, Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation in September …

Tourism Decline in California’s Scenic Big Sur Sparked by Wildfire

Lodge managers and cafe owners along California’s dramatic Big Sur coast were looking at a summer of jittery guests and cancelled bookings after fire officials warned that crews will likely be battling a wildfire raging in steep, forested ridges just …

California Drought Bad Tidings for Rice Harvest

California’s deepening drought is shrinking its rice harvest, and that’s bad news for farmers, migratory birds and sushi lovers. The $5 billion industry exports rice to more than 100 countries and specializes in premium grains used in risotto, paella and …

California Fire Season Likely to Get Worse

Following nearly 8,000 lightning strikes that set more than 800 wildfires across Northern California, a meterologist is predicting much worse conditions throughout the rest of the fire season. “This doesn’t bode well for the fire season,” said Ken Clark, a …