A milestone year for renewable energy
In this edition: Solar and wind expand globally even with less money being spent on them; California farmers adapting to new weather extremes; river cleanups and the residents who live nearby.
To you, our readers
You'll notice a change coming to the newsletter soon. The Monitor is shifting its reporting teams as it prepares to launch its new daily online news package next month. Inhabit will be joining forces with the Monitor science and technology teams to be led going forward by Noelle Swan. We'll be getting a new look but one thing won't change: our deep devotion to distinctive climate and environmental coverage. Keep an eye out for stories from a wider pool of writers and a new and richer science and environment newsletter. // Mark Trumbull and Noelle Swan
What we're writing
'More for less': Renewable power surges into mainstream as costs fall
Investors in renewable sources of electricity generation are increasingly getting more bang for their buck, according to a UN-backed report. // Eva Botkin-Kowacki
California's conservative farmers tackle climate change, in their own way
As California transitions from devastating drought into one of the wettest periods in decades, farmers are seeking new ways to protect their fields from whipsaw weather extremes. // Jessica Mendoza
As rivers get cleanups, can city residents still afford to live nearby?
The Los Angeles River and Washington's Anacostia River could become tests of how well communities can balance new development with opportunities for longstanding residents. // Henry Gass
What we're reading
Global reshuffle of species: an impact study
Mass migration of species due to climate change has profound implications for society, an international team of scientists predicts. // The Guardian
Six images show what happened to California drought
After the rains: These graphics track the state's water security. // Water Deeply
A green law creates jobs in coal country
President Trump has called environmental regulations job-killers. Here's another side to that story. // Ohio Valley Resource
How World War I ushered in the century of oil
The Navy converted from coal to oil a few years before the US entered World War I, a hundred years ago this week. // The Conversation
What's trending
Warm Atlantic waters undermine Arctic ice
"Between Norway and Greenland in the western Eurasian basin, Atlantic currents flow into the Arctic at a depth of 200 to 250 meters, about 4°C warmer than the surface water." // Eli Kintisch, writing in Science magazine
Gov. Brown declares Calif. drought emergency over
“This drought emergency is over, but the next drought could be around the corner.” // Gov. Jerry Brown, quoted in The Los Angeles Times