
Powering Forward
Clean energy empowers Native American tribes seeking self-sustainability
Tribal sovereignty is an age-old Native American value that today is becoming synonymous with energy independence. With help from JLM Energy in Rocklin, the Bear River Band of Rohnerville Rancheria tribe is on the leading edge of the movement in California.

Are Cricket-Hungry Chicks a Food-System Fix?
Bitwater Farms empowers farmers with a new solution for livestock feed
For Sean McDonald, improving the food production system is the future of his business — and the entire agriculture industry. His work toward those improvements starts with … (drumroll please) … crickets.

Photos: Cullinan Ranch Restoration
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service purchased the land in 1991 and incorporated it into the San Pablo Bay Wildlife Refuge. The levy was breached in January of this year.

Preserving Solano’s Cullinan Ranch
Tidal restoration along Highway 37 brings life back to San Pablo Bay
Early this year, saltwater came gushing through a levee that had kept a vast pasture at the north edge of San Pablo Bay dry for more than a century. The breach was no accident.

Grape Expectations
Solano County’s wine industry comes of age, and the timing couldn’t be better.
The phrase “wine country” harkens to Napa, Sonoma, Calistoga. But Solano? Not so much. In fact, the Suisun Valley appellation was formed in 1982, less than a year after Napa’s. The local environment boasts much of the same benefits, too.

Eat the Ugly Fruit
The importance of dining conservatively during a drought
Sacramento is a thirsty region. From agriculture to restaurants kitchens, our food system slurps down a big chunk of our existing water supply. The looming question is how each of us can partner with these industries to conserve.

The New Hip Chick
With the spotlight on commercial egg farming, will the pasture-raised bird steal the show?
The implementation of California’s Proposition 2, which expanded space requirements for hens that produce eggs sold in California, has had ripple effects impacting producers, distributors and consumers throughout the nation. But as animal rights activists and demanding consumers realize the law hasn’t reflected their ideals, and as the price gap between commercial and specialty eggs narrows, will the elite pasture-raised egg enjoy a rise in popularity?

Delta Smelt Nearing Extinction
A U.C. Davis Lab could be the last refuge for the beleaguered, belittled fish
Tien-Chieh Hung, the director of the Fish Conservation and Culture Laboratory,, says the facility’s fish could serve as a sort of seed bank for repopulating the wild population, should conditions in the Delta ever improve.

Summer Feeding
Local libraries are valuable tools in addressing issues of food access
Your next visit to the public library might not be to check out a book. Libraries are becoming critical agents in a sprouting local food movement, so you might instead bite into an actual meal, join a cooking class or even check out garden seeds.

Groves & Fishes
There is water war brewing between farmers and fisherman
Facing epic drought conditions, Gov. Jerry Brown called this month for mandatory cutbacks on urban water use statewide. But the ag industry, which uses 80 percent of the state’s water, is exempted. This decision has struck a cord with environmentalists and fishermen who fear the drought will compromise aquatic species — and their livelihoods.