The California Air Resources Board may take another look at diesel retrofit rules adopted a year ago because the lead researcher overstated his credentials. One San Diego member of the board says he would support a new study.

A new study says Californians could save billions of dollars and cut greenhouse gas emissions by working closer to home. The study looked at San Diego and three other areas.

San Diego has only received a trace of rain since July 1 and yearly rainfall is also below normal. National Weather Service forecasters don't expect significant rain anytime soon. San Diego's Lindbergh Field has received 3.10 inches of rain since January 1 which is 5.84 inches below normal for this time of year.

Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute has decided to delay a planned offshore aquaculture demonstration in ocean waters off the San Diego coast.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says Imperial County has met the federal standard for ozone levels for the first time. Less ozone means fewer health problems for people living there.

The County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency says four more county residents have died from the H1N1 flu.

The Scripps Institution of Oceanography has been awarded nearly $1 million to develop new tools for ocean exploration.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says a scientific review of the Sacramento Bay Delta ecosystem may provide answers to some of California's water supply problems. The Delta is the source for about one-third of San Diego County's water.

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is expected to vote this week on a plan to help subsidize the cost of making water from a proposed desalination plant in Carlsbad. The company also wants help to pay for the plant's construction.

Two San Diego High School teams will compete in a solar-powered boat competition for the first time. The schools get started on the Solar Cup Saturday.

The California Coastal Commission has approved the final permit for a proposed desalination plant in Carlsbad. But San Diego Coastkeeper says it will continue challenging the project.

A list of America's most toxic cities ranks Los Angeles as one of the worst. Unlike its neighbor to the north, however, San Diego is one of the least toxic cities.

Researchers say there's new scientific evidence that cigarette butts are toxic hazardous waste. A San Diego State University professor led the research team.

Climate scientists and weather researchers gather in San Diego Tuesday to talk about the possibility of a fourth year of drought.

The San Diego River Park Foundation says it expects to reach a milestone at a river clean-up event Saturday. The group estimates it's removed one million pounds of trash from the San Diego River over the past four years.

Environmental groups filed a lawsuit Friday challenging the City of Carlsbad's decision to approve changes to a proposed desalination plant.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed legislation that sought to protect state parks. One of the bills was sponsored by Senator Christine Kehoe of San Diego.

The route for the proposed Sunrise Powerlink electrical transmission line would cross a national forest and other public lands in southeast San Diego County. While the California Public Utilities Commission has approved it, legal challenges may delay or possibly derail the Sunrise project.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Friday proposed just over 109,000 acres of protected critical habitat for the endangered Arroyo toad in Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange and San Diego counties.

An energy company filed a permit application Friday with San Diego County to develop a wind farm near the community of Boulevard.

A lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over protection for bighorn sheep could pose a new challenge to the proposed Sunrise Powerlink transmission line project in San Diego County.

The California Coastal Commission voted Wednesday night to give the city of San Diego a waiver for the Point Loma Sewage Treatment Plant. The vote means the city won't be paying to upgrade the plant.

The California Coastal Commission will decide Wednesday whether an exemption for the Point Loma Sewage Treatment Plant is in line with state coastal regulations.

A San Diego Superior Court judge is now enforcing new procedures for cameras in his courtroom.

A San Diego Superior Court judge has proposed new rules for use of media cameras in his courtroom. The proposed rules follow Judge David M. Szumowksi's complaint about a KFMB-TV news story that included video photography in his court.

Water release from a dam in Northern California is breathing new life into a dry stretch of the San Joaquin River. Reviving the river will improve San Diego's drinking water too.

San Diego County beaches scored high marks in the 2009 End of Summer Beach Report Card released Wednesday by environmental group Heal the Bay

The California Department of Food and Agriculture has established a 77-square-mile quarantine zone around Escondido to halt the spread of Mediterranean fruit flies.

A San Diego Superior Court judge has decided not to allow cameras in his courtroom.

Three proposals for a south coast network of marine protected areas was released Friday One area under consideration for protection is off San Diego's coast.

Electricity customers of San Diego Gas & Electric will get refund checks in October. State regulators approved the refund because the company overcharged for a program that monitors the utility's energy buying.

A new study suggests that removing dead pine trees in Southern California forests will not reduce the severity of wildfires.

The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning for much of Southern California because of unseasonably hot and dry weather. The critical fire weather conditions are also a concern for the operator of the state's electricity grid.

San Diego Coastkeeper and I Love a Clean San Diego report that San Diego County had a record number of 9,587 volunteers Saturday for the 25th annual California Coastal Cleanup.

Thousands of volunteers are expected to scour the coast and inland waterways Saturday in San Diego County. It's all part of the 25th anniversary of California Coastal Cleanup Day.

A program that provides rebates on water-saving devices has been re-funded with $10 million. San Diego County business and homeowners can apply for the rebates starting next Monday.

UC San Diego and the San Diego Unified School District are working together to broaden the teaching of science. The goal is to provide hands-on science training to help educate the next generation of environmental leaders.

Ground has been broken on two new ocean science buildings on the UC San Diego campus. The project is expected to create more than 1,000 construction jobs. The federal government is paying for most of the project with a grant and federal stimulus dollars. Construction is expected to start this year and finish in late 2011.

Fusion is best known for powering the sun and stars. But UC San Diego researchers are studying ways to transform the process of nuclear fusion into renewable energy on Earth.

The 2009 California legislative session saw some wins for environmental groups but also some crushing defeats.

Opponents of the South Bay Power Plant in Chula Vista applauded a decision Wednesday by the California Regional Water Quality Control Board. The board rejected a staff recommendation to extend a water quality discharge permit for the facility.

UC San Diego researchers are trying to find out how pollution travels in the ocean off of Imperial Beach. The area has a history of water quality problems after rainstorms.

A group of volunteers will gather information measuring the impact visitors have on the health of Mission Bay this weekend.

Five Californians are among the wealthiest members of Congress, including San Diego Congressman Darrell Issa, who ranks second on the "rich list."

UC San Diego is part of a partnership that is working to construct a network of ocean observation systems.

The Cleveland National Forest is elevating its fire use restriction level from "very high" to "extreme" Thursday morning. The ongoing drought and fires in other parts of California prompted the move.

An opponent of a Carlsbad desalination project is blasting a California assembly bill that would give Poseidon Resources more time to build the plant.

California water managers are concerned about a fourth year of drought in 2010. Three years of dry conditions have brought mandatory conservation to San Diego and other areas of the state.

Environmental and community groups have started a program to clean up cigarette butts from the Pacific Beach neighborhood in San Diego. The the area is a major source of the litter.

UC San Diego researchers are trying to figure out what's going on with a huge patch of garbage in the North Pacific Ocean.