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Is Brooklyn Basin Emblematic of Regional Development Vision?

Author By Duncan Agnew

Date January 21, 2026

An empty, sand-colored flatland with clouds and blue sky above and one person in red walking in the distance. Mountains rise in the background — Reforming Rules to Speed Adaptation

Author By Cariad Hayes Thronson

Date January 21, 2026

Bay Conservation and Development Commission to vote early this year on amendments designed to expedite approval of climate projects.

Warner Chabot Shifts Gears

Author By John Hart

Date January 21, 2026

After 11 years at the helm of the Bay Area's leading science institute, its leader moves back into the zone of policy influence.

A crowd of about 30 people sits on folding chairs assembled inside a large room inside a community center — Coordinate or Fall Short: The New Normal

Author By Angela Swartz

Date January 21, 2026

Public officials and nonprofits say teaming up and pooling resources are vital strategies for success in a climate-changed world.

Newly painted pedestrian and bike lanes through an intersection, with traffic signals above and a green street sign marking the road as Contra Costa Boulevard — Pleasant Hill Gets Sustainable Street Improvements

Author By Gracebelle Ma’ake

Date January 21, 2026

An intersection redesign with safer bike lanes earned a national Complete Streets award, while sparking mixed reactions from drivers.

KneeDeep organizes its stories in three departments: In Fight or Flight, read about decision-making in the face of advancing water, fire, or stormy weather, and building for safety, efficiency and equity. City & County zeroes in on where change begins: with local government and within each community. Hearts and Minds recognizes that without human connection, all the engineering or money in the world can’t save us.

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Extremes-in-3d

This special, seven-part KneeDeep Times investigative series explores fire, flood, heat and other extremes in three dimensions — science, people, place — and reports on how researchers, activists, city planners, and community leaders are building climate resilience.

A bird's-eye view of an urban walkway/park in the center, with Mission Creek pictured below and buildings pictured above — The Race Against Runoff

Douglas fir seedlings. Photo: CAL FIRE — Reforesting a Fiery, Warming World

Insurance Innovations Reward Communities Trying to Reduce Climate Risk

How Two Rivers Could Rescue Sinking Beaches and Marshes

One Man’s Five-Fire Learning Curve

scientists looking at oyster castle — A Living Shoreline, Built One Oyster at a Time

Residents meet to discuss heat. Photo: Eliana Perez — Slow Progress on Shade For California’s Hottest Desert Towns

In Uncertain Times, the Port of Oakland Goes Electric

Small house fire in 2025 in Boulder Creek near Santa Cruz. Photo: Steve Kuehl — Staying Wise About Fire – 5 Years Post-CZU

Handouts at the Climate of Hope Fair. Photo: Sierra Garcia — Pajaro Residents Weigh In on How to Use Climate Funds

Chatter

The youth advisory team debriefed with Cesar Estien after noting temperature variations at four nearby locations. — Six Months on the Community Reporting Beat

Author By KDT Staff

The magazine worked with four journalists in training from community colleges, and began building a...

Six people sit in chairs at the Sustainable Solano meeting — Rio Vista Residents Talk Health and Air Quality

Author By Daniela Ramirez

A Sustainable Solano community meeting dug into how gas wells, traffic, and other pollution sources...

Six GreenLatinos members in Washington, D.C. — Threatened by Trump’s Policies, GreenLatinos Refuses to Back Down

Author By Dave Rhody

National nonprofit GreenLatinos is advancing environmental equity and climate action amid immigration enforcement and policy...

Illustration of group of different people in bright colors. — Noticias en español

Author By KDT Staff

Encuentra más historias en español esta primavera, dentro de nuestro boletín KneeDeep con vecinos, y...

Ten fellows pose in front of a Resilient Roots poster. — Field Clips: What 7 Newly-Minted Climate Leaders Did for Solano County

Author By KDT Staff

After 10 months of climate leadership training, the graduates of the Resilient Roots program tell...

ReaderBoard — ReaderBoard

Author By KDT Staff

Once a month we share reader announcements: jobs, events, reports, and more.

Climate Adaptation: A Guide — Climate Adaptation: The Basics

Author By Vrinda Manglik

Resilient sweet potatoes and stilts on houses remind us how adaptable human beings can be....

A sign in front of a garden — Digging in the Dirt Got Me Into Student Climate Action

Author By Sydney Quan

A public garden at El Cerrito High School in the East Bay inspired my love...

A blue bus stop structure designed to give people shade only casts a small, thin shadow — Making Shade a Priority in LA: An Interview with Sam Bloch

Author By Maylin Tu

After witnessing fire disasters in neighboring counties, Marin formed a unique fire prevention authority and...

Picture of the Month

An overhead view from an upper floor of an office space with cubicles, desks, and computers with floor to ceiling windows and beams of timber supporting the building — January 2026

Google’s new office space in Sunnyvale was built with mass timber — a technique using digital technology to prefabricate small pieces of wood (2 x 4s and 2 x 6s) into a structural system that is code approved for midrise and highrise buildings. This has enormous potential to transform the construction industry away from the exorbitant use of concrete and steel. Mass timber framing is lighter, fire-rated, and sequesters carbon, thereby tremendously reducing embodied carbon, an important tactic to combating climate change. Photo: Paul Okamoto

Editor’s Picks

Every month our editor selects a few extraordinary stories from our news archives. This month we daylight bread, hawks, urban trees and resilience hubs.

Fresh loaves milled and baked with local wheat at a San Francisco bakery. Photo: Josey Baker. — Leaders of the Local Grain Economy

Author By Kayla Zola

Date August 23, 2023

While wheat accounts for just under 3% of California's harvested cropland, a local grain economy has given the crop new significance.

Chinatown residents review vision for a redeveloped Lincoln Recreation Center. Photo: Jonathan Fong, Courtesy Friends of Lincoln Square Park. — Oakland Tailors Resilience Hubs to Neighborhood Needs

Author By Nicole Wong

Date September 21, 2022

Faced with a health crisis, or stifling heat or smoke, most people will go somewhere familiar for help, a place they feel welcome. Oakland Chinatown's Lincoln Center is that kind...

Red-tailed hawk perched on wire. — Feathered Flames

Author By Aiyana Washington

Date September 21, 2022

Among the more well-known causes of wildfire — lightning, volcanic activity, neglected cigarettes, gender reveal parties gone awry — there remains a less notorious culprit: electrocuted birds.

Enjoying a moment in the shade of old trees in San Antonio Park, Oakland. Photo: Lonny Meyer. — Trees Tell A Tale of Two Cities

Author By Zack Boyd

Date November 18, 2021

Trees do far more than add shade and property value to a city block; they can remove harmful pollutants from the air, reduce flooding, and perhaps most crucially in a...