Danielle Venton
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As seen in:
KQED-TV (San Francisco,CA),
Nature,
Here & Now Anytime,
National Geographic,
NPR,
PBS,
The Verge,
WIRED (UK),
WIRED Magazine,
JSTOR Daily,
PNAS
and
Climate reporter @kqednews // wildfire, space & oceans // studied @UCSC_SciCom @humboldtcalpoly // Also at dventon.bsky.social
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Articles by Danielle Venton
Can Controlled Burns Reduce California’s Air Pollution?
News Home / Environment / News A new Stanford University study finds that annual prescribed burning could substantially reduce smoke pollution during California’s worst wildfire years. Jun 11, 2026 Firefighters monitor a controlled burn at the Pacific Union College Forest on May 15, 2025, in Angwin, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Iván Higuera-Mendieta had never experienced a wildfire season before arriving in California as a Stanford University Ph.D. student.
California Launches Sweeping Rules Aimed at Cutting Plastic Packaging Waste
News Home / Environment / News California is trying something no state has done before: requiring producers to dramatically reduce plastic packaging, recycle more and take responsibility for the waste they create. Jun 4, 2026 Updated 2:17 pm PT Bales of paper to be transferred for recycling at the Active Recycling Co., Inc. recycling center on Earth Day in Los Angeles, California on April 22, 2025.
California Launches Sweeping Rules Aimed at Cutting Plastic Packaging Waste
4:18 12 hours ago Indonesia: Workers clear tons of plastic waste from Jakarta coastline ahead of World Environment Day. StringersHub • 12h SHOTLIST: JAKARTA, INDONESIA (JUNE 4, 2026) (ACCESS ALL) 1. VARIOUS DRONE SHOTS OF WASTE-COVERED COASTAL AREA IN NORTH JAKARTA 2. WORKERS ARRIVING AT COASTAL CLEANUP SITE BY BOAT 3. VARIOUS OF WORKERS COLLECTING WASTE FROM SHORELINE 4. EXCAVATOR REMOVING ACCUMULATED DEBRIS 5.
Kim Leads Early As Insurance Commissioner Race Heads Toward General Election
News Home / Climate / News Early returns show progressive activist Jane Kim leading the insurance commissioner race while State Sen. Ben Allen appears to also advance, setting up a general election contest focused on California’s insurance crisis, wildfire risk and regulatory reform.
California Must Move Faster on Wildfire Risk, Experts Warn
4 hours ago The Maryland severe weather season go off to a fast start with four confirmed tornadoes in March. Since then, it has been fairly quiet. That all could change next week as the heat and humidity increases. There is a small chance for severe weather on Wednesday, but the dew points are in the 40s and 50s. Next week, the dew points will move into the 60s and 70s. With the higher humidity, the chance for severe storms will increase for the region.
California Must Move Faster on Wildfire Risk, Experts Warn
News Home / Wildfires / News May 13, 2026 Save Article Failed to save article Please try again Email A firefighter passes a home destroyed by the Boyles fire in Clearlake, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. As insurance costs and fire danger rise, a new state report called for sweeping action to make homes and communities more resilient.
Bay Area Beaches Are Chock-Full of Mysterious Blue Creatures Again. Here’s How to See Them
1 day ago Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this story: Russian zoologist Ilia Ivanov was determined to find a way to hybridize humans and chimps, and successful hybridization of other animals convinced him it was possible. • After Ivanov was able to implant a human ovary in a female chimp, he …
Bay Area Beaches Are Chock-Full of Mysterious Blue Creatures Again. Here’s How to See Them
News Home / Local / News Apr 30, 2026 Save Article Failed to save article Please try again Email Thousands of Velella velella, blue jellyfish-like creatures, are scattered along the beach at Aquatic Park in San Francisco on April 3, 2025, after washing up on shore. (Beth LaBerge/KQED) They’re an otherworldly sight: blue and iridescent. They have no clear eyes, mouths or body parts analogous to our own. And rising from one side — is it their back?
‘Who’s not paying?’: Fire survivors back California bill to hold big oil accountable
This story is free to read because readers choose to support LAist. If you find value in independent local reporting, make a donation to power our newsroom today . As worsening climate-related disasters like fires and floods drive up insurance costs in California, state Sen. Scott Wiener and fire survivors are pushing for a bill that could give the state a way to force oil companies to pay for their role.
UC admission
The backstory: Lawmakers in 2022 wanted to curb the percentage of out-of-state undergraduates at the UC and the three campuses specifically. At the time, more than 20% of the three schools’ undergraduate students came from out of state. The funding swap was intended to bring the percentage down to 18% by the fifth year, which is next year. The non-resident enrollment rate currently is around 19% at the three campuses.
Wildlife crossing
Read on... for more updates on the war. The backstory: The attacks come after President Trump indefinitely extended the ceasefire with Iran at the 11th hour, ahead of its expiration.
Big Oil accountability
Read on... for more on why the "mansion tax" is at the center of it. Why the fight is also about L.A.: The focus of the debate, and arguably the primary target of the proposition, is Los Angeles and its controversial “mansion tax,” known as Measure ULA . Since becoming law in 2023, the voter-backed policy has levied a 4% tax on real estate sales over $5 million and 5.5% on those above $10 million — thresholds that have since inched up to match inflation.
California Asks Ships to Hit the Brakes for Whales
News Home / News Apr 22, 2026 Updated 9:02 am PT Save Article Failed to save article Please try again Email A whale tale rising out of the water in the Santa Barbara Channel on May 1, 2025. The Blue Whales Blue Skies program incentivizes shipping companies to reduce speeds along California's coasts, an initiative that the state's lawmakers may soon adopt for all of its waters.
‘Who’s Not Paying?’: Fire Survivors Back California Bill to Hold Big Oil Accountable
News Home / Climate / News Apr 15, 2026 Save Article Failed to save article Please try again Email Pump jacks and wells are seen in an oil field on March 23, 2014, near McKittrick, California. Legislation introduced by state Sen. Scott Wiener would allow California’s attorney general to sue fossil fuel companies for climate disaster damages. (David McNew/Getty Images) As worsening climate-related disasters like fires and floods drive up insurance costs in California, state Sen.
California Insurance Commissioner candidates debate solutions to wildfire-driven crisis
By Danielle Venton, KQED Candidates vying for the position of state insurance commissioner in theJune primary electionmet at a forum in downtown San Francisco on Thursday to make the case for why they’re right for the job. The normally sleepy race is attracting a lot of attention aswildfiresand inflation have caused a crisis in the state’s home insurance market — where coverage can be both difficult to obtain and costly.
California Insurance Commissioner Candidates Debate Solutions to Wildfire-Driven Crisis
News Home / Climate / News Apr 10, 2026 Save Article Failed to save article Please try again Email What remains of The Fox's Restaurant in downtown Altadena, after the Eaton Fire swept through the area northeast of Los Angeles, on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. In a charged race, candidates are making their case for soothing a shaky market amid wildfires and concerns about disaster insurance programs.
In 2026, the Bay Area Still Has Lots to Learn from ‘Silent Spring’
Science Home / Climate Apr 2, 2026 Updated 9:16 am PT Save Article Failed to save article Please try again Email American conservationist Rachel Carson (1907 - 1964) pours seed onto a birdbox in the United Kingdom, April 15, 1964. KQED takes on Carson's seminal work in the context of the MAHA movement, PFAS, climate change and more during a discussion at the Night of Ideas at the San Francisco Public Library on April 11.
Bay Area Brewery Pulls CO2 From the Air to Keep Beer Flowing
News Mar 26, 2026 Save Article Failed to save article Please try again Email Cans of Almanac Brewing's Flow beer produced using carbon dioxide captured by the Aircapture system at Almanac Adventureland and Brewery in Alameda on March 20, 2026. Almanac is believed to be the first brewery to carbonate its beverages with carbon dioxide caught directly from the outside air.
Read With KQED the Book That Changed How We See Nature
Mar 19, 2026 Failed to save article Please try again Read with us! KQED's Climate Book Club is taking up "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson. We will gather to discuss during the Night of Ideas at the San Francisco Public Library on April 11. Our guest speaker will be professor of law and the founding Director of the Environmental Law Clinic, Claudia Polsky.
California Condors Are Still Dying — Despite a Lead Ammo Ban
Mar 18, 2026 Failed to save article Please try again At Pinnacles National Park, male California condor 888 Cedric (wings outstretched), hangs out with female condors 966 Pixchi and 726 Little Stinker. All are part of the Ventana Wildlife Society's central California flock. New research reveals why the endangered birds remain at risk years after California banned lead ammunition. Exclusive to KQED.
California Condors Are Still Dying — Despite a Lead Ammo Ban
19 hours ago Take a look inside the historic open tryout for the Modesto Roadsters of the Pioneer Baseball League. Hopefuls participated at John Thurman field in front manager J.T. Snow and his coaching staff on Saturday, March 14, 2026.
Living With Fire: Inside Northern California’s First ‘Wildfire-Prepared Neighborhood’
Jan 23, 2026 Failed to save article Please try again Overhead shot of a newly completed model home in what will become Northern California’s first wildfire-prepared neighborhood. (Courtesy of Rachael Gauthier) “Fire-hardened homes are the future of the state of California,” said El Dorado County Supervisor George Turnboo. He bemoaned the plight of Caldor Fire survivors in his district who find insurance difficult to obtain — including himself.
New California Insurance Laws on the Books in 2026
Jan 12, 2026 Failed to save article Please try again The remains of a house in Altadena, California, after the Eaton Fire swept through the area northeast of Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 9, 2025. The new laws promote wildfire safety and consumer protections, with steps that increase transparency. (Beth LaBerge/KQED) Gov.
Maidu Tribes Reignite Ancestral Fire Stewardship in the Sierra Foothills
Jan 12, 2026 Failed to save article Please try again Participants in the prescribed burn add fuel to fires as part of a CAL-TREX prescribed burn in Berry Creek on Nov. 4, 2025. Amongst the ponderosa pines in California’s Butte County, Maidu women light fires not to destroy but to heal — restoring an ancient garden, and themselves. (Andri Tambunan for KQED) Fire, in this region of Northern California between Interstate 5 and the Sierra Nevada, is a defining problem of life.
Bay Area Climate Stories We’re Watching This Year
1 hour ago Deep inside the abandoned walls of Chernobyl’s reactor ruins, where radiation remains deadly to most life, a humble black fungus is quietly thriving. This is not a ghost of destruction—it’s a living, growing organism that appears to have adapted to one of the most hostile environments on Earth. The …
Stories That Stuck With Us This Year, Handpicked by the KQED Science Team
Dec 29, 2025 Failed to save article Please try again A sea otter surfaces in Elkhorn Slough, a protected estuary that provides critical habitat for the threatened species, on Sept. 16, 2025. Our science reporters recount stories they found especially memorable, thought-provoking or that changed how they thought about something. (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED) 2025 has been a year of upheaval.
‘Good Fire: Tending Native Lands’ Burns Bright at OMCA
Nov 13, 2025 Updated 3:33 pm PT Failed to save article Please try again Margo Robbins of the Cultural Fire Management Council leads firefighters as they light an Indigenous prescribed burn with bundles of wormwood in ceremony, near Weitchpec, CA. (Kiliii Yuyan) For anyone devastated or dismayed by the last decade of catastrophic megafires in California, there is no more hopeful story than that of Native Californians reviving their use of intentional, beneficial fire.
Coastal spiders
How to find them: To locate them, look for slopes covered in native plants. The spiders don’t care for European beachgrass or iceplant, originally from South Africa. The spiders pose no risk to humans, Jochim said. Though our activities can pose a risk to them. What they look like: Previously, these spiders — brown, cute and around the size of a quarter — were thought to be Aptostichus simus, a close relative and lookalike.
UC Davis Researchers Discover New Species of Coastal Spider, Just in Time for Halloween
Oct 29, 2025 Failed to save article Please try again Hidden beneath California’s coastal dunes, a newly identified spider species — Aptostichus ramirezae — reveals how evolution thrives even in fragile, shifting sands. (Courtesy of Emma Jochim/UC Davis) Previously, these spiders — brown, cute and around the size of a quarter — were thought to be Aptostichus simus, a close relative and lookalike.
California Takes Unprecedented Step of Killing 4 Endangered Wolves After Cattle Attacks
Oct 27, 2025 Updated 4:28 pm PT Failed to save article Please try again Gray wolves caught on a trail cam in the California backcountry. In a first under the California Endangered Species Act, state officials have lethally removed wolves amid growing tensions with ranchers in the rural northeast, where livestock attacks have become increasingly common.
How Ember Stomp Is Helping Marin Get Fire-Ready, 1 Go Bag at a Time
Oct 18, 2025 Failed to save article Please try again Attendees at Marin's Ember Stomp Festival mix with firefighters, nonprofits, businesses and local and state organizations to learn about preparing for wildfires on Sept. 6, 2025. Thousands gathered for hands-on wildfire safety demos, go-bag tips and live burn tests. (Terry Scussel/Fire Safe Marin) Children climbed up fire engines, gripped hoses, and fired bursts of water to knock down wooden flames in the windows of small model houses.
California Needs a New Approach to Wildfire Planning, Experts Say. Cost Is an Issue
Oct 15, 2025 Updated 3:44 pm PT Failed to save article Please try again Firefighters walk around what's left of a burned down home in Altadena, California, on Jan. 10, 2025, after the Eaton Fire destroyed much of the area. Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have pushed California toward more strategic planning to prevent the worst wildfire damage, saying it would cost too much unbudgeted money.
Will Newsom Sign California’s ‘Biggest Step’ Toward Saving Fire-Prone Neighborhoods?
Oct 10, 2025 Updated 12:17 pm PT Failed to save article Please try again The remains of a house in Altadena, California, after the Eaton Fire swept through the area northeast of Los Angeles, California, on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. A little-known bill will accelerate fire mitigation efforts by clearing space around housing across the state. (Beth LaBerge/KQED) In a year marked by the costliest California fires on record, state lawmakers sent a large package of wildfire bills to the governor’s desk.
CA glaciers
Repeat photography of East Lyell Glacier in Yosemite National Park. September 1883 versus September 2022. California's Sierra Nevada glaciers have remained intact for at least 10,000 years. New research shows they will vanish within decades. Why it matters: When the Sierra Nevada glaciers are all gone, as projected in 2100, the generation of kids living now will be the first humans ever to see the rocks below.
California’s Ancient Glaciers Are Melting Away for the First Time in Human History
Oct 1, 2025 Updated 11:06 am PT Failed to save article Please try again Repeat photography of East Lyell Glacier in Yosemite National Park. September 1883 versus September 2022. California's Sierra Nevada glaciers have remained intact for at least 10,000 years. New research shows they will vanish within decades.
A New Eye on Earth's Edge: UC Berkeley-Guided Space Telescope Has Liftoff
Sep 27, 2025 Failed to save article Please try again Engineers work in the Mission Operations Center at the Space Sciences Laboratory at UC Berkeley on Sept. 25, 2025. A UC Berkeley lab is controlling a NASA mission to study the farthest reaches of Earth’s atmosphere from afar.
Fiber optic cables could revolutionize earthquake detection and monitoring
Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism . Many of the world’s largest and most devastating earthquakes strike beneath the ocean, where the lack of sensors makes quick warnings difficult. Most monitoring stations are on land.
Fiber Optic Cables Could Revolutionize Earthquake Detection and Monitoring
Sep 25, 2025 Updated 11:53 am PT Failed to save article Please try again A fiber optic cable was brought ashore from the cable-laying ship Pleijel at the entrance to the port of Sassnitz on Nov. 29, 2023. A new study suggests using fiber optic cables on the ocean floor could track underwater fault ruptures and improve earthquake early warning systems. (Stefan Sauer/Picture Alliance via Getty Images) If the cable stretches due to earthquake movements, the light echoes change.
‘It Just Felt Like the World Was Burning’: Remembering the 2020 Fires
Alan MontecilloDanielle VentonAna De Almeida AmaralJessica Kariisa Sep 8, 2025 Failed to save article Please try again Matt Cowdrey, Mark Paiz and Kyle Ortega get ready to paddle out and surf Ocean Beach in San Francisco under an orange-red sky caused by wildfires on Sep. 9, 2020. (Beth LaBerge/KQED) In August 2020, a dry lightning storm kicked off an unprecedented siege of wildfires. These firestorms lasted for months, destroyed 9,000 structures and killed 31 people.
The Summer That Changed California Forever
Aug 23 Failed to save article Please try again While driving home to Sonoma County after a camping trip in Humboldt County, Nate Ericson captured a dramatic plume from the Mendocino Complex Fire rising into the sky. (Courtesy of Nate Ericson) Californians who lived through the 2020 fire siege — the state’s worst fire year on record by some measures — vividly remember the dry lightning storm of Aug. 15.
The Bay Area Weekend Warm-Up Isn’t a Heat Wave, Although It May Feel Like One
Aug 20 Failed to save article Please try again A view of the Monterey Peninsula on Sept. 25, 2012. Weather officials said the heat, which will bake Southern California this weekend, will feel more extreme in the Bay Area, which has acclimated to a summer chill. (Carol M. Highsmith/Buyenlarge/Getty Images) Along the coast should feel nice, Flynn said, with temperatures in the mid to upper 70s. Santa Cruz County and the San Francisco Peninsula are expected to have the mildest temperatures.
Judge Blocks FEMA From Diverting Funds From Landmark Disaster Preparedness Program
Aug 5 Failed to save article Please try again FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) Headquarters is seen in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 11, 2025. A Massachusetts judge has sided with California Attorney General Rob Bonta in a request blocking the Trump administration from gutting one of the nation’s most effective tools for preventing flood, earthquake and wildfire damage.
SoCal Edison’s Liability From the Eaton Fire Threatens to Gobble Up State’s Safety Fund
This article was first published by the nonprofit newsroom LAist on August 1, 2025 and is republished here with permission. California lawmakers are crafting legislation to replenish the state’s wildfire fund as Southern California Edison’s liabilities stemming from the Eaton Fire threaten to wipe it out.
In a Deadly Year for Whales, CA Considers Statewide Program to Slow Ships
Aug 3 Failed to save article Please try again A whale tale rising out of the water in the Santa Barbara Channel on May 1, 2025. The Blue Whales Blue Skies program incentivizes shipping companies to reduce speeds along California's coasts, an initiative that the state's lawmakers may soon adopt for all of its waters. (Photo courtesy of Adam Ernster) The Santa Barbara Channel is a gateway to many things.
Wildfire fund at risk
Edison faces liability: Last week, SoCal Edison announced it was creating a claims fund to have a pot of money to pay people impacted by the Eaton fire. While CalFire hasn’t officially ruled on the cause of the fire, the announcement is a reasonable signal that the utility thinks it started the fire. Wildfire fund at risk: The state’s wildfire insurance pool could be wiped out, putting all major California power companies in a vulnerable position.
SoCal Edison’s Liability From the Eaton Fire Threatens to Gobble Up State’s Safety Fund
Aug 1 Failed to save article Please try again Fire destruction in downtown Altadena, after the Eaton Fire swept through the area northeast of Los Angeles, on Jan. 9, 2025. California lawmakers are crafting legislation to replenish the state’s wildfire fund in preparation. (Beth LaBerge/KQED) Last week, SoCal Edison announced it was creating a claims fund to have a pot of money to pay people impacted by the Eaton fire.
Climate survey
A sunbather in Santa Monica watches a large plume of smoke rise from what would become the Palisades Fire. Read on ... to hear what researchers found surprising and for more findings from the survey. Housing and climate: Out of roughly 1,700 respondents polled earlier this month, 60% said they were very concerned that home insurance will become more expensive, and almost as many said they will be unable to obtain home insurance due to climate change risks.
Californians Are Worried About Wildfire and Growing Costs of Climate Change
Jul 25 Failed to save article Please try again Tree stumps fill the front yard of a home on the San Juan Ridge near Nevada City, California, on June 27, 2023, after crews were hired to create defensible space to help protect the home from wildfire. A new survey shows state residents believe climate change poses a personal and financial risk, and they want more action from the government — though cost is a concern.
Bonta Sues Trump (Again), This Time for Torching Disaster Prep in Crisis-Prone Summer
Jul 18 Failed to save article Please try again A Chevron gas station in Altadena, California, after the Eaton Fire swept through the area northeast of Los Angeles, California, on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025.
A New Camera, Built in the Bay Area, Brings the Mysteries of the Universe Into Focus
Jun 24 Failed to save article Please try again Over the next decade, the Vera C. Rubin observatory, equipped with a giant camera built at SLAC in Menlo Park, will find billions of new stars, galaxies and asteroids, and shed light on dark matter and dark energy.
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