"The California Air Resources Board said on Tuesday it rejected Volkswagen AG's (VOWG_p.DE) plan to fix 2.0 liter diesel cars equipped with software that allows them to emit up to 40 times legally allowable pollution."

"California governor’s state-of-emergency declaration includes requirement that gas utility pay to fully mitigate the leak's emissions of methane."

"Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday ordered new regulations, including stepped-up inspections and safety measures, for all natural gas storage facilities in California in response to the continuing leak that has displaced thousands of people in the Porter Ranch neighborhood of Los Angeles."

"After a year of hype and hope, El Niño's punch is finally arriving in California, bringing a series of storms to soak the Bay Area and most of the rest of the drought-stricken state through this week and probably into next."

"Few in agriculture have shaped the debate over water more than the several hundred owners of an arid finger of farmland west of Fresno."

"The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of the Justice have reached a $22-million settlement to clean up a former industrial site 10 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles."

"With California working to list atrazine as toxic to the reproductive system, three of the United States' most-widely used pesticides are under fire for adverse health effects."

"A series of powerful snowstorms in the Sierra Nevada has resulted in a small milestone in drought-stricken California: The snowpack is now higher than average for this time of year."

"Last weekend, representatives of 195 countries reached a landmark accord in Paris to lower planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. On Tuesday, local leaders in San Diego committed to making a city-size dent in the problem."