"Latinos and African Americans make up a disproportionately high percentage of the population of California ZIP Codes most burdened by pollution, according to a report released Friday by state environmental officials."

"President Obama on Tuesday will use his executive powers to expand the California Coastal National Monument by adding the Point Arena-Stornetta Public Lands on the Mendocino County coast."

"San Francisco moved to restrict the sale of plastic water bottles on city property on Tuesday, the first such action by a major U.S. municipality and the latest in a string of waste-reduction measures that included a ban on plastic grocery bags."

"A dozen years ago, neighborhoods around Riverside, an hour’s drive east of Los Angeles, had the nation’s worst soot: Every three days, on average, the air was declared unhealthful, and people were breathing twice as many microscopic particles as deemed safe."

"Brewers around the country boast that their 'pure' local water is the key to their beers' unique flavor. Coors credits the trout streams of the Rockies. Olympia  Beer's slogan is, 'It's the water.' Cold Spring Brewing Co., in Minnesota, is named for a nearby natural spring."

"MATHER, Calif. -- Describing the drought as a 'call to action,' Gov. Jerry Brown joined Democratic legislative leaders Wednesday to unveil a $687.4 million package aimed at helping California get through its water crisis and better prepare for the next one."

"RICHMOND, Calif. – On Aug. 6, 2012, Courtney Cummings and her family were in their front yard when a massive fire erupted just six blocks away. 'There was a big boom,' she said. 'I got really scared. I saw this big fireball go in the air and we all took off running into the house.'"

"FRESNO, Calif. — President Obama arrived in the heart of California’s parched farmland on Friday afternoon to offer tens of millions of dollars in federal assistance to the state, where the lack of rain and snow this winter has led to the severest drought in its modern history."

"LOS ANGELES — California is lining up to become the largest state to ban the sale of cosmetic products, such as facial scrubs, containing tiny plastic beads that find their way into waterways and the ocean."

"WASHINGTON -- Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer proposed emergency drought legislation Tuesday ahead of President Obama's planned visit to Fresno, as Democrats scrambled to counter GOP charges that trying to save rivers and fish during California's historic drought is destroying the nation's chief source of fruits and vegetables."