SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Leaves rustled as Mike Cirone reached into a tree and gently picked an apple. The orchard was filled with a profusion of ripe fruit in shades from golden-green to pinkish red.

But unlike other crops that guzzle water from canals and wells, this bounty of apples grew on its own without irrigation.

Cirone specializes...Read more

After five straight years of troubling data on the population of young rockfish in the Chesapeake Bay, Maryland officials plan to enact emergency regulations canceling this spring’s trophy season for recreational anglers.

The rules would eliminate the once exciting two weeks each spring when anglers targeted large fish swimming up the bay to ...Read more

DETROIT — A new quarter-mile stretch of road in Detroit can charge electric vehicles as they zoom down the street — a first in the nation, according to project leaders.

The Michigan Transportation Department and city of Detroit on Wednesday opened the segment on 14th Street between Marantette and Dalzelle streets near Michigan Central ...Read more

World leaders are gearing up for COP28, an annual U.N. climate conference that will begin this week in Dubai, and California is expected to play a sizable role in the proceedings.

Representatives from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration will attend and speak on the Golden State’s progress toward clean energy goals, zero-emission vehicles and...Read more

Israel’s President Isaac Herzog is planning a quick visit to Dubai later this week to take part in COP28, the United Nations climate talks, several people familiar with the situation said.

It will be his first trip abroad since the war with Hamas erupted last month. The plans are subject to last-minute changes if there are significant ...Read more

Gov. Gavin Newsom has been positioning himself as a global climate leader this year, evangelizing California environmentalism in China and at the United Nations. But at home, he is increasingly at loggerheads with leading environmentalists.

Environmental groups and tribes say the governor’s plan to protect water supply from climate change ...Read more

From its sprawling, 1,500-worker studio headquarters in Chester County, Pennsylvania, QVC and its affiliates developed home-shopping TV, packing channels for more than 30 years with live hosts and celebrities pitching clothing, kitchen goods, electronics, jewelry, and many other products to millions of viewers and filling their orders from ...Read more

KENSINGTON, Minnesota — Just over 5 miles from where folklore has long claimed Vikings scribbled Scandinavian etchings on a runestone, Erica Sawatzke surveys thousands of chirping baby birds in her long barn.

Automatic feed and water lines hum. A monitoring system — hooked up to a landline — alerts Sawatzke's phone when barn temperatures,...Read more

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are over, but the holiday shopping season is still in full swing.

Here are three more gadgets I’ve been reviewing that I think would make nice gifts.

The prices listed here are manufacturers suggested retail pricing, and you may find them cheaper when you shop.

Laifen Swift High-Speed Hair Dryer

You probably ...Read more

Gamers love to gear up and snatch any piece of equipment that will help them beat a final boss or help with their stats in online competition. The problem gift buyers face is that there are a dizzying array of controllers, headsets and gadgets on the market.

Here’s a guide that helps you cut through those options in hopes of finding the ...Read more

As a follow up to last week’s guide to USB chargers and cables, a reader asked the following question, “Do older Apple devices have the software that allows them to regulate the amount of power provided by today’s more powerful chargers? Can those higher-powered chargers harm older devices?”

The answer is pretty simple.

USB chargers ...Read more

As an iPad user for years, I’ve let my finger do the swiping, even if a stylus pencil was always an option. Zagg has changed it for me with their new Pro Stylus 2, a cutting-edge device that makes using the large touchscreen much more efficient.

Granted, if you have never used a stylus, it will take some getting used to, but not more than a...Read more

Japan releases plenty of role-playing games, but few have the staying power of “Persona 5.” Although this entry to the long-running series is 7 years old, fans can’t get enough of Joker and the other Phantom Thieves. The title has spawned several spin-offs including several anime series, a rhythm game and an action RPG.

Now, some of the...Read more

BOISE, Idaho — A group of environmental organizations has submitted a petition to the federal government to ban wolf killing by shooting from helicopters, calling the practice “barbaric.”

The Center for Biological Diversity, Western Watersheds Project and International Wildlife Coexistence Network in Tuesday news releases said they were ...Read more

This summer’s oxygen-poor “dead zone” in the Chesapeake Bay was the smallest since scientists started monitoring it in 1985, according to estimates by researchers in Maryland and Virginia.

The good news for the bay could reflect the lower-than-average rainfall in the bay watershed this year, experts said. Rainwater carries pollutants into...Read more

SpaceX chalked up another Starlink mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to mark the Space Coast’s 66th launch of the year.

A Falcon 9 with 23 of the company’s Starlink internet satellites lifted off from Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 11:20 p.m. Monday.

The booster flew for the 17th time, the third time SpaceX has ...Read more

In recent months, East Coast states’ plans to install massive new offshore wind farms have been battered by bad economic news, canceled contracts and newfound uncertainty about the projects officials are counting on to reach their clean energy goals.

Despite the setbacks, state leaders say they don’t intend to dial back their offshore wind ...Read more

Activists from Greenpeace International have boarded a ship that is conducting deep sea mining research in the Pacific Ocean, vowing to occupy the vessel until it abandons the expedition.

It’s the latest collision between a nascent industry intent on mining the seabed for minerals potentially worth trillions of dollars, and environmentalists...Read more