• Jacoba Charles

    is an environmental consultant and science writer. Her first article, at age eight, was about the behavior of ducks as observed from the roof of her family’s barn. It went unpublished. She later received Masters degrees from the Columbia Schools of Journalism and Earth and Environmental Science. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Salon, Modern Farmer, Bay Nature, Estuary News, and many more publications—including literary magazines and CEQA documents. Her botany blog can be found at flowersofmarin.com and her website is jacobacharles.com. A sixth-generation Sonoma County resident, she divides her time between Petaluma and her family home near the Gualala River.

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Heatwave in 2023 sends locals to Crown Beach in Alameda.

When Hot Gets Hotter

Recent research from UC Berkeley’s David Romps explores how extreme heat and humidity push the body to its physiological limits.... Read more.
Rain gardens in San Francisco corridor that help manage 1.2 million gallons of stormwater each year. Photo: SFPUC.

Being Human in Big Weather

When it rained this May, it felt unexpected. Based on over 150 years of climate data for San Francisco, May typically gets several days with a light rain. But c... Read more.
Hairy woodpecker after Sierra Rim Fire. Photo: Ken Etzel.

Burns for the Birds

Scientists examined islands of near-total deforestation after fires and found new landscapes born from the scorched earth. They also found birds hunting for see... Read more.