California may pay farmers not to plant crops | Journalist covering climate change ed. to speak at Chico State | State task force decides reparations eligibility

By Angel Huracha,

Published March 30, 2022 at 8:44 AM PDT

The latest North State and California news on our airwaves for Wednesday, March 30.

California plan would pay farmers to let fields go fallow

Under a recent proposal, the state would pay farmers not to plant thousands of acres of fields to allow more water to flow into the state’s rivers. According to The Associated Press, the $2.9 billion agreement was signed Tuesday by state and federal officials as well as large water agencies, who would all be responsible for making the payments to farmers.

According to The AP, some environmental groups have criticized the agreement, saying that the water that would be conserved under this proposal is only about half of what’s needed. Gov. Gavin Newsom said the agreement demonstrates California’s ability to balance healthy ecosystems with a healthy economy. The AP reports that state water regulators must still sign the agreement for it to move forward.

— Adia White, NSPR

Climate education journalist to speak at Chico State

When it comes to slowing the effects of human-caused climate change, an important factor is the way we teach students about it. Katie Worth is an investigative journalist who has covered the ways climate change is discussed in schools, including at Chico Junior High School, where she once attended. She said despite California's requirements that climate change be taught in middle school science classes, a student's education can vary.

"Kids in Chico are learning about it in middle school,” she said. “That's not to say that they're necessarily learning a lot about it, right. But if they're lucky enough to have a good teacher, they are."

While it's required to cover climate change in classes, Worth said that education is sometimes limited and teachers may face push back from school leadership and other faculty. She said most teachers nationwide only spent one to two hours a year covering climate change.

Worth will be speaking about her reporting at Chico State in Colusa Hall tonight at 6 p.m.

— Alec Stutson, NSPR

California’s task force on reparations decides who would be eligible

The first-in-the-nation task force decided Tuesday that state reparations for African Americans should be based on lineage rather than race — meaning African American descendants of enslaved people.

Proponents of the lineage-based criteria say Black people who migrated to the United States after the 19th century didn’t share the trauma of those who were kidnapped and enslaved. They also argue this approach has the best chance of surviving court challenges.

Opponents say not only is it difficult to prove lineage, but all Black people in the U.S. have suffered from systemic racism.

The task force did open eligibility for descendants of Black people who were free before the 20th century.

— CapRadio Staff

Interview: Californians lag in voluntary water conservation

The drought message in California is beginning to take on a more serious tone as it’s unlikely there will be a ‘miracle March’ to break the record-setting dry spell.

Gov. Gavin Newsom is now officially leaning on water agencies to advocate for more conservation.

But will Californians listen? So far, the conservation rate this year has been troubling for those tracking the problem.

One of those people is Dr. Sonali Abraham, a research associate at the Pacific Institute, a California-based non-profit studying global water issues. Abraham spoke with CapRadio’s Randol White. Listen to the interview in today’s Headlines.