Go Daddy founder and CEO Bob Parsons went on a little hunting trip recently. Parsons, who has been to Africa a number of times on similar hunting trips, was ostensibly working with a tribe in Zimbabwe who had been having trouble with elephants raiding their crops. In an interview with AOL, he said... more ›

California Governor Jerry Brown is expected to announce soon that our state's drought is over, thanks to a season of heavy rains. "Brown is expected to lift the state's 3-year-old drought declaration Wednesday, when the next snow survey is conducted," according to the LA Times. more ›

The largest zoo community in the world recently molted their old branding for a wild new look. The San Diego Zoo -- home to over 4,000 rare and endangered animals representing more than 800 species and subspecies, and a prominent botanical collection with more than 700,000 exotic plants (think Dr. Seuss -- Theodor Geisel is said to have spent many hours in the cactus garden sketching and drawing) -- also operates the San Diego Zoo Wild Animal Park (re-named Safari Park) and the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research. more ›

Welcome to the center of the sun. It might look like Southern California but it's not. It's the sun. And you live here now. But despite the ungodly hotness of the 100+ temperatures expected today, the DWP is urging people to conserve energy. more ›

Under new rules approved by the Board of Water and Power Commissioners today, Angelenos could be soon allowed to water three days a week instead of the two currently allowed. more ›

Angelenos are reacting to the hotter temperatures today by using more energy. So much, in fact, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power sent out a note urging conservation. "Any time energy demand exceeds this level we need to begin conserving wherever possible, while not jeopardizing anyone's health or safety," said Raman Raj, LADWP Chief Operating Officer. "Saving power not only conserves energy but also reduces the possibility of strain on power system infrastructure." Today, energy demand reached 5,268 megawatts. Tomorrow, when temperatures will exceed 100 degrees in the Valley, it's expected to reach up to 5,600. more ›

Tuesday was a big day for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. The City Council approved a proposal to let homeowners water their lawns three times a week instead of two days a week while the utility's leadership skipped out on a meeting to discuss a report that accused the agency of lying. more ›

Which days Angelenos water their lawns may soon be determined by their street address. In a proposal to be considered by the Los Angeles City Council today, officials may change the water conservation ordinance to give the system more daily use, which will not increase total usage. more ›

The L.A. Department of Water and Power today are applauding Angelenos for record breaking water use. In February, customers used water equivalent to the amount used in 1979. “Our customers’ ability to reach 1970s water use levels at a time when our City’s population has grown by more than a million people is truly remarkable,” said Lee Kanon Alpert, President of the Board of Water and Power Commissioners. more ›

A small pilot project in Palm Springs and Cathedral City last year gave 35 homeowners free water controllers, which resulted in 2.5 million gallons in water savings, decreasing their bills by more than a quarter. Now more are being given away, the Desert Sun reported earlier this month. more ›

The end of Daylight Savings Time means more than just gaining an extra hour of sleep. To many, it's changing out fire alarm batteries and checking up on earthquake supplies. And now with water and energy conservation as a big theme in L.A., the LADWP is advising the public to not forget about adjusting automatic sprinklers as it could save you a citation. And considering that sunset will be at 5 p.m. tonight, you might want to change your lighting timer. more ›

Earlier today, we told you about the Gibbon Research Center up in Santa Clarita (they're having a vegan breakfast fundraiser on Sunday morning) where every morning, they sing--it's a territorial thing. On a recent visit to the center, we were very lucky to hear them for about 20 minutes and got a little of it on video. more ›

Los Angeles City Councilman Greig smith has brought up some legitimate points in the recent drought-related debates, but his most recent announcement about his scofflaw watering may be pushing it. Yesterday at a committee meeting, the Northwest Valley representative said he was challenging the current water laws by watering his lawn three times a week for 8 minutes. "And my grass is greener than it's ever been, and I bet I'm using less water," he said. more ›

As firefighters get an upper hand on the Station Fire in portions of Acton, officials with the L.A. Department of Water & Power feel relieved enough to announce a decreased threat to two of their 500 KV lines. If those lines were to be cut off from the city's power grid, there was the potential of blackouts due to the mixture of hot weather with increased power consumption and reserve power plants not being able to handle that demand on energy. more ›

Officials with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa tell NBC4 that the illegal use of sprinkers at his city-owned mansion, The Getty House in Windsor Square, was probably due to "a program malfunction" and now has been fixed. They thanked NBC4 for pointing out the problem and has the Department of Parks and Recreation "double-checking the sprinkler system to make sure it's working right." The good news is that the city has reduced water and energy consumption in record breaking numbers. Despite the illegal sprinkler goof, the announcements help him with his goal of making Los Angeles "the greenest big city in America.” more ›

For the second month in a row, Los Angeles as a whole--residents, businesses, government--have reduced water usage to record breaking levels, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced today. Major strides in energy savings have also been made this year. more ›

Although he tells the denizens of Los Angeles to cut down on their water use or face fines and higher bills, Mayor Villaraigosa's city-owned mansion has had its lawn watered during illegal hours several times, NBC's Joel Grover found in a month long investigation. more ›

After eight and a half years of nine-to-five work and three Spiderman franchises, Ian Shive had enough. Like most us, we all wish we could just grab a camera and travel to earn a living. But like most of us, we don't. Shive is the exception. more ›

The LADWP took notice of last week's "Comment of the Week" about breaking city water conservation rules in order to sustainably grow your own veggies. They say it's doable, so take listen up, says spokesman Brooks Baker in an e-mail: more ›

In a discussion about the upcoming trend (and hopefully long-term habit) of residents taking part in urban farming and apartment gardening, commenter trishells points out her illegal use of water under current city ordinances. However, she has a great point: more ›

Water use by Los Angeles residents and businesses were down by 11% in June when compared to June 2008 making it the lowest demand in 32 years, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power announced today. June 1st of this year marked the beginning of a new water conservation law aimed mainly at sprinkler usage, limiting it to certain hours on Mondays and Thursdays, and a new "shortage year" rate structure. more ›

Faced with multiple drought years and the fact that 85% of Los Angeles' water is imported, Los Angeles and other cities are taking a hard look at every way to conserve and curb water use. A new city ordinance was voted on unanimously by the City Council this morning and will be sent to Mayor Villaraigosa for a signature. The ordinance, brought forth by Councilmembers Eric Garcetti and Jan Perry, will set new water efficiency guidelines for toilets, urinals, faucets, showerheads, dishwashers, single-pass cooling systems, and cooling towers in new buildings and for the replacement of broken fixtures in existing buildings. It would save an estimated average of 1 billion gallons of water per year over the next 20 years. That's almost like if no one flushed a toilet in Los Angeles for over a month! The specifics of the ordinance are below: more ›

A city proposal could do just that. Smart Sprinklers, as explained by the Catalina Island Conservancy's Isla Earth podcast, works like this: "a weather-based controller starts talking to your local weather station. It gets data about things like rainfall, air temperature, and wind speed. It then uses those data to figure out how much water your plants will need and how much will be lost to evaporation. It turns on the sprinklers to deliver just the right amount." more ›

Here's what a citation from the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power looks like. Luckily, if its your first time, there's no monetary punishment, just a conversation with a conservation team member, which could be its own sort of punishment depending on who you are. If they visit you again, you're looking at $100 or more. more ›

It's been proposed and pooh-poohed by the public before, but considering our drought, does treating sewage so it's drinkable gaining more public consensus in Los Angeles? It already has in Orange County at the world's largest modern reclamation plant that serves many of the county's residents. more ›

You've probably seen this happen: it's raining, yet the sprinklers are working hard in a city park. Not such a smart idea in a drought, or anytime actually. This past week, new sprinkler regulations went into affect (.pdf info sheet), only allowing sprinkling use on Mondays and Thursdays and not between the times of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. For a few years now, there's been a more advanced sprinkler that knows the weather so if it's raining, it knows not to turn on. The Isla Earth podcast from the Catalina Island Conservancy explained in an older episode: more ›

The moment the new water laws hit Monday, it's like the LA Department of Water & Power went bonkers with water conservation ideas. Today is a new door hanger program, in which the the hangers were given to the public via their print newspaper subscriptions. "LADWP door hangers are designed to help customers encourage their neighbors not to waste water and to avoid fines associated with violations of the City’s Water Conservation Ordinance," they explain. "On one side of the door hanger is a list of four common wasteful water practices, with a checkbox for each prohibited use. Neighbors, when they spot water being wasted on a neighbor’s property, can select the box or boxes that apply and leave the hanger anonymously on the neighbor’s door." Those four common wasteful practices are: excess water flowing over pavement and into gutters during irrigation or car washing, sprinklers are on more than twice a week, sprinklers are on during the day, broken or leaky sprinkler. You can also obtain them at any of the 14 LADWP Customer Service Centers. more ›

Hello, June. Today means two basic new water rules. Firstly, no using sprinklers on days other than Monday and Thursdays. Easy enough, right? Well, if you're the tattling type and catch a neighbor breaking the new law, you can contact the LA Department of Water & Power's drought buster unit at (800) DIAL-DWP or via e-mail at waterconservationteam@ladwp.com. Also, new rates begin today trying to get people to reduce use by 15%. If not, you could be charged more. It's based on tiers, not what your average use has been over the last year so in theory, you're current habits may already be 15% under what they're looking for. Confused? Here's their Fact Sheet (.pdf) and their FAQ sheet (.pdf). more ›

Beginning Monday, mandatory water conservation in Los Angeles begins. That means things like a different rate structure (.pdf) and a stricter sprinkler ordinance (.pdf). Speaking to watering lawns, which consumes the most amount of water in households, homeowners don't necessarily have to sprinkle anything. Isla Earth, the daily podcast from the Catalina Island Conservancy explains some xeriscaping basics in an episode from 2007 that are still relevant today: more ›