A new threat looms for the San Francisco Bay

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Dec 3, 2013

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A new threat looms for the San Francisco Bay

Now we head north, where the San Francisco Bay finally recovering from 150 years of mining pollution.

The San Francisco Bay is ground zero for a struggle between developers and state agencies over construction on shoreline property, where climate scientists predict sea level rises will have dramatic effects.

Now we head north, where the San Francisco Bay finally recovering from 150 years of mining pollution.

When miners started blasting the Sierra Nevada during the Gold Rush, it sent millions of tons of mud, dirt and gravel downstream to this shallow body of water. A century and a half later, that silt has finally washed out to the ocean and the bay's waters are getting clearer.

But now those clear waters are causing another problem for the bay's ecosystem. Paul Rogers, the environmental writer for the San Jose Mercury News, is here to tell us more.