Latest news with #PacificGas&ElectricCompany
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Yahoo
California Residents Mystified by 'Inexplicable' Exploding Birds Epidemic, While Authorities Suggest Foul Play
Residents in the Richmond Bay Area community of Richmond, California, have reported multiple birds found dead, suggesting that they were exploding While many witnesses believe the animals were electrocuted after a security camera captured one falling from a power line, officials reportedly concluded that the injuries were similar to those from a BB gun, pellet gun, or slingshot gun The cause of the injuries is yet to be finally determined, with investigations still ongoing Residents of a neighborhood in the Bay Area community of Richmond, northeast of San Francisco, have reported cases of exploding birds, according to multiple outlets, including ABC News. ABC News notes that many birds have been found deceased on the street in the Bay Area, with one filmed fatally dropping from a power line following a pop sound. Newsweek notes that over 50 birds have been found dead. Per ABC7News, resident Maximilian Bolling said. "It's very traumatic," while neighbor Heather Jones added, "It's a mystery -- that's how we all feel. It's inexplicable." The Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that officers were called to the 6100 block of Bernhard Avenue on April 26 after a report that 'multiple birds were possibly electrocuted when they landed on a power line," according to the outlet. "On Saturday, April 26, 2025, at about 5:00 pm, Contra Costa deputy sheriffs were dispatched to the 6100 block of Bernhard Avenue in unincorporated Richmond for a report of a suspicious circumstance,' the statement read. 'A resident reported multiple birds were possibly electrocuted when they landed on a power line.' PEOPLE has contacted the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office, the Pacific Gas & Electric Company, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife for comment, but did not immediately hear back. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. However, according to ABC News, officials have hinted at foul play after releasing the necropsy results of two deceased birds. The outlet reports that the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's Wildlife Health Lab concluded that a deceased mourning dove and European starling had injuries that were similar to wounds from BB guns, pellet guns, or slingshot guns, rather than injuries from power lines though the cause of the deaths is yet the be finally determined. The Pacific Gas & Electric Company also reportedly claimed that there was no evidence that the fatalities were caused by electrocution. "We appreciate the concern of our customers in Richmond about the recent series of bird deaths. We have asked the California Department of Fish & Wildlife to evaluate several of the bird corpses," Pacific Gas & Electric Company said in a statement, per ABC7. They also shared that the birds show no evidence of electrocution, and that their deaths appeared to be caused by trauma, potentially from a pellet or BB gun, or a slingshot. They added, "PG&E does not believe that there was an issue with our electrical equipment and agrees that these birds were not electrocuted. Neighbors have asked the Contra County Sheriff's Office to look into this situation. The pole at issue is compliant with avian safe standards, as established by the Avian Powerline Interaction Committee." is now available in the Apple App Store! Download it now for the most binge-worthy celeb content, exclusive video clips, astrology updates and more! Witness Mark Hoehner told ABC7News that the phenomenon 'sounded like a firecracker," and a "black bird-a starling-just plummeted to the ground" after the noise. "I've been under the birds when it happens, and I know where the sound is coming from. It's coming from up on the pole,' he added. Read the original article on People
Metro
13-05-2025
- Metro
Town horrified by mystery of 'exploding' birds found dead in their gardens
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video From bird poo making a mess of clean cars and cawing waking people up in the early hours, there will always be times where birds cause a bit of a nuisance. But residents in a neighbourhood of Richmond, California have been left horrified after several birds have been found dead in their gardens. Even worse, not only are the birds dying, but it appears they could even be 'exploding' before falling to their deaths. Maximillian Bolling and his neighbours have counted at least 13 birds who have met a violent and so far unexplained end – but some residents estimate more than 50 birds have died in this way. He told US television station KGO-TV the birds seem to be dying after perching on a specific part of a power line, adding 'when they land and it happens, they just quickly explode and it's really violent'. Doorbell video footage appeared to catch one of the bird deaths in action. The audio recorded a loud 'pop' before a bird was seen falling lifeless to the ground as passersby gasp at the sight. Locals likened the 'pop' sound to the sound of a BB gun or firecracker going off. Mark Hoehner, who saw one of the incidents a few months ago, said: 'It sounded like a firecracker, and a black bird – a starling – just plummeted to the ground. 'I've been under the birds when it happens, and I know where the sound is coming from. It's coming from up on the pole.' The violent circumstances have led residents to assume the power lines were in some way responsible for the bird deaths – but the California Department of Fish & Wildlife has examined two bird corpses and found no evidence of electrocution, it's been claimed. The Pacific Gas & Electric Company, which provides power to residents and businesses in the area, insist their pole and power lines are 'compliant' with bird safety standards. A spokesperson said: 'We appreciate the concern of our customers in Richmond about the recent series of bird deaths. 'We have asked the California Department of Fish & Wildlife to evaluate several of the bird corpses. 'They have shared that the birds show no evidence of electrocution, and that their deaths were caused by trauma, potentially from a pellet or BB gun or a slingshot. 'PG&E does not believe that there was an issue with our electrical equipment and agrees that these birds were not electrocuted. 'Neighbors have asked the Contra County Sheriff's Office to look into this situation. 'The pole at issue is compliant with avian safe standards, as established by the Avian Powerline Interaction Committee.' The Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office said in a statement: 'On Saturday, April 26, 2025, at about 5:00 pm, Contra Costa deputy sheriffs were dispatched to the 6100 block of Bernhard Avenue in unincorporated Richmond for a report of a suspicious circumstance. 'A resident reported multiple birds were possibly electrocuted when they landed on a power line. 'A report was made and PG&E was requested to respond to the location to inspect the powerlines.' Regardless of the cause, residents want action to be taken to avoid the needless deaths of more birds in future. They've been posting signs on poles issuing warnings about the danger, and asking neighbours to document any further bird deaths they may witness. 'We just want it solved at the end of the day,' Maximillian added. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Full list of JCPenney stores closing this month MORE: Urgent recall for sandwiches and snacks over listeria outbreak with 10 hospitalized in US MORE: Safari tourist on nighttime walk trampled to death by elephants
Sky News
12-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Sky News
Erin Brockovich: 'My chiropractor saw mud on my stiletto - I said, I've been collecting dead frogs'
Erin Brockovich says a chance conversation about a muddy stiletto with her chiropractor led to the making of the award-winning film about her life. The climate activist, who was played by Julia Roberts in the movie, told Sky News: "My girlfriend, who was a chiropractor, was giving me a chiropractic adjustment and asked me why I had mud on my stilettos. "I said, 'Oh, I've been collecting dead frogs'. She goes, 'What is wrong with you?' So, I started telling her what I was doing." Then just a junior paralegal, Brockovich was in fact pulling together evidence that would see her emerge victorious from one of the largest cases of water contamination in US history in Hinkley, California. Her hard work would see her win a record settlement from Pacific Gas & Electric Company - $333m (£254m) - but that was all still to come. Little did Brockovich know, but her tale of a muddy stiletto would get back to actor Danny DeVito and his Jersey Films producing partner Michael Schamburg, and through them to the film's director Steven Soderbergh. Brockovich says Soderbergh was "wowed" by what he heard. She says he realised her image "was something that Hollywood might be drawn to that I was never thinking of - the short skirt, the attitude, the big bust, the stilettos, the backcombed hair. Somehow, it came together." 'I was always going to be misunderstood' Released in 2000, the powerful story of one woman's fight for justice made Brockovich a household name, and the film won actress Julia Roberts an Oscar. Now, 25 years on, Brockovich says she believes her legal victory was helped in part by an unlikely ally - her learning difficulty. Brockovich says: "Had I not been dyslexic, I might have missed Hinkley." Recently named a global ambassador for charity Made By Dyslexia, she's been aware of her learning differences since childhood and still struggles today. She says "moments of low self-esteem" still "creep back in", and she long ago accepted "I was always going to be misunderstood". But for Brockovich, recognising her dyslexic strengths while working in Hinkley proved a pivotal moment: "My observations are wickedly keen. I feel like a human radar some days… Things you might not see as a pattern, I recognise. There are things that intuitively, I absolutely know. "It will take me some time in my visual patterns of what I'm seeing, how to organise that. And it was in Hinkley that that moment happened for me because it was so omnipresent [and] in my face. Everything that should have been normal was not." 'A huge perfect storm' Brockovich paints a bleak picture of what she saw in the small town: "The trees were secreting poison, the cows were covered in tumours, the chickens had wry neck [a neurological condition that causes the head to tilt abnormally], the people were sick and unbeknown to them, I knew they were all having the exact same health patterns. To the green water, to the two-headed frog, all of that was just I was like on fire, like electricity going, 'Oh my gosh, what's going on out here?'" She describes it as "a huge, perfect storm that came together for me in Hinkley". But a side effect of the movie - overnight global fame - wasn't always easy to deal with. Brockovich calls it "scary," admitting, "when the film first came out the night of the premiere, I was literally shaking so bad, I was so overwhelmed, that Universal Studios said, 'If we can't get you to calm down, I think we need to take you home'. It was a lot". Brockovich says she kept grounded by staying focused on her work, her family and her three children. With Hollywood not always renowned for its faithful adherence to fact, Brockovich says the film didn't whitewash the facts. "I think they really did a good job at pointing out our environmental issues. Hollywood can do that, they can tell a good story. And I'm glad it was not about fluff and glamour. I'm glad it was about a subject that oftentimes we don't want to talk about. Water pollution, environmental damage. People being poisoned." 'Defend ourselves against environmental assaults' While environmental awareness is now part of the daily conversation in a way it wasn't a quarter of a century ago, the battle to protect the climate is far from over. Just last month, Donald Trump laid out plans to slash over 30 climate and environmental regulations as part of an ongoing effort to boost US industries from coal to manufacturing and ramp up oil and minerals production. In response, Brockovich says, "We're not going to stop it, but we can defend against these environmental assaults. "We can do better with infrastructure. We can do better on a lot of policy-making. I think there's a moment here. We have to do that because the old coming into the new isn't working. "I've recognised the patterns for 30-plus years, we just keep doing the same thing over and over and over and over again, expecting a different result. "For me, sometimes it's like, 'Oh my gosh, just get your ego out of the way'. We have to accept that this might be something greater than us, but we can certainly defend ourselves and protect ourselves and prepare ourselves better so we can get through that storm." You can listen to Brockovich speaking about her dyslexia with Made By Dyslexia founder Kate Griggs on the first episode of the new season of the podcast Lessons In Dyslexic Thinking, wherever you get your podcasts.
CNN
13-02-2025
- Business
- CNN
This alien-like field of mirrors in the desert was once the future of solar energy. It's closing after just 11 years
From a distance, the Ivanpah solar plant looks like a shimmering lake in the Mojave Desert. Up close, it's a vast alien-like installation of hundreds of thousand of mirrors pointed at three towers, each taller than the Statue of Liberty. When this plant opened near the California-Nevada border in early 2014, it was pitched as the future of solar power. Just over a decade later, it's closing. The plant's co-owner NRG Energy announced in January it was unwinding contracts with power companies and, subject to regulatory approval, would begin closing the plant in early 2026, readying the site to potentially be repurposed for a new kind of solar energy. For some, Ivanpah now stands as a huge, shiny monument to wasted tax dollars and environmental damage — campaign groups long criticized the plant for its impact on desert wildlife. For others, failures like this are a natural part of the race to find the winning solutions for the clean energy transition. When Ivanpah was conceived, its technology, called concentrated solar or thermal solar, was considered a potential breakthrough. It works like this: Hundreds of thousands of computer-controlled mirrors called 'heliostats' track the sun and concentrate its rays onto three towers, each around 450 feet tall and topped with water-filled boilers. The sun's hyper-concentrated energy turns this water to steam, which drives a turbine to create electricity. One of the key selling points of this solar technology is the ability to store heat, allowing the production of electricity at night or when the sun isn't shining without needing batteries. The project got buy-in from the government with $1.6 billion in Department of Energy loan guarantees, and from utilities Pacific Gas & Electric Company and Southern California Edison, which both entered long-term agreements to buy Ivanpah's power. In 2014, it started commercial operations as the world's largest solar thermal plant, spread across around 5 square miles of federal desert. 'This project is a symbol of the exciting progress we are seeing across the industry,' said then Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz, in February 2014 during a dedication ceremony at the site. So, where did it go wrong? First, the technology proved finnicky and never quite worked as well as intended, said Jenny Chase, a solar analyst at BloombergNEF. These kinds of plants 'are just technically really difficult to operate,' she told CNN. They combine all the tricky, mechanical parts of a fossil fuel plant — running a turbine and maintaining many moving parts — with the challenges of a distributed energy source. The technology relies on mirrors tracking the sun exactly. 'It's really hard to get those all lined up perfectly and keep them lined up at all times,' Chase said. But perhaps the biggest problem for Ivanpah is that photovoltaic solar — the technology used in solar panels — became really, really cheap. In some parts of the world 'you can basically buy a solar module for the price of a fence panel,' Chase said. At the time Ivanpah was built, 'nobody really would have dreamed that photovoltaics would be this cheap, and batteries are doing a similar thing,' she added. A spokesperson for NRG said prices were competitive when the power agreements were signed in 2009. But over time, advancements in other types of solar technology 'led to more efficient, cost effective and flexible options for producing reliable clean energy.' In January, NRG finalized negotiations with PG&E to terminate power purchase agreements which were supposed to end in 2039. This 'will provide significant savings for California ratepayers,' the company's spokesperson said. A spokesperson for Southern California Edison said it was in ongoing discussions with the plant owners and the DOE about its contract. For critics of Ivanpah, its imminent demise is proof the plant should never have been built. It 'was a financial boondoggle and environmental disaster,' said Julia Dowell, senior campaign organizer at the Sierra Club, an environmental organization. 'The project's construction destroyed irreplaceable pristine desert habitat,' she told CNN. Ivanpahs's location in the sweeping, sun-drenched Mojave Desert may have seemed ideal for generating solar power, but it is also a habitat for threatened desert tortoises. While the plant's developers agreed to a series of measures to protect and relocate the animals, many environmentalists believed the plant should not have been approved. The other big issue was bird deaths. Reports of 'streamers' — birds incinerated midair by the beams of intense heat from the mirrors — solidified opposition. NRG did not respond to specific questions about the plant's impact on wildlife. Some commentators are using Ivanpah to make the case that renewable energy projects should not receive government money, a view that appears to fit with the new administration's. One of President Donald Trump's first actions was to pause approvals of new renewable energy projects on federal land. But renewable energy experts say it's important for governments to invest in a range of clean technologies, and many of those they have invested in, such as photovoltaics, have worked out. It wasn't clear which solar technologies would prove most cost effective when Ivanpah was being built 15 years ago, said Kenneth Gillingham, an economics professor at Yale School of the Environment. 'Picking winners is extremely difficult,' he told CNN, 'and it's not a problem that some technologies are outcompeted by others, as long as innovation continues occurring.'
CNN
13-02-2025
- Business
- CNN
This alien-like field of mirrors in the desert was once the future of solar energy. It's closing after just 11 years
From a distance, the Ivanpah solar plant looks like a shimmering lake in the Mojave Desert. Up close, it's a vast alien-like installation of hundreds of thousand of mirrors pointed at three towers, each taller than the Statue of Liberty. When this plant opened near the California-Nevada border in early 2014, it was pitched as the future of solar power. Just over a decade later, it's closing. The plant's co-owner NRG Energy announced in January it was unwinding contracts with power companies and, subject to regulatory approval, would begin closing the plant in early 2026, readying the site to potentially be repurposed for a new kind of solar energy. For some, Ivanpah now stands as a huge, shiny monument to wasted tax dollars and environmental damage — campaign groups long criticized the plant for its impact on desert wildlife. For others, failures like this are a natural part of the race to find the winning solutions for the clean energy transition. When Ivanpah was conceived, its technology, called concentrated solar or thermal solar, was considered a potential breakthrough. It works like this: Hundreds of thousands of computer-controlled mirrors called 'heliostats' track the sun and concentrate its rays onto three towers, each around 450 feet tall and topped with water-filled boilers. The sun's hyper-concentrated energy turns this water to steam, which drives a turbine to create electricity. One of the key selling points of this solar technology is the ability to store heat, allowing the production of electricity at night or when the sun isn't shining without needing batteries. The project got buy-in from the government with $1.6 billion in Department of Energy loan guarantees, and from utilities Pacific Gas & Electric Company and Southern California Edison, which both entered long-term agreements to buy Ivanpah's power. In 2014, it started commercial operations as the world's largest solar thermal plant, spread across around 5 square miles of federal desert. 'This project is a symbol of the exciting progress we are seeing across the industry,' said then Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz, in February 2014 during a dedication ceremony at the site. So, where did it go wrong? First, the technology proved finnicky and never quite worked as well as intended, said Jenny Chase, a solar analyst at BloombergNEF. These kinds of plants 'are just technically really difficult to operate,' she told CNN. They combine all the tricky, mechanical parts of a fossil fuel plant — running a turbine and maintaining many moving parts — with the challenges of a distributed energy source. The technology relies on mirrors tracking the sun exactly. 'It's really hard to get those all lined up perfectly and keep them lined up at all times,' Chase said. But perhaps the biggest problem for Ivanpah is that photovoltaic solar — the technology used in solar panels — became really, really cheap. In some parts of the world 'you can basically buy a solar module for the price of a fence panel,' Chase said. At the time Ivanpah was built, 'nobody really would have dreamed that photovoltaics would be this cheap, and batteries are doing a similar thing,' she added. A spokesperson for NRG said prices were competitive when the power agreements were signed in 2009. But over time, advancements in other types of solar technology 'led to more efficient, cost effective and flexible options for producing reliable clean energy.' In January, NRG finalized negotiations with PG&E to terminate power purchase agreements which were supposed to end in 2039. This 'will provide significant savings for California ratepayers,' the company's spokesperson said. A spokesperson for Southern California Edison said it was in ongoing discussions with the plant owners and the DOE about its contract. For critics of Ivanpah, its imminent demise is proof the plant should never have been built. It 'was a financial boondoggle and environmental disaster,' said Julia Dowell, senior campaign organizer at the Sierra Club, an environmental organization. 'The project's construction destroyed irreplaceable pristine desert habitat,' she told CNN. Ivanpahs's location in the sweeping, sun-drenched Mojave Desert may have seemed ideal for generating solar power, but it is also a habitat for threatened desert tortoises. While the plant's developers agreed to a series of measures to protect and relocate the animals, many environmentalists believed the plant should not have been approved. The other big issue was bird deaths. Reports of 'streamers' — birds incinerated midair by the beams of intense heat from the mirrors — solidified opposition. NRG did not respond to specific questions about the plant's impact on wildlife. Some commentators are using Ivanpah to make the case that renewable energy projects should not receive government money, a view that appears to fit with the new administration's. One of President Donald Trump's first actions was to pause approvals of new renewable energy projects on federal land. But renewable energy experts say it's important for governments to invest in a range of clean technologies, and many of those they have invested in, such as photovoltaics, have worked out. It wasn't clear which solar technologies would prove most cost effective when Ivanpah was being built 15 years ago, said Kenneth Gillingham, an economics professor at Yale School of the Environment. 'Picking winners is extremely difficult,' he told CNN, 'and it's not a problem that some technologies are outcompeted by others, as long as innovation continues occurring.'
