California already bans thin plastic shopping bags at grocery stores and other shops, but shoppers at checkout can purchase bags made with a thicker plastic that purportedly makes them reusable and recyclable.

California regulators have approved new rules to let water agencies recycle wastewater and put it right back into the pipes that carry drinking water to homes, schools and businesses.

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said the state will write new rules to let insurers look to the future when setting their rates.

The snowpack covering California's mountains is off to one of its best starts in 40 years, raising hopes that the drought-stricken state could soon see relief in the spring when the snow melts and begins to refill parched reservoirs.

A brutal Western heat wave brought California to the verge of ordering rolling blackouts but the state’s electrical grid managed to handle record−breaking demand.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday asked people and businesses in the nation's most populous state to voluntarily cut how much water they use by 15 per cent as the Western United States weathers a drought that is rapidly emptying reservoirs relied on for agriculture, drinking water and fish habitat.