KQED Science News

For the past three years, the California Academy of Sciences, the oldest natural history museum in the West, has been housed in a temporary building in downtown San Francisco. Now the Academy is moving into a new, 400,000-square foot green building in Golden Gate Park. But when the residents are fish, penguins and millions of scientific specimens, moving in is no simple task.

For the past three years, the California Academy of Sciences, the oldest natural history museum in the West, has been housed in a temporary building in downtown San Francisco. Now the Academy is moving into a new, 400,000-square foot green building in Golden Gate Park. But when the residents are fish, penguins and millions of scientific specimens, moving in is no simple task.

Last week, we took a look at how mercury enters the San Francisco Bay. This week: Now that it's here, how is it affecting us? QUEST talks to local fisherman, a physician, and a Bay ecologist to find out how we're contending with the Bay's worst toxin.

Last week, we took a look at how mercury enters the San Francisco Bay. This week: Now that it's here, how is it affecting us? QUEST talks to local fisherman, a physician, and a Bay ecologist to find out how we're contending with the Bay's worst toxin.

You might not know it from the textbooks, but California's gold rush was also a mercury rush. Quicksilver mines near San Jose provided gold miners with the mercury they needed to separate gold from ore. 150 years later, we're still facing the consequences of gold-rush era mercury, much of which is lodged in the Bay's mud and in its fish. Quest reports on the legacy of mercury mining, and how Bay Area agencies are attempting to clean it up.

You might not know it from the textbooks, but California's gold rush was also a mercury rush. Quicksilver mines near San Jose provided gold miners with the mercury they needed to separate gold from ore. 150 years later, we're still facing the consequences of gold-rush era mercury, much of which is lodged in the Bay's mud and in its fish. Quest reports on the legacy of mercury mining, and how Bay Area agencies are attempting to clean it up.

You might not know it from the textbooks, but California's gold rush was also a mercury rush. Quicksilver mines near San Jose provided gold miners with the mercury they needed to separate gold from ore. 150 years later, we're still facing the consequences of gold-rush era mercury, much of which is lodged in the Bay's mud and in its fish. Quest reports on the legacy of mercury mining, and how Bay Area agencies are attempting to clean it up.

You might not know it from the textbooks, but California's gold rush was also a mercury rush. Quicksilver mines near San Jose provided gold miners with the mercury they needed to separate gold from ore. 150 years later, we're still facing the consequences of gold-rush era mercury, much of which is lodged in the Bay's mud and in its fish. Quest reports on the legacy of mercury mining, and how Bay Area agencies are attempting to clean it up.

It's often said dogs and their owners resemble each other. Now, researchers at UC-San Francisco are looking for those connections on a whole new level. They're searching for the genes that cause common psychiatric problems in humans - by looking at the DNA of dogs.

Thought California has consigned coal-burning to the scrap bin? Think again! California has 11 coal-fired power plants, all used to heat limestone into cement -- making us one of the biggest cement-producing states in the country. In addition to cement, these kilns produce 95% of the state's airborne mercury pollution and 2% of its greenhouse gas emissions. Mostly, they've slipped under the radar of regulators, but that is changing fast.

The expected shutdown of this year's salmon season in California is bad news not only for fishermen but for consumers too. It means that anyone buying wild salmon this year is going to pay some wild prices. There is another choice, of course, cheaper, farmed salmon. But that prospect has some consumers cringing... and it has some fish farmers thinking of new ways to please wild salmon fans.

Richmond city officials are expected to approve a controversial upgrade to the Chevron refinery plant. Quest reports on the decision and explores the debate around Chevron's billion dollar proposal.

Many Bay Area cities are trying to clean up their acts by putting in place new green initiatives. But from San Jose to Berkeley, some city leaders are finding out it's not always so easy to turn over a new leaf. QUEST looks at the challenges municipalities face with budget constraints, legal restrictions and reluctance, on the part of some residents, to change.

A tiny moth, new to California, is at the center of a controversy pitting state officials against Bay Area residents and politicians. The Light Brown Apple Moth is seen as a threat to California crops. Now the State Department of Food and Agriculture is planning to spray a synthetic hormone over Bay Area neighborhoods this summer to stop the moth from reproducing, but some angry residents are worried it would be unsafe.

A new law is forcing California's dry cleaners to switch to eco-friendlier cleaning technologies. But what will the cost of envronmental progress be for these small family businesses? And will customers put up with the changes?