Winter in Santa Cruz County

Winter in California has seen its share of extraordinary weather events and devastating losses from fire. In Santa Cruz County, there have been massive waves eroding the coastline and damaging seashore structures. There was even a tornado event that overturned cars in Scotts Valley. A related event occurred in Moss Landing when lithium-ion batteries burned at an energy storage plant, releasing clouds of microscopic particles of nickel, cobalt and manganese in the mudflats and tidal marshes at levels roughly 100 to 1,000 times higher than normal! Yikes!

Below are some soothing images from this winter. Mother Nature is indeed resilient, but we need to understand the messages she sends us, and work harder to protect what's left.