Earthquakes Creeping Closer To California

The USGS shake map of the Gulf of California

A 6.8 earthquake followed by a 6.5 quake in the Gulf of California – USGS

Two major quakes shook the Gulf of California one hour apart, Saturday, October 19, 2013.

A 6.8 quake was followed by a 6.5 magnitude quake one hour later according to the PDC World Disaster Alert in Hawaii. All other quake registries merely had one quake recorded.

Tsunami alerts were not sent out, but with a quake this large within the Gulf of California, high waves and some coastal flooding is expected.

Quakes Getting Closer to CA

Is a major earthquake getting closer to California? I think so.

Quakes shake California everyday, but they are minor movements that register around 1.5 magnitude, on average. But, if you watch the quake register, you’ll notice that these “daily” shifts are increasing in magnitude.

More 3.0+ quakes are occurring, and now that we are getting activity as close as the Gulf of California at 6.8 magnitudes, I’d suggest preparing for some serious quake activity along the San Andreas.

Watch for more activity to pick up in Southern California, and this movement will slowly work its way up the coast, north.

Eyes wide open!

 

Two Towns In California Pass Laws Requiring Solar Panels For New Homes

A picture of workers installing solar panels on the roof of a house.

Solar panels are now required to be installed on new houses in California.

How awesome is this?

The desert city of Lancaster, California (population 150,000) was the first city in the country to require solar panels on new buildings. Lancaster’s City Council unanimously approved a change to its zoning code in March 2013 to require housing developers to install solar voltaic systems on newly constructed homes.

Sebastapol, a small town in Sonoma Valley north of Lancaster with less than 8,000 residents, also passed an ordinance requiring all new buildings and home additions be constructed with solar voltaic panels.

 Solar Power

A picture of the sun.

The power of the Sun.

Commercial solar power plants were first developed in the 1980s, and the largest solar plant in the world is located in the Mojave Desert  in California.

Basically, solar power is the conversion of sunlight into electric power. Concentrated solar power systems use lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam. This is a definite step in the right direction.

Thanks Sunny California for paving the way into a future of alternative energy choices. Somebody had to make the first move!