2. Who killed the tule fog? UC Berkeley cracks the case

Who killed the tule fog? UC Berkeley cracks the case

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Cranes glide through the tule fog at the Merced National Wildlife Refuge. (Photo by Steve Corey via Flickr)
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According to a new study by Professor Allen Goldstein's team, Tule fog -- the thick, white, low-lying fog that can make winter driving in the Central Valley so harrowing -- has been fading over the past 30 years. 

Their research suggests a surprising reason: cleaner air. Droplets of tule fog form around particles that are at least partially created by the nitrogen oxide emerging from vehicle tailpipes. Since the Clean Air Act passed in the late 1960s, emissions have steadily declined and so has the fog.