Looking down the list, you might be forgiven for thinking apocalyptic thoughts: insect invasion, drought, wildfire, even local hints of global warming.

The stories that captured attention in the Register’s Green OC blog in 2009 seem to foretell disaster on all fronts. Luckily, Orange County has emerged (mostly) unscathed.

There were some glimmers of good news, too: green jobs are up, beaches are clean, and 20,000 more acres of rugged, wild landscape could well become county parkland.

January, February, March

The year began inauspiciously, with reports of hundreds of sick and injured pelicans careening and crashing all along the West Coast — hitting cars, stumbling around on roadways, mystifying residents. Scientists later determined that the cause was most likely a severe cold snap off the Oregon coast that led to frostbite and other illnesses among the birds.

Later that month, we toured Orange County’s first “green” apartment building, and in February learned that two UC Irvine students won the X Prize Foundation’s $25,000 “Crazy Green Idea” contest.

February also saw the release of an Audubon Society report showing that birds were shifting their ranges in response to global warming — likely including species found in O.C.

In March, a report commissioned by state officials found that 110,000 people could be displaced along the Orange County coast by 2100 because of sea-level rise from global warming.

We met the owner of an Orange County company that transforms old shipping containers into swanky offices, and the Register hosted a live climate debate at UC Irvine.

Watch this space for more year-end summaries for April through December.

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