There is broad recognition that adapting to climate change, coupled with the need to address aging infrastructure, population growth, and degraded ecosystems, will require rethinking programs and policies and investing in our natural and built water systems.
Water is perhaps the most vital natural resource on the planet. It is necessary for human survival and a critical input into our food, manufacturing, and energy systems. It also sustains the ecosystems and climates upon which both our built and natural world rely.
The severe five-year drought afflicting California from 2012 to 2016 was the driest and hottest in the instrumental record. This report is a comprehensive assessment of the costs to California of lost hydroelectricity during the five years of drought.
Hydropower and natural gas are the principal sources of electricity for California’s millions of users.
Oil, gas, and agriculture are all central to California’s economy. Yet the extent of harmful chemical contamination from the oil and gas industry on food production is not well documented, and there are mounting concerns over human health impacts. This study sheds light on the risks posed when oil and gas production and exploration operate alongside agriculture.
This study, prepared by the California Council on Science and Technology in partnership with the Pacific Institute and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, consists of three volumes. It explores well stimulation treatments in California; the risks these technologies pose to water, air, seismic activity, wildlife, plants, and human health; risks by geographic region within the state; and areas where there are information gaps.
This report analyzes and explains the factors contributing to the positive trend of decreasing water use, and examines the implications for future water demand. National water use remains high, and many freshwater systems are under stress from overuse. Climate change will exacerbate existing challenges, affecting the supply, demand, and quality of the nation’s water resources.
California’s hottest and driest drought in recorded history, from 2012 to 2016, shifted the sources of energy for electricity with adverse economic and environmental consequences. This report focuses on the period of drought from 2011 to 2014.
A new article by Julian Fulton and Heather Cooley evaluates the amount of water consumed in meeting California’s energy needs – also referred to as the water footprint of energy.
California farmers have made progress in updating and modernizing irrigation practices, but great untapped potential remains to use water more efficiently.
