The Emerging Role of Private Social and Environmental International Standards in Economic Globalization
In a world where businesses understand the clear benefit s of being perceived of as good socio-environmental performers, companies will …
Testimony: Dam It, Not Now: Comments on Governor Schwarzenegger’s Water Bond Proposal
Testimony of Dr. Peter H. Gleick President, Pacific Institute, Oakland, California For the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water …
Testimony: Dam It, Not Now: Comments on Governor Schwarzenegger’s Water Bond Proposal MORE
Remaining Drops: Freshwater Resources a Global Issue
Corporations and institutional investors face ongoing risks and challenges related to water, often emerging from water-quality concerns, water resource scarcity, …
Beyond Privitization: Restructuring Water Systems to Improve Performance
Water managers face significant challenges meeting the water supply, wastewater collection and treatment, and stormwater management needs of the communities …
Beyond Privitization: Restructuring Water Systems to Improve Performance MORE
Understanding Flows Through the Remnant Colorado River Delta: Recommendations for Streamgage Sites and Data Collection
This white paper asserts that the current lack of data on the last 75 miles of the Colorado River hampers …
Water Planning and Conservation Needs: Testimony Before the California Assembly Select Committee on Growth and Infrastructure
Testimony before the California Assembly Select Committee on Growth and Infrastructure October 19, 2005 Testimony of Heather S. Cooley Research …
California Water 2030: An Efficient Future
What will the future hold for California’s water? Will resources dwindle, causing conflict and hardship, or will increased conservation measures …
Deluged by Diesel: Healthy Solutions for West County
Published in 2005, the findings and recommendations in this report remain relevant as communities in this area continue to grapple …
Climate Change Questions and Answers Fact Sheet
Questions and Answers about Climate Change Prepared by the Pacific Institute of Oakland, California, April 22, 2005 in support of …
Climate Change Questions and Answers Fact Sheet
Questions and Answers about Climate Change Prepared by the Pacific Institute of Oakland, California, April 22, 2005 in support of …
IWMP Evaluation: A Review of the Salton Sea Authority’s Preferred Project Concept for Rehabilitating the Salton Sea
This report, compiled and edited by the Pacific Institute under contract to the Bureau of Reclamation, presents the conclusions generated by …
Testimony: Water for Our Future
Testimony to the Joint Hearing of the California Senate and Assembly Committees The State of California’s Environment: Obstacles and Opportunities …
Freshwater and Foreign Policy: New Challenges
By Peter Gleick Today, billions of people around the world lack water and sanitation services that many in ancient Greece …
Op-Ed: Selling Out California’s Water
Read our response to Wayne Lusvardi’s criticism of this essay. Selling Out California’s Water Central Valley Water Project Contract Renewal …
Investing In Clean Agriculture: How California Can Strengthen Agriculture, Reduce Pollution And Save Money
Global competition, suburban encroachment, tighter regulations, and rising input costs are making farming in California more difficult and, in some …
Op-Ed: Project to Provide Public Access to Draft ISO Standards
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Jason Morrison – jmorrison (at) pacinst.org or 510-251-1600 February 8, 2005 Project to Provide Public Access to …
Op-Ed: Project to Provide Public Access to Draft ISO Standards MORE
After the Asian Tsunami Disaster, Water Crisis Will Remain
This essay was originally printed in The San Francisco Chronicle on January 5, 2005. The tragedy that has unfolded over …
After the Asian Tsunami Disaster, Water Crisis Will Remain MORE
West Oakland Health Survey
Water managers face significant challenges in meeting the water supply, wastewater collection and treatment, and stormwater management needs of the …
Economies of Scale and Scope in River Basin Management
This paper provides pragmatic guidance for more effective water management. The paper argues that collaboration between specialized agencies is socially …
The World’s Water, Volume 4
In this fourth volume of his highly regarded series, Peter Gleick and his research team focus on the most significant …
The Myth and Reality of Bottled Water
Sales and consumption of bottled water have skyrocketed in recent years. But users should not assume that the purity of …
Clearing the Air in West Oakland: A West Oakland Snapshot
West Oakland: A Snapshot Area “inside the freeways” ~22,000 residents (~65% African American, 9%Asian, 11% White, 10% Latino) Median household …
Clearing the Air in West Oakland: A West Oakland Snapshot MORE
California’s “Economic Productivity” of Water Use: Jobs, Income, and Water Use in California
CALIFORNIA’S “ECONOMIC PRODUCTIVITY” OF WATER USE Jobs, Income, and Water Use in California Peter H. Gleick October 22, 2004 Introduction …
California’s “Economic Productivity” of Water Use: Jobs, Income, and Water Use in California MORE
Who Develops ISO Standards? A Survey of Participation in ISO’s International Standards Development Processes
Published: October 14, 2004 Authors: Mari Morikawa, Jason Morrison As international standards move into new areas that affect environmental and social …
Energy Down the Drain: The Hidden Costs of California’s Water Supply
Energy is used at all stages of water supply, from groundwater pumping for agriculture to the treatment of water for …
Energy Down the Drain: The Hidden Costs of California’s Water Supply MORE
Freshwater Resources: Managing the Risks Facing the Private Sector
Many businesses around the world, from beverage companies to garment manufacturers, are failing to prepare for the serious economic and …
Freshwater Resources: Managing the Risks Facing the Private Sector MORE
The External Value Environmental Management System Voluntary Guidance: Gaining Value by Addressing Stakeholder Needs
Plan, do, check, act — that’s the heart of an Environmental Management System (EMS), which is a systematic approach to …
Public or Private Water Management?
‘‘Public versus private’’ is not the bright line that separates efficient from inefficient management. Like Alexander the Great, who ‘‘untied’’ …
Global Freshwater Resources: Soft-Path Solutions for the 21st Century
Twentieth century water policies relied on the construction of massive infrastructure in the form of dams, aqueducts, pipelines, and complex …
Global Freshwater Resources: Soft-Path Solutions for the 21st Century MORE
West Oakland Residents Choking on Toxic Diesel Exhaust
Residents of West Oakland are exposed to far more than their fair share of toxic diesel pollution. To examine the …
Waste Not, Want Not: The Potential for Urban Water Conservation in California
The largest, least expensive, and most environmentally sound source of water to meet California’s future needs is the water currently being wasted …
Waste Not, Want Not: The Potential for Urban Water Conservation in California MORE
Climate Change and California Water Resources: A Survey and Summary of the Literature
A new revision of a report on climate change and California water resources is now available. The report was prepared …
Climate Change and California Water Resources: A Survey and Summary of the Literature MORE
Water Efficiency Testimony
Hearing: Water: Is it the ‘Oil’ of the 21st Century? Testimony of Dr. Peter H. Gleick Before the Subcommittee on …
Testimony on Water Efficiency: Is Water the ‘Oil” of the 21st Century?
Testimony of Dr. Peter H. Gleick Before the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment Of the Committee on Transportation and …
Testimony on Water Efficiency: Is Water the ‘Oil” of the 21st Century? MORE
On the Need for a National Water Commission for the 21st Century
Testimony of Dr. Peter H. Gleick Before the Legislative Hearing of the Subcommittee on Water and Power Of the Committee …
On the Need for a National Water Commission for the 21st Century MORE
National Water Commission Letter
President George W. Bush The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 March 11, 2003 Dear President Bush, …
Valuing Water for Better Governance: How To Promote Dialogue To Balance Social, Environmental, And Economic Values?
Solving the freshwater crisis requires significantly more investment and spending in the water sector, but getting more money requires broad …
Pacific Institute Releases 15-Year Anniversary Report
Dear Friends and Colleagues, I am excited to announce the publication of the Pacific Institute’s Fifteenth Anniversary Report. The report details …
Fact Sheet on the Proposed Imperial Valley-San Diego Water Transfer
On December 9, 2002 the Imperial Valley Irrigation district voted not to transfer water to San Diego as outlined in the …
Fact Sheet on the Proposed Imperial Valley-San Diego Water Transfer MORE
Environmental Security: A Case Study of Climate Change
From increases in infectious diseases and uncertainty in food markets to more frequent and intense natural disasters, increased CO2 emissions …
Dirty Water: Estimated Deaths from Water Related Diseases 2000-2020
Inadequate access to safe drinking water and sanitation systems is a critical human health issue that impacts billions of people …
Dirty Water: Estimated Deaths from Water Related Diseases 2000-2020 MORE
Water Management: Soft Water Paths
Despite massive investment and effort, at the end of the 20th century 2.4 billion people lacked sanitation services of the …
The World’s Water, Volume 3
The third volume in the The World’s Water book series, The World’s Water: 2002-2003 explores and proposes solutions to a …
Fire and Water: An Examination of the Technologies, Institutions, and Social Issues in Arms Control and Transboundary Water-Resources Agreements
Almost every major river in the world is shared by two or more nations, and conflicts over water, already serious …
The New Economy of Water: The Risks and Benefits of Globalization and Privatization of Fresh Water
In an increasingly globalized economy, the privatization of water as an economic good has sparked complex debate. In some cases, …
Neighborhood Knowledge for Change: The West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project
The Environmental Indicators Project is the culmination of two years of research, analysis, and collaboration between the grassroots advocacy group …
Neighborhood Knowledge for Change: The West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project MORE
Healthy, Fair, and Profitable: A Win-Win Pesticide Policy
This report released by the Pacific Institute and the California Green Scissors project makes the case for changing the way …
Healthy, Fair, and Profitable: A Win-Win Pesticide Policy MORE
Creating a Framework for Sustainability in California: Lessons Learned from the New Zealand Experience
New Zealand’s attempt to integrate environmental protection and resource management with a “goals-based” policy framework can help serve as a …
Op-Ed: Don’t Drill the Arctic: Renewable Energy is Safer, Cleaner, More Secure
The terror attacks of September 11 have brought the vulnerabilities of modern America into stunning relief. Our airports, airplanes and office buildings …
Op-Ed: Don’t Drill the Arctic: Renewable Energy is Safer, Cleaner, More Secure MORE
Threats to the World’s Freshwater Resources
As we move into the 21st century, water managers and policymakers must face new threats to the world’s freshwater …