Global Water Governance in the 21st Century
Published: July 2013
Growing pressure on global water resources is having major impacts on our social, economic, and environmental well-being.
Learn MorePublished: July 2013
Growing pressure on global water resources is having major impacts on our social, economic, and environmental well-being.
Learn MorePublished: June 2013
All water service providers must periodically correspond with their customers as well as state and local decision makers. In times of emergency messages can help customers understand what to expect next and when disrupted service might be restored. But regular communication in non-emergency periods is also necessary.
Learn MorePublished: June 2013
The Pacific Institute’s freight transport justice advocacy work sought to reduce the adverse health impacts of freight transportation on low-income neighborhoods of color closest to freight transport hubs, and to increase the share of the benefits that residents of these communities enjoy.
Learn MorePublished: June 2013
Preparándose para la Acción: Una Guía Curricular para Lograr Justicia en el Transporte de Carga del Pacific Institute ha sido revisada siendo una importante herramienta de abogacía para construir el poder y la capacidad de comunidades para participar en la toma de decisiones en cuanto a temas del transporte de carga.
Learn MorePublished: June 2013
Downloadable PDF maps from our study that allow you to visualize the impacts of sea level rise on the California Coast.
Learn MorePublished: June 2013
In the context of what is referred to as “the new normal”-- increasing costs to provide safe and reliable water supply amidst decreasing demand -- water service providers are facing new challenges in forecasting rates and preparing for future water demand.
Learn MorePublished: May 2013
El Río Colorado, derivado y canalizado, así como intensivamente controlado, sólo en raras ocasiones (<10 por ciento de los días) lleva suficiente agua para fluir al menos 32 km más allá de la Presa Morelos, la última presa sobre el río, cerca de la frontera California/Arizona/Baja California.
Learn MorePublished: May 2013
The Colorado River, diverted and channelized and intensively managed, only rarely has enough water to flow even 20 miles past Morelos Dam, the last dam on the river, near the California/Arizona/Baja California border.
Learn MorePublished: May 2013
This document provides the full testimony of Dr. Peter H. Gleick before the California Assembly Select Committee on Sea Level Rise and the California Economy.
Learn MorePublished: May 2013
Water is scarce in the Colorado River Basin, and the effects of climate change are straining the overspent water supply.
Learn MorePublished: May 2013
California’s water supply is vulnerable to seasonal extremes that are exacerbated by the effects of climate change. Seawater desalination is a reliable source of water, which can be especially valuable during a drought.
Learn MorePublished: April 2013
As Hurricanes Sandy and Katrina have taught us, climate change is a global process with very localized impacts that can profoundly affect community health and quality of life. These localized impacts, ranging from extreme temperatures to rising sea levels, will disproportionately affect vulnerable populations such as the elderly, renters, low-income residents, limited English speakers, those with pre-existing medical conditions, and those without health or home insurance.
Learn MorePublished: April 2013
Oakland residents can take steps to protect their communities in the face of climate change impacts.
Learn MorePublished: February 2013
This comprehensive study finds that investments to increase efficient water use and reuse will both address growing problems associated with drought, flooding, and contamination, and simultaneously create jobs in a wide range of professions.
Learn MorePublished: January 2013
The food justice movement has deep roots in the San Francisco Bay Area, where the organization Planting Justice is utilizing urban agriculture to address economic and social justice issues.
Learn MorePublished: December 2012
This report offers the first comprehensive assessment of California’s water footprint.
Learn MorePublished: November 2012
Seawater desalination is gaining traction as a potential solution to water supply challenges in California, but economics – specifically, the cost of the water produced and the complex financial arrangements needed to develop a project – will ultimately determine the success and extent of this technology.
Learn MorePublished: November 2012
An emerging theme of the framing project from its inception in 2009 was the growing awareness of the significance and complexity of the interactions between voluntary, non-governmental sustainability standards and national and international governance, raising fundamental questions about standards development, use, legitimacy and sustainability.
Learn MorePublished: November 2012
California’s ability to grow its wealth of specialty crops depends on retaining and storing water from the state's wet season for use during the long, dry summer season.
Learn MorePublished: August 2012
Global water challenges must be addressed through collective action, where multiple stakeholders collaborate on shared water stewardship goals.
Learn MorePublished: August 2012
Climate change will have significant impacts on California water supply and demand. Research shows that the state’s changing climate will lead to increased water use in cities and suburbs, while water supply is expected to diminish.
Learn MorePublished: August 2012
Expectations that business will respect, and in some cases support or help fulfill, internationally recognized human rights have increased over the past decade.
Learn MorePublished: July 2012
This book provides the first independent assessment of water issues and water management in the United States in many decades, addressing emerging and persistent challenges from the perspectives of science, public policy, environmental justice, economics, and law.
Learn MorePublished: July 2012
This letter contains a summary of comments submitted by the Pacific Institute on the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) of the Cadiz Valley Water Conservation, Recovery, and Storage Project on March 13th, 2012.
Learn MorePublished: July 2012
California faces a range of impacts from global climate change, including increased incidences of extreme heat, wildfires, coastal flooding, and erosion.
Learn MorePublished: July 2012
The Water–Energy Simulator (WESim) is an easy-to-use analytical tool that can be used to evaluate the energy and greenhouse gas implications of water management decisions.
Learn MorePublished: July 2012
This analysis identifies more than 50 strategies for building community resilience and adapting to climate-change impacts such as extreme heat, flooding, wildfires, poor air quality, and rising food, water, and electricity prices.
Learn MorePublished: July 2012
Rising sea levels from global climate change pose a serious threat to the highly developed coastal communities of the San Francisco Bay. This report assesses the populations, critical infrastructure, and property at risk from projected sea-level rise, if no action is taken to protect the coast.
Learn MorePublished: July 2012
In 2006, the Pacific Institute published “Desalination, With a Grain of Salt,” a comprehensive overview of the advantages and disadvantages of seawater desalination to help meet California’s water needs. In 2012, the Institute launched a series of research reports identifying the key outstanding issues for desalination in California: cost and financing; energy use and associated greenhouse gas emissions; and marine impacts.
Learn MorePublished: June 2012
Fracking – a process to improve the production of oil and gas wells – has generated tremendous controversy in recent years. There are daily and confusing media reports from outlets across the United States and other countries, including Canada, South Africa, Australia, France and England.
Learn MorePublished: June 2012
Hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” has generated growing controversy. The lack of credible and comprehensive data around the possible risks of fracking is a major impediment to a clear assessment of its impacts.
Learn MorePublished: June 2012
While much research has been produced on how water use and pollution can exacerbate conflict, this report focuses more broadly on the ways conflict and high-risk situations can affect water systems and resources directly, as well as the planning, construction, operation, and management of water systems.
Learn MorePublished: June 2012
Water rates in the United States are not typically understood as a human rights issue, but utility bills can be an exceptional burden for low income households.
Learn MorePublished: June 2012
Historically, water demand forecasts have been determined by estimating current per-capita water consumption multiplied by expected future population.
Learn MorePublished: April 2012
Billions of the world’s poor still lack access to basic water and sanitation services, but mobile devices are common even in areas without these services.
Learn MorePublished: April 2012
The Pacific Institute has developed the Cost Effectiveness of Water Conservation and Efficiency (CE2) Model to help evaluate the economic desirability of water conservation and efficiency measures and explore how costs and benefits can be shared among customers, water utilities, and other entities. Designed primarily for water utility staff, the model quickly and easily calculates financial metrics that are meaningful and readily understood by planners and managers and provides a common platform through which to discuss the costs and benefits of water conservation and efficiency.
Learn MorePublished: March 2012
Creating sustainable water systems will continue to be one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century. Multiple-Use Water Services (MUS) has emerged as a water-provision and management approach that addresses the poverty alleviation potential of water projects. MUS is rooted in the multiple ways in which people have interacted with their local water sources over time, and seeks to overcome the fragmented way in which water is currently managed. This report analyzes the gaps in the MUS approach and evaluates previous efforts at integration in the water sector to identify lessons learned and recommendations for making MUS implementation more robust and sustainable.
Learn MorePublished: January 2012
Despite some major barriers to desalination, interest has recently mushroomed as technology has improved, demands for water have grown, and prices have declined.
Learn MorePublished: December 2011
Thousands of cities in the developing world face rising pressures on water resources due to population growth and urbanization, which are intensified by the effects of climate change. In developed countries cities, the government or formal sector often exclusively manage water supply services, while in developing countries informal water managers may predominate.
Learn MorePublished: December 2011
Published: December 2011
Published: December 2011
Published: December 2011
This testimony of Dr. Peter H. Gleick before the Subcommittee on Water and Power of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources for the Hearing on Opportunities and Challenges was given on December 8, 2011 to address domestic and global water supply issues.
Published: December 2011
The Pacific Institute provides thoughtful new analysis to help move beyond the theoretical quagmire that has characterized the debate over water use efficiency for decades.
Learn MorePublished: December 2011
Priority Development Areas in the San Francisco Bay region overlap with communities with the highest health risk from toxic air contaminants, including diesel pollution from freight transport, designated as CARE zones by the Air District.
Learn MorePublished: November 2011
The production of electricity, from fuel extraction to electricity generation, has growing impacts on both water availability and quality.
Learn MorePublished: October 2011
The World’s Water, Vol. 7 was released as the Pacific Institute headed into its 25th Anniversary year.
Learn MorePublished: October 2011
Every year, 860 billion gallons of untreated sewage enter the United States’ waterways – enough to cover the entire state of Pennsylvania with waste one-inch deep.
Learn MorePublished: July 2011
Incarceration affects individuals, families, and the community in profound ways. The Safe Return Project is a participatory research and action initiative led by a group of formerly incarcerated Richmond, California residents carrying out research, community organizing, and policy advocacy to improve community reintegration after incarceration.
Learn MorePublished: July 2011
The Pacific Institute analyzes the potential for water savings from irrigation efficiency improvements in California, USA in a newly published peer-reviewed article in the journal Water Policy.
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