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California Colloquium on Water

Op-Ed: Water for Food

As California politicians continue to argue over developing comprehensive solutions to the state's water problems, eyes are inevitably turning to the agricultural sector, which uses 80 percent of the water consumed by Californians.

More with Less: Agricultural Water Conservation and Efficiency in California – A Special Focus on the Delta

California farmers can grow more food and fiber with less water, according to the Pacific Institute report, More with Less: Agricultural Water Conservation and Efficiency in California – A Special Focus on the Delta.

Op-Ed: California Can Grow More Food AND Take Less Water from the Delta

We can do more with less. Nations in drier climates around the world and forward-thinking farmers in California already are using less water to grow more crops - with greater profits. It is time for California.

CEO Water Mandate 2nd Working Conference

Recognizing the urgency with respect to addressing the emerging global water crisis, the UN Secretary-General, in partnership with a number of international business leaders, launched in July 2007 a new initiative – The CEO Water Mandate.

Op-Ed: Save the Salton Sea

This op-ed essay was written by Michael Cohen of the Pacific Institute for the Riverside Press-Enterprise to address the public health and ecological crisis developing around California's Salton Sea.

Extreme Weather Events as a Result of Climatic Change

My testimony today addresses the rising risk of extreme weather-related events as a result of climatic changes and their impact on water resources, with a focus on the western United States. In the short time available, let me provide a summary overview.

Op-Ed: State Needs Innovative, Aggressive Water Solutions

For more than a decade, California has had relatively adequate winter rains and mostly full reservoirs. No longer. We had the opportunity to fix many of our water problems while the state had more abundant water, but that chance has been squandered. And though we’ve never been very good at making rational water decisions in a crisis, the time to change that is clearly and urgently here.

Integrity of Science: Driving vs. Walking: Cows, Climate Change, and Choice

Is walking worse for the planet than driving? This startling claim has been published in high-profile media outlets, including the New York Times blogs.

Hummer vs. Prius Redux: Prius (Still) Leaves Hummer in the DustNew Data Affirms Prius More Energy Efficient

A year after a faulty marketing report fueled an automotive face-off, the Pacific Institute, armed with newly released Consumer Reports’ data, returns to the Hummer versus Prius debate and finds the Prius is (still) more energy efficient over its lifetime than the Hummer.

Bioenergy and Greenhouse Gases

Bioenergy is part of the solution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

A Review of Decision-Making Support Tools in the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Sector

As of 2008, more than a billion people lack safe water and 2.6 billion lacked access to sanitation worldwide.

Desalination, With a Grain of Salt

Long considered the Holy Grail of water supply, desalination offers the potential of an unlimited source of fresh water purified from the vast oceans of salt water that surround us. The public, politicians, and water managers continue to hope that cost-effective and environmentally safe ocean desalination will come to the rescue of water-short regions.

CEO Water Mandate Inaugural Working Conference

Recognizing the urgency with respect to addressing the emerging global water crisis, the UN Secretary-General, in partnership with a number of international business leaders, launched in July 2007 a new initiative – The CEO Water Mandate...

Every Drop Counts: Yes, It Rained a Lot. But that Doesn’t Mean We’re Out of the Woods with Regard to the State’s Water Woes

In January, it rained a lot in Southern California. The usual street intersections flooded. Water tumbled down the Los Angeles River. And houses in areas ravaged by fires last fall seemed in danger of sliding off their hilltop perches.

Op-Ed: Billions of Drops in the Bucket: Just Rethinking How We Use Water Can be as Effective as Huge Infrastructure Projects

After more than a decade of generous rainfall and healthy river flows, the dry years are back. Much of the state, notably Southern California, has been experiencing sever drought.

Laguna Riparian Enhancement Project

The Laguna Riparian Habitat Enhancement Concept presents a conceptual plan for improving native riparian vegetation and associated habitats within the Laguna Reach along the lower Colorado River (LCR). Various entities including the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) are actively involved in protecting and restoring habitats along the lower Colorado River.

Integrity of Science: Bottled Water and Energy Factsheet: Getting to 17 Million Barrels

The Pacific Institute finds that it took approximately 17 million barrels of oil equivalent to produce plastic for bottled water consumed by Americans in 2006—enough energy to fuel more than 1 million American cars and light trucks for a year.

Hidden Oasis: Water Conservation and Efficiency in Las Vegas

Despite its famous fountains, Las Vegas, Nevada has no natural water resources. The city is an artificial desert oasis that presents a significant challenge to water management.

Bottled Vs. Tap Water: Video

For the Santa Clara Water District, the recent resolution promoting tap water over bottled water was a clear choice--a choice largely bolstered by Pacific Institute research.

Op-Ed: The Best Plan for the Salton Sea is Yet to Come

Right in the middle of one of the driest deserts in North America lies California’s largest lake, the little-known and oft-maligned Salton Sea.  The Sea and its environs are one of the most important spots on the map for birds, with more than 400 species of birds – often numbering in the millions of individual birds – visiting the Sea every year. 

The Pacific Institute: 20 Years Toward a Sustainable Planet

The Pacific Institute is one of the world’s leading independent non-profits, conducting research and advocacy on the related and pressing issues of environmental degradation, poverty, and political conflict.

At the Crest of a Wave: A Proactive Approach to Corporate Water Strategy

As freshwater resources around the globe become increasingly scarce or polluted, a global crisis in clean water access is emerging.

Turning the Delta Ruling into Opportunity

On Aug. 31, a federal judge acknowledged what many people have long known -- we have run up against the limits of our water supplies. U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger ruled that state and federal water managers must change how they operate California's water system to reduce environmental harm.

Op-Ed: Salton Sea – A Time for Action

The Salton Sea lies 470 miles southeast of San Francisco, a vast, cursed salt lake far from the minds of most in the Bay Area. Part of the Salton Sea's curse is that it is so distant, so different from most people's experiences.