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Brownfields Redevelopment: Meeting the Challenges of Community Participation

Brownfields are the abandoned or idled commercial and industrial properties that dot our urban and rural landscapes. They often remain unused because of real or perceived contamination, liability risks, and the costs of cleanup.

Comments on the Salton Sea Restoration Project

This document contains comments submitted by the Pacific Institute on the Salton Sea Restoration Project and on the January 2000 draft Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (DEIS) and supporting documents.

Managing a Better Environment: Opportunities and Obstacles for ISO 14001 in Public Policy and Commerce

Environmental policy is in transition. Many observers believe that the existing regulatory system, though it has accomplished great improvements in environmental quality, is approaching the limits of its effectiveness.

Colorado River Surplus Criteria Proposal

At its upper reaches, the Delta is dominated by vegetation such as cottonwoods and willows, offering more than twice the amount of native riparian habitat found in the entire reach of the river in the United States from Hoover Dam to Morelos Dam. 

ISO Proceedings

On July 29, 1999, the Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment and Security hosted a half-day workshop entitled Security ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems and Public Policy.

Basic Water Requirements for Human Activities: Meeting Basic Needs

An understanding of basic human water needs is key to ensuring fair and sustainable water supply.

Haven or Hazard: The Ecology and Future of the Salton Sea

California's Salton Sea is a fertile oasis in the hostile desert of south-eastern California. It has been adopted by millions of birds migrating along the Pacific Flyway and also attracts human anglers and boaters

The Human Right to Water

More than a billion people in the developing world lack safe drinking water – an amenity those in the developed world take for granted.

Sustainable Use of Water: California Water Success Stories

The intense political and legal battles that have characterized California water policy throughout the 20th century have not ended—nor are they likely to end in the near future. But unexpectedly, with little fanfare or attention, California is moving toward more sustainable water management and use.

The World’s Water, Volume 1

The first volume of The World’s Water (1998-1999) includes chapters on the changing global paradigm for water management and use, the environmental implications of large dams, possible consequences of climate change, and the links between water resources and conflict.

The Sustainable Use of Water in the Lower Colorado River Basin

The Colorado River supplies water to nearly 30 million people and irrigates more than 1.5 million hectares of farmland in the United States and Mexico.

California Water 2020: A Sustainable Vision

Every day, California wastes water in each sector of the the state’s economy.

Water and Conflict: Fresh Water Resources and International Security

Fresh water is a fundamental resource, integral to all ecological and societal activities, including food and energy production, transportation, waste disposal, industrial development, and human health. Yet fresh water resources are unevenly and irregularly distributed, and some regions of the world are extremely water-short.

Environment and Drought in California 1987-1992

The years 1987 to 1992 comprised the second driest period in California's recorded climate history.

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The Societal and Environmental Cost of the Continuing California Drought

Since 1987, the State of California has been in the grip of a severe drought. water availability throughout the State has been far lower than normal for each of the last five years when measured in any of a variety of ways: total precipitation runoff, groundwater overdraft, or reservoir storage.

Assessing The Costs Of Adapting to Sea-Level Rise: A Case Study of San Francisco Bay

Across the United States, coastal communities are grappling with crumbling infrastructure, flooded businesses, and overflowing sewers as a result of climate change-induced sea-level rise.