California’s State Water Project is the backbone of the California economy. The recent declaration of a zero water allocation for 2014 has exposed the California economy’s vulnerability to decades of political gridlock and ineffective water agency action. Last Friday’s announced allocations for the federal Central Valley Project piled on. Unless changes are made promptly to California’s “water culture”, look for California growth to come to a screeching halt. To quote Reverend Wright (admittedly out of context), “California, the chickens have come home to roost.” Continue reading
Will the Aid Packages for California Help to Dampen the Impact of the Drought?
In the last week, President Barrack Obama and Jerry Brown have rolled out drought relief packages. Pundits have expressed their opinions both for and against these packages, and they have also used these proposals as a venue to opine on everything from the Bay Delta Conservation Plan to Climate Change. Both packages try to address both short-term and long-term issues related to the drought, but will they be successful towards these goals? In this piece I will address the details of both of these measures and how effective I believe they will be towards curbing the drought that California faces. Let’s start first with the President’s proposal. Continue reading
U.C. Davis Experts Call For Drought Environmental Water Market
By Wayne Lusvardi, Guest Blogger
On Feb. 11, 2014, a team of water experts[1] associated with U.C. Davis called for the creation of a “special water market” to generate “revenues that would help support fish and wildlife recovery” to alleviate the California drought. Continue reading
The Controversy over Water Pollution from Fracking Operations Continues
Just how much water pollution does the process of fracking create? Much like the debates over the scientific research behind climate change, it depends on whom you ask. Supporters of fracking argue that the process allows the United States to capture large amounts of domestically-produced oil and natural gas. They argue that the environmental impacts are minimal at most and are worth the plentiful energy that we can produce here at home. Opponents argue that the process of fracking depletes groundwater resources and introduces harmful chemicals and pollution to the already depleted groundwater tables. Earlier this month, these issues again came to the forefront as the Associated Press gathered data about water pollution complaints from states that allow fracking operations. In this piece, I would like to review the environmental concerns related to fracking and water quality. Also, I will address whether the potential dangers of fracking outweigh the economic and national security gains that the practice gives us. We would like to hear your opinion on this subject, so please feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of this blog. Continue reading