drought
Actions to Improve California Water Rights Administration and Oversight for Future Droughts
Part 3 in a Series on Improving California Water Rights Administration and Oversight for Future Droughts
In California, the next drought is always looming on the horizon. While we don’t get advance warning of when a drought will occur, how long it will last, or how severe it will be, we do have advance knowledge that drought planning and preparation are important. First, we know water management during droughts can have …
CONTINUE READINGWater Rights Administration and Oversight During Past California Droughts
Part 2 in a Series on Improving California Water Rights Administration and Oversight for Future Droughts
In the first post in this series, I talked about why it’s important for the state of California to spend time preparing for future droughts even in wet years like this one. This post examines some of the lessons from past droughts that can inform these preparations. Past droughts have stress-tested California’s water management institutions, …
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CONTINUE READINGWhy It’s Important to Prepare for Drought During a Deluge
Part 1 in a Series on Improving California Water Rights Administration and Oversight for Future Droughts
In the midst of the wet winter storms bringing rain and snow to California this year, you might not expect drought preparations to be among the state’s current priorities. And yet, they need to be. In this post, I’ll explore why to set the stage for a blog series that explores what the state can …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Steadily-Dying Sierra Nevadas
Drought, Bark Beetle Infestation, Climate Change Imperil Sierra Pine Forests
Like over 600 other environmental lawyers, professors, law students and regulators, I attended the 25th annual Environmental Law Conference at Yosemite last weekend. As always, the Conference–sponsored by the California State Bar’s Environmental Law Section–was a big success, filled with inspirational speakers and thought-provoking panels. But the major topic of conversation–during the Conference proceedings, in …
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CONTINUE READINGA Thanksgiving Day Reflection
Thoughts about the impacts of extreme events and climate change on food security, and hopes for the Paris negotiations
Thanksgiving is a time of gratitude for the food and community we share. But as many of us feast with loved ones today, our gratitude might also prompt reflection about the sources of our food and, more generally, the fragility of the environment. This seems especially appropriate, as Native American tribes are among those most …
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CONTINUE READINGDueling California Drought Relief Bills Debated on Capitol Hill
Stark Differences Emerge Between Competing House and Senate Bills
What can and should the federal government do to assist the State of California in weathering the worst drought in recorded state history? While the U.S. House of Representatives is embroiled in a chaotic political debate over selection of a new House Speaker, the more deliberate consideration of new legislation continues apace in the Senate. …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia and Other Western States See Barriers to Protecting Streams
A new report highlights twelve western states’ efforts to restore stream flows using environmental water transfers
Unnaturally low flows in rivers and streams throughout the western United States have threatened fish and other aquatic species for decades. But restoring flows has proved a significant and complex challenge. A recent report prepared for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation by Stanford University’s Water in the West Program documents twelve western states’ efforts …
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CONTINUE READINGRegistration Opens for 2015 Yosemite Conference–The Nation’s Top Environmental Law Event
This Year’s Yosemite Conference Promises to Continue a Tradition of Excellence
Registration is now open for the 2015 edition of the State Bar of California’s Environmental Law Conference at Yosemite. That conference, held each fall, is unquestionably the premier environmental law-related event in California. I would go so far as to argue that it’s actually the top such program in the entire United States. The Yosemite Conference …
CONTINUE READINGCalifornia Governor Jerry Brown: Environmental Saint or Sinner?
Brown’s National & International Environmental Reputation Disputed by Some California Environmentalists
California Governor Jerry Brown has had a most eventful 2015, especially when it comes to environmental policy. He started the year fresh from an overwhelming election victory last November, earning him an unprecedented fourth term as California’s chief executive. Brown began 2015 by declaring a state drought emergency and becoming California’s “educator-in-chief,” repeatedly warning state …
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CONTINUE READINGTragedy of the Commons–California Drought-Style
State Farmers Planting New Almond Orchards Despite Critical Water Shortages
Traveling through California’s drought-striken San Joaquin Valley repeatedly over the past year, I’ve been surprised and disheartened to see that Valley farmers continue to convert their agricultural fields to newly-planted almond orchards. (My anecdotal observations have been confirmed by various recent press accounts.) This development is a striking, current example of Garrett Hardin’s Tragedy of …
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