With war in the Middle East disrupting shipments of crude oil, we have another reason to question policies that are driving our in-state oil industry into terminal decline. To briefly recap, Californians consumed 484 million barrels of oil in 2025, with in-state production only providing 111 million barrels. The rest was imported. It doesn’t have to […]
Earlier this year, the California Coastal Commission released a report titled “Statewide Strategy for the Coexistence of California Fishing Communities and Offshore Wind Energy.” In addition to providing a “guiding framework” to protect California’s fishing communities, it “presents a roadmap for proposed offshore wind projects to become consistent with California’s relevant Coastal Act policies that recognize […]
The Carlsbad desalination plant is reportedly operating at half-capacity, basically because it’s less expensive to import water from the Colorado River. That is likely to change, as Arizona’s Department of Water Resources is negotiating with the San Diego County Water Authority to purchase some of the water they get from the Colorado River. The funds […]
Along with the California Condor, one of our state’s most magnificent environmental success stories of the 20th century is how Mono Lake was saved. In the early 1980s, after decades of unsustainable water withdrawals from the Owens River into the Los Angeles Aqueduct, the lake had declined in elevation to 6,372 feet. The decline was […]
The salmon decline in the delta has been attributed to the impact of water withdrawals into the California Aqueduct and the Delta Mendota Canal. But something else happened at the same time as the pumps were began operating; dredging in most channels in the delta virtually ceased. For the last 50 years, especially in the […]
There is concern that the energy requirements of data centers will consume so much electricity that demand will overwhelm supply. While this is certainly a possible outcome, the actual impact may have the opposite effect. For starters, while the total consumption of electricity by data centers is significant and growing, credible estimates point to manageable […]
If enough people in California agreed on a state water strategy, the political obstacles would be overcome. If every major water agency, every farming association, and a critical mass of environmental groups were all committed to a specific set of policies and projects, then elected politicians would be bound to adhere to those priorities. Regulatory […]
It’s a risk to promote an agenda that calls for practical water projects, and at the same time, calls for practical energy projects. To begin with, the word “practical,” in both cases, is a matter of bitter debate. Equally challenging is the fact that even within each of these communities, water, and energy, there is […]
About the time it became inevitable that California was going to lose two major refineries, in May of last year, an alarming study was released by Michael Mische, an economist and business professor at USC. In his analysis, “Ensuring California’s Gasoline Security for the 21st Century,” Mische made a prediction that was widely quoted: “Based on […]
In debates over water policy in California, a common argument is that if only we managed the systems we’ve already got, there would be plenty of water for everyone. Agricultural and urban use would not have to be rationed, taxpayers and ratepayers would not have to be unnecessarily burdened, and we wouldn’t have to wait […]