Posts

Peter Gleick: Prepare Now for Another Dry Year

The western United States is still in a drought. If you have any doubts, take a look at the latest map from the U.S. Drought Monitor. Maybe we'll be lucky and the rains will start soon and be healthy. But California water agencies and users must begin planning for another dry year.

Peter Gleick: What the Frack? Poisoning Water for Energy Profits

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Injecting water, chemicals, and sand to "frack" the gas from shale rock formations.

Peter Gleick: Giving Desalination Another Black Eye — Poseidon’s Financial Shell Game

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Last week, I wrote about the demand by the Poseidon Group to receive two major public subsidies to build a private desalination plant at Carlsbad near San Diego. After years of claiming that they needed no public support to build this plant, this claim has finally been proven false. The private profits they need will only be possible with public subsidies.

Peter Gleick: Doing Desalination Wrong: Poseidon on the Public Dole

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Many people believe that desalination of seawater is the ultimate solution to California (and the planet's) water problems. I've written about desalination in previous posts (see here and here), and have made it clear that I love the idea. In theory. And in select locations.

Peter Gleick: Who Is Stealing California’s Water?

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Someone is stealing our water. Many someones. But who and how much? No one knows today, mostly because the agency responsible for keeping an eye on water rights and use--the State Water Resources Control Board--is blind, deaf, and dumb. Blind, because they don't look. Deaf, because they don't listen to or act on most requests to investigate water rights allocations and use. Dumb, because they don't talk about these issues. "Asleep at the switch," as a colleague describes it.

Peter Gleick: Water use in the United States has Leveled off: New Remarkable Numbers Released

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New numbers on total water use in the United States in 2005 have just been released by the U.S. Geological Survey, which does an assessment of water use every five years.

U.S. Water Use Declines, But Points to Troubling Trends, Says USGS Report

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U.S. Geological Survey's newest five-year report (2000-2005) reveals positive trends and potential problems for U.S. water use.

Peter Gleick: Water and Population part 2

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In a previous post here, I raised the population and water issue in a general way. My point was that ignoring the population component of our resource challenges was a mistake, certainly in the long term and in some places, in the short term. I think this is indisputable -- resource constraints are worse than they would otherwise be if populations are large and growing rapidly rather than small and growing slowly, or even shrinking.

Peter Gleick: Why Do You Still Have a Top-loading Washing Machine?

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Peter Gleick Washing MachineMy colleagues and I here at the Pacific Institute have been arguing for more than 15 years that California has enormous potential to save water by improving water use efficiency.

Peter Gleick: Saving California Agriculture

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pacinstreport The Pacific Institute has just released a major new study that shows that a strong and healthy California agricultural sector can flourish despite diminishing water supply and future uncertainty from climate change.

California Report: In Dry Times, Deep Reservoir of Water Solutions

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New report highlights possible solutions to state's water shortages.

Race to Create Space: Plastic Bottle Offers Lightweight Response to Consumer Concerns

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Plastic remains the material of choice for bottled water, but…