When the first white settlers arrived in California’s remote eastern Owens Valley, the name given to its indigenous tribes was Paiute, or “land of flowing water” in the local language. But for more than a century, the water in the valley has flowed in just one direction: toward Los Angeles, nearly 300 miles (480 km) […]
This bipolar weather will have profound implications for the state’s $50 billion agriculture industry and the elaborate network of reservoirs, canals, and aqueducts that store and distribute water. A system built for irrigation and flood protection must adapt to accommodate more conservation. “The effects of climate change are necessitating wholesale changes in how water is […]
Testimony at a recent Senate Agriculture Committee hearing on solutions to climate change focused on what farmers and ranchers are already doing to lighten their impact on the environment and improve sustainability. They also stressed that solutions must be economically feasible, and that these are difficult times for producers to invest in new conservation practices. […]
In the world’s fifth largest economy, in the richest state in the richest nation, some 360,000 Californians have water that is unsafe to drink. That’s the equivalent of about three and a half Flint, Michigans, and it’s an outrage. Worse, it’s a fixable outrage, and the fix is being blocked by vested interests. This stalemate […]
A California water district is disputing claims made in lawsuit filed by Attorney General Xavier Becerra that it is violating state laws over a dam project. Westland Water District, which covers Fresno and Kings counties, was responding to the lawsuit filed over the Shasta Dam, the potential heightening of which the attorney general strongly opposes. […]
A controversial effort to broaden California’s definition of renewable energy has fizzled out. The proposal would have allowed electricity from a large dam in the Central Valley to count the same as solar and wind. Under a law signed last year by former Gov. Jerry Brown aimed at reducing smog and greenhouse gas emissions, utilities […]
In Los Angeles ‘Water Colony’, Tribes Fear A Parched Future
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Reuters by Laurie GoeringWhen the first white settlers arrived in California’s remote eastern Owens Valley, the name given to its indigenous tribes was Paiute, or “land of flowing water” in the local language. But for more than a century, the water in the valley has flowed in just one direction: toward Los Angeles, nearly 300 miles (480 km) […]
Putting A Tempest into A Teapot: Can California Better Use Winter Storms To Refill Its Aquifers?
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Stanford Universityby Felicity BarringerThis bipolar weather will have profound implications for the state’s $50 billion agriculture industry and the elaborate network of reservoirs, canals, and aqueducts that store and distribute water. A system built for irrigation and flood protection must adapt to accommodate more conservation. “The effects of climate change are necessitating wholesale changes in how water is […]
OPINION: Vilsack: Partnerships Needed To Promote Sustainable Practices
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Capital Pressby Carol Ryan DumasTestimony at a recent Senate Agriculture Committee hearing on solutions to climate change focused on what farmers and ranchers are already doing to lighten their impact on the environment and improve sustainability. They also stressed that solutions must be economically feasible, and that these are difficult times for producers to invest in new conservation practices. […]
OPINION: Some 360,000 Californians Can’t Drink The Water. And Still No Fix For This Disgrace
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The Sacramento BeeIn the world’s fifth largest economy, in the richest state in the richest nation, some 360,000 Californians have water that is unsafe to drink. That’s the equivalent of about three and a half Flint, Michigans, and it’s an outrage. Worse, it’s a fixable outrage, and the fix is being blocked by vested interests. This stalemate […]
Westland Water District Denies Violating Any State Law Over Potential Raising Of Shasta Dam
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Northern California Recordby John BreslinA California water district is disputing claims made in lawsuit filed by Attorney General Xavier Becerra that it is violating state laws over a dam project. Westland Water District, which covers Fresno and Kings counties, was responding to the lawsuit filed over the Shasta Dam, the potential heightening of which the attorney general strongly opposes. […]
Effort To Allow Electricity From Large Dams To Count As Renewable Energy In California Fails To Pass
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The Mercury Newsby Paul RogersA controversial effort to broaden California’s definition of renewable energy has fizzled out. The proposal would have allowed electricity from a large dam in the Central Valley to count the same as solar and wind. Under a law signed last year by former Gov. Jerry Brown aimed at reducing smog and greenhouse gas emissions, utilities […]