Every spring firefighters throughout the West approach the summer season with a proverbial prediction: If the winter was dry, all those parched trees will burn like torches; if it was a wet winter, all those new grasses will fuel quick fire starts and hot, runaway flames. After a winter that left record piles of snow in […]
As the West struggles with climate change, drought and rapid population growth, talk about the region’s deepening water woes often boils down to a simple but complicated question. Build more dams and other infrastructure, or ramp up conservation? E&E News put that question to two leading players with strong competing views. Daniel Beard, the commissioner of […]
For decades, the way to decide who gets how much water from the Colorado River involved big, protracted fights in Congress and the courts. Now, the Lower Basin states of Arizona, California and Nevada are voluntarily working on a drought contingency plan to cut the water each state gets from Lake Mead once a shortage is declared. […]
This is different. For decades, the way to decide who gets how much water from the Colorado River involved big, protracted fights in Congress and the courts. Now, the Lower Basin states of Arizona, California and Nevada are voluntarily working on a drought contingency plan to cut the water each state gets from Lake Mead […]
Winter is horning in on summer in the California mountains, where a stubborn blanket of snow is preventing several high-country camps from opening just as swarms of seasonal sojourners are itching to head for the hills. Summer officially begins Wednesday, but the historic storms that rolled through this winter deposited so much snow in the […]
Since the tallest dam in the United States threatened California with catastrophe last winter, state officials have responded with policies to stanch the flow not just of water but of information. The latest example is the Legislature’s vote to exempt a whole class of crucial information about dams from the state’s public-records law. A provision […]
What a Wet Winter Means for Wildfire Season
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /News Deeplyby Jane Braxton LittleEvery spring firefighters throughout the West approach the summer season with a proverbial prediction: If the winter was dry, all those parched trees will burn like torches; if it was a wet winter, all those new grasses will fuel quick fire starts and hot, runaway flames. After a winter that left record piles of snow in […]
Dams: ‘Relics’ Or Vital To An ‘All Of The Above’ Fix?
/in California and the U.S. /by Andrea Mora /E&E News (Washington, D.C.)by Jeremy P. JacobsAs the West struggles with climate change, drought and rapid population growth, talk about the region’s deepening water woes often boils down to a simple but complicated question. Build more dams and other infrastructure, or ramp up conservation? E&E News put that question to two leading players with strong competing views. Daniel Beard, the commissioner of […]
OPINION: Allhands: What’s Driving Arizona’s Next Big Water Fight?
/in California and the U.S. /by Andrea Mora /The Arizona Republic (Phoenix, Ariz.) by Joanna AllhandsFor decades, the way to decide who gets how much water from the Colorado River involved big, protracted fights in Congress and the courts. Now, the Lower Basin states of Arizona, California and Nevada are voluntarily working on a drought contingency plan to cut the water each state gets from Lake Mead once a shortage is declared. […]
OPINION: What’s Driving Arizona’s Next Big Water Fight?
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /AZCentral.comby Joanna AllhandsThis is different. For decades, the way to decide who gets how much water from the Colorado River involved big, protracted fights in Congress and the courts. Now, the Lower Basin states of Arizona, California and Nevada are voluntarily working on a drought contingency plan to cut the water each state gets from Lake Mead […]
As Summer Nears, Historic Winter Still Grips State’s High Country
/in California and the U.S. /by Andrea Mora /San Francisco Chronicleby Peter FimriteWinter is horning in on summer in the California mountains, where a stubborn blanket of snow is preventing several high-country camps from opening just as swarms of seasonal sojourners are itching to head for the hills. Summer officially begins Wednesday, but the historic storms that rolled through this winter deposited so much snow in the […]
OPINION: Dam Safety Records Should Be Public
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /San Francisco ChronicleSince the tallest dam in the United States threatened California with catastrophe last winter, state officials have responded with policies to stanch the flow not just of water but of information. The latest example is the Legislature’s vote to exempt a whole class of crucial information about dams from the state’s public-records law. A provision […]