As every Californian knows by now, our state is in the fifth year of a drought, and this persistent imbalance of supply and demand in our water supply is likely the new norm. The good news is that many of our state leaders have woken up to this fact, and in recent years have been […]
Looking north from Blue Canyon near Shaver Lake, copper-colored forests blanket mountain slopes that stretch ridge after ridge to the horizon. The patches of fading green that dappled these hillsides last fall have merged into an unbroken cover of rust-needled pines. At dusk, when the winds die down, an eerie stillness gives way to the […]
/in California and the U.S./by Mike Lee /Public Policy Institute of California (San Francisco)by Alvar Escriva-Bou and Henry McCann
Californians are known to take pride in the state’s many exceptional characteristics. But in at least one important area, we’d be wise to learn a thing or two from our neighbors. Not only are the Golden State’s water management challenges shared by other western states, but many of these places use more advanced practices to […]
The coal industry in the United States has been in a long, steady decline for decades. But since 2012, with the availability of cheap natural gas and the ramping up of environmental regulations to control emissions from coal-fired power plants, that decline has become a full-scale collapse: coal-mining employment has shrunk from 89,800 to 55,500, a […]
California’s high country is a delight in summer, a cool respite from the heat of the state’s lower elevations. That’s especially true in the Sierra Nevada, where a corridor of shade transports vacationers from Fresno to Yosemite National Park under a dense canopy of cedar trees, firs and pines. But after five years of drought and insect infestation, […]
The Colorado River is a wonderful playground for Yuma County residents, out of state visitors and winter visitors. Unless your river activities take place strictly on the lower river below Imperial Dam, you may not realize that there is an ongoing daily change in the river water level above Imperial Dam. The reason for the […]
BLOG: Why Passing Climate Legislation Is Good for California’s Water
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Water Deeply (New York)by Kirsten JamesAs every Californian knows by now, our state is in the fifth year of a drought, and this persistent imbalance of supply and demand in our water supply is likely the new norm. The good news is that many of our state leaders have woken up to this fact, and in recent years have been […]
California Plans to Log its Drought-Killed Trees
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /High Country News (Paonia, Colo.)by Jane Braxton LittleLooking north from Blue Canyon near Shaver Lake, copper-colored forests blanket mountain slopes that stretch ridge after ridge to the horizon. The patches of fading green that dappled these hillsides last fall have merged into an unbroken cover of rust-needled pines. At dusk, when the winds die down, an eerie stillness gives way to the […]
Three Lessons on Water Accounting for California
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Public Policy Institute of California (San Francisco)by Alvar Escriva-Bou and Henry McCannCalifornians are known to take pride in the state’s many exceptional characteristics. But in at least one important area, we’d be wise to learn a thing or two from our neighbors. Not only are the Golden State’s water management challenges shared by other western states, but many of these places use more advanced practices to […]
Can We Help the Losers in Climate Change?
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /MIT Technology Review (Big Sandy, Texas))by Richard MartinThe coal industry in the United States has been in a long, steady decline for decades. But since 2012, with the availability of cheap natural gas and the ramping up of environmental regulations to control emissions from coal-fired power plants, that decline has become a full-scale collapse: coal-mining employment has shrunk from 89,800 to 55,500, a […]
Sierra Forests Turned to Brown
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /CALmatters (Sacramento)by Julie CartCalifornia’s high country is a delight in summer, a cool respite from the heat of the state’s lower elevations. That’s especially true in the Sierra Nevada, where a corridor of shade transports vacationers from Fresno to Yosemite National Park under a dense canopy of cedar trees, firs and pines. But after five years of drought and insect infestation, […]
Changes in Irrigation Demand Behind Upper River Fluctuations
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Yuma Sun (Yuma, Ariz.)by Bobbi Stevenson-McDermottThe Colorado River is a wonderful playground for Yuma County residents, out of state visitors and winter visitors. Unless your river activities take place strictly on the lower river below Imperial Dam, you may not realize that there is an ongoing daily change in the river water level above Imperial Dam. The reason for the […]