water Archives - Page 3 of 11

The Abundance Choice, Part 4: Crafting the Initiative for More Water

May 16, 2022 4:35 pmJune 20, 2022 11:01 am

To be fair, Assemblyman Devon Mathis (R-Porterville) didn’t come up with the idea of allocating a percentage of the state budget to accomplish a policy priority. He got that idea from the California Teachers Association, which back in 1988 convinced voters to...

The Abundance Choice, Part 3: The Mechanics of Ballot Initiatives

May 15, 2022 2:21 amMay 26, 2022 12:14 pm

By the spring of 2021, it was obvious the State Legislature was not going to change its inadequate approach to water policy. As the state faced another year of drought, restricting water use was the only solution being taken seriously...

The Abundance Choice, Part 2: The Problems With Indoor Water Rationing

May 12, 2022 2:45 amMay 26, 2022 12:13 pm

Perhaps the biggest example of misguided water policy in California are the escalating restrictions on indoor water consumption. As will be seen, the savings these restrictions amount to are trivial in the context of California’s total water consumption, yet are...

The Abundance Choice, Part 1: California’s Failing Water Policies

May 10, 2022 2:15 pmMay 25, 2022 11:14 am

In October, and then again in December 2021, as the third severe drought this century was entering its third year, not one but two atmospheric rivers struck California. Dumping torrents of rain with historic intensity, from just these two storm systems over 100 million acre feet...

California’s Water Crisis Lingers as Gov. Newsom Vacations in Costa Rica

April 2, 2022 2:45 amApril 4, 2022 9:20 am

How can California have a water crisis when the state borders the Pacific Ocean, and the Sierra Nevada mountain range, 400 miles north-south and 50 miles to 80 miles east–west, drains into more than 15 rivers, 6 lakes, and numerous...

Californians Can Weigh In on PG&E’s 22% Proposed Rate Hike with Calif. Public Utilities Commission

March 11, 2022 6:48 am

With double-digit inflation, mega-gas prices in California, high food costs, high housing costs, and used cars selling for new car prices, gird your loins: Pacific Gas and Electric is proposing a 22 percent rate hike. PG&E electricity customers were recently...

New UC Berkeley Poll Finds Gov. Newsom Losing Ground With Voters

February 15, 2022 2:09 pmApril 3, 2022 3:34 pm

A poll released Tuesday by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies shows California Governor Gavin Newsom’s approval rating is sinking across most voter groups. Most Californians won’t be surprised why: continuing COVID restrictions two years in, never-ending mask mandates on...