blog post Video: Managing Wastewater in a Changing Climate By Lori Pottinger Apr 24, 2019 California’s wastewater sector is at a turning point as climate change increases the risks of water scarcity. PPIC researchers and a panel of experts explore how the sector can adapt to a more volatile future.
blog post Video: Managing Drought in a Changing Climate By Lori Pottinger Sep 14, 2018 California’s water system isn’t prepared for growing climate extremes. A panel of experts explain how climate change will affect the system, and discuss reforms that could make it more resilient.
Report California Coastal Management with a Changing Climate By Ellen Hanak, Georgina Moreno Nov 18, 2008 As a result of climate change, California is likely to face significant challenges to coastal management along the ocean coastline and within the San Francisco Estuary, and tough tradeoffs exist. For example, one of the primary means of protecting buildings and infrastructure from sea level rise and increased storm surges is to “harden” the coastline with coastal armoring—but this strategy is detrimental to beaches, public access, and habitat. Priorities for coastal management include inventorying coastal resources, assessing vulnerabilities, and experimenting with alternatives to armoring. This report was prepared as part of the Preparing California for a Changing Climate project.
Policy Brief Policy Brief: The Future of Agriculture in the San Joaquin Valley By Alvar Escriva-Bou, Ellen Hanak, Spencer Cole, Josué Medellín-Azuara Feb 8, 2023 Agriculture is a key driver of the regional economy in the San Joaquin Valley, but water for irrigation is an ongoing—and growing—concern. Our latest research offers the most accurate, nuanced, and localized look at where fallowing may need to occur—and details the policy and management actions that could lead to better outcomes.
blog post Commentary: Californians Need to Do More to Prepare for Wet Years By Letitia Grenier, Ellen Hanak Jan 16, 2024 Climate change is supercharging the extremes of drought and flood in California. But our infrastructure and institutions remain woefully underprepared for rising flood risk and increasingly erratic rainfall. It’s time to take this threat—and this opportunity—seriously and accelerate preparations.
blog post A Conversation about Flood Risk with Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara By Ellen Hanak, Sarah Bardeen May 30, 2023 As California faces flooding this year, PPIC Water Policy Center director Ellen Hanak spoke with Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara about how to better protect the state’s residents from flood risk—which is growing in our changing climate.
blog post Video: Californians and the Environment By Mary Severance Aug 6, 2020 PPIC’s Mark Baldassare and Alyssa Dykman discuss a new statewide survey that examines Californians’ views on climate change, energy policy, and other environmental issues, as well as on the COVID-19 outbreak and racial inequity.
blog post Video: Seizing the Drought By Sarah Bardeen Nov 22, 2021 Californians know that climate change is here—and we’re feeling its effects nowhere more than in our water system. Last week, during our fall conference, we convened three days of expert panels. Scientists, policymakers, growers, water managers, and restoration advocates laid out a compelling vision of how to prepare our water system for the changes that are already underway.
press release Post-election Survey: Marijuana, Climate Change, Budget Reform Captured Voters’ Attention Dec 1, 2010