Report What If California’s Drought Continues? By Ellen Hanak, Jay Lund, Jeffrey Mount, Peter Moyle ... Aug 19, 2015 California is in the fourth year of a severe, hot drought—the kind that is increasingly likely as the climate warms. Although no sector has been untouched, impacts so far have varied greatly, reflecting different levels of drought preparedness. Urban areas are in the best shape, thanks to sustained investments in diversified water portfolios and conservation. Farmers are more vulnerable, but they are also adapting. The greatest vulnerabilities are in some low-income rural communities where wells are running dry and in California’s wetlands, rivers, and forests, where the state’s iconic biodiversity is under extreme threat. Two to three more years of drought will increase challenges in all areas and require continued—and likely increasingly difficult—adaptations. Emergency programs will need to be significantly expanded to get drinking water to rural residents and to prevent major losses of waterbirds and extinctions of numerous native fish species, including most salmon runs. California also needs to start a longer-term effort to build drought resilience in the most vulnerable areas.
blog post The High Cost of Drought for Low-Income Californians By Ellen Hanak Jun 18, 2015 Poor rural communities are being hit hard by the drought. Solutions will be challenging.
blog post Drought Watch: What’s in Proposition 1? By Ellen Hanak, Caitrin Chappelle Oct 24, 2014 What kind of water projects will be funded if Proposition 1 passes? The bond focuses mainly on water supply, with the majority designated as matching funds for storage projects.
press release Special Survey On Californians And The Environment: Ignoring Environmental, Coastal Concerns Could Be Perilous For California Politicos In 2006 Election Year Feb 23, 2006
Statewide Survey PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and the Environment By Mark Baldassare Feb 23, 2006 Some findings of the current survey An overwhelming number of likely voters in California (87%) say candidates’ positions on the environment and coast will be important in the 2006 gubernatorial elections. Latinos are more likely than whites (60% to 44%) to say the environmental policies of gubernatorial candidates are very important to them. Across political parties, support is high for reducing ocean and beach pollution, even if it means paying higher taxes (Democrats 80%, independents 73%, Republicans 68%). Partisan accord breaks down over offshore oil drilling: Eighty percent of Democrats and 69 percent of independents oppose it, while 51percent of Republicans favor it. Many Californians are very concerned about fish or other seafood for sale having contaminants such as mercury (64%) and being commercially overfished (46%). This is the 64th PPIC Statewide Survey and the seventh in a series of special surveys focusing on Californians and the environment. This survey focuses in particular on marine and coastal issues.
press release It’s A Beach State … Of Mind: Despite Tumultuous Times, California’s Golden Coast Still Captures Hearts Nov 13, 2003
press release State’s Environmental Problems Pose Serious Personal Threat, Residents Say Jun 21, 2000
