blog post Californians Like Voting on Environmental Issues By Mark Baldassare Jul 12, 2023 According to a new PPIC Statewide Survey, Californians value their ability to vote on environmental issues—and are so far unsupportive of a referendum on new oil wells that will appear on next year's ballot.
blog post Commentary: The Importance of Californians’ Views on Immigration Policies By Mark Baldassare Jun 27, 2023 With its large immigrant population, California is highly impacted by global migration trends as well as by immigration policy and politics at the national level. While large majorities of Californians hold a positive view of immigrants and support immigration policy changes, a deep partisan divide remains.
blog post Renewing California’s Groundwater: Ready, Set, Recharge! By Caitlin Peterson, Sarah Bardeen Jun 21, 2023 California’s wet winter has been a boon for the parched state, and farmers and water managers have been scrambling to funnel some of that abundance into the ground. But how is recharge going—and what could be improved? We get on-the-ground insights from Daniel Mountjoy of Sustainable Conservation and Aaron Fukuda of the Tulare Irrigation District.
Statewide Survey PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Their Government By Mark Baldassare, Dean Bonner, Rachel Lawler, Deja Thomas Jun 5, 2023 Californians name economic conditions, homelessness, and housing as the most important issues facing the state today. A majority of Californians favor changing state environmental regulations as a way to increase housing affordability.
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: Making the Most of a Wet Year By Sarah Bardeen May 1, 2023 Last week, we hosted an expert panel to discuss how we’re handling the sudden deluge of precipitation after years of drought. While the rain and snow has helped transform what was a grim water supply situation, it’s clear that we need to do a better job of preparing for floods—and storing some of that excess water for the dry times that will return.
event Making the Most of a Wet Year Apr 27, 2023 California just saw one of the driest and warmest three-year periods on record end in an epic wet season. As we head into spring, when snow melts and demand skyrockets, it’s a good time to take stock. Is the drought over? Did we sock away some water for the next dry period? Where are we most vulnerable to flooding? And what might we do better? Join us for a panel discussion with three experts who can speak to all these issues—and more.
blog post Californians’ Support for President Biden and the A-G-E Factor By Mark Baldassare Apr 27, 2023 Most California likely voters approve of President Biden’s job performance, even as less than a third say things in the US are going in the right direction. How do Californians’ views on three key issues—abortion, guns, and the environment—explain their support for the president?
blog post Commentary: Catastrophic Floods and Breached Levees Reveal a Problem California Too Often Neglects By Jeffrey Mount, Brett Sanders Apr 10, 2023 For much of the past decade, Californians have been fixated on drought, and rightly so. But the storms of the past winter, and the snowmelt-fueled deluges we can expect this spring, are a reminder that we should be equally preoccupied with floods.
blog post Reservoirs Are Full, But Let’s Not Celebrate Just Yet By Greg Gartrell Apr 3, 2023 After three very dry years, California’s reservoirs will be full again this spring. That beats the alternative, but what will it mean for water supplies over the next few years? PPIC Water Policy Center adjunct fellow Greg Gartrell does the math.
