blog post A Pragmatic Reason to Protect Freshwater Fish By Ellen Hanak, Jeffrey Mount, Peter Moyle Dec 15, 2015 When species make the endangered species list, we’ve not only failed them, we’ve made it harder to manage water during drought.
blog post Video: PPIC Survey Examines Election Landscape By Linda Strean Dec 7, 2015 Climate change/energy, political landscape, fiscal/governance reform, health & human services, K-12 education, economy, population, water
blog post New Water Laws Address Groundwater, Marijuana By Caitrin Chappelle, Henry McCann Oct 15, 2015 Two recent bill packages took important steps toward improving groundwater management and reducing the negative environmental impacts of marijuana farming.
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 California Streams Going to Pot from Marijuana Boom By Caitrin Chappelle, Lori Pottinger Jul 23, 2015 A surge in marijuana growing is having an unhealthy effect on some California rivers and streams, and the wildlife they support.
blog post Regulating Marijuana By Patrick Murphy, Lunna Lopes Jul 22, 2015 Most likely voters support legalizing marijuana, but would it be good public policy? The devil is in the details.
Statewide Survey PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Their Government By Mark Baldassare, Lunna Lopes, Dean Bonner, David Kordus May 31, 2015 Some findings of the current survey: Public concern about the drought is at a record high: 69 percent of Californians say their regional water supply is a big problem. A solid majority favor the governor’s budget (73%) and his state Earned Income Tax Credit proposal (60%). Californians are divided on extending Proposition 30 tax increases. A solid majority (70%) favor increasing cigarette taxes, but fewer than half support other tax proposals. Most California adults (67%) and public school parents (65%) say unvaccinated children should not attend public school. A large majority (87%) say vaccines are at least somewhat safe. Job Approval Ratings: President Obama [PDF] Governor Brown [PDF] California State Legislature [PDF] U.S. Congress [PDF] Time Trends of Job Approval Ratings: President Obama [XLS] Governor Brown [XLS] California State Legislature [XLS] U.S. Congress [XLS] Mood of Californians: General Direction of Things in California [PDF] Economic Outlook for California [PDF] Time Trends for the Mood of Californians: General Direction of Things in California [XLS] Economic Outlook for California [XLS] This survey was supported with funding from The James Irvine Foundation.