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Uncertain Future for Cap-and-Trade

By Brandon Martin, Alvar Escriva-Bou

California's cap-and-trade program—which funds most of the state's actions to address climate change—faces an uncertain future.

blog post

A Changing State of Water Conservation

By Lori Pottinger

The state continues to learn from the latest drought--an expert interview with Fran Spivy-Weber of the California State Water Board.

Report

What If California’s Drought Continues?

By Ellen Hanak, Jay Lund, Jeffrey Mount, Peter Moyle ...

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

Californians and Climate Change

By Mark Baldassare

California likely voters’ strong support of AB 32—the 2006 law requiring reductions in greenhouse gas emissions—has barely budged, through good times and bad. Why?

blog post

Climate Change and California’s Future

By Mark Baldassare

In 2006, California responded to climate change with a law that committed the state to reverse the trend of rising greenhouse gas emissions. Today, California has reached another pivotal moment.

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