blog post State Struggles to Enact More Robust Climate Targets By Alvar Escriva-Bou Oct 13, 2015 Does the recent struggle over emissions-reduction laws mean California is losing momentum for tackling climate change?
blog post The Drought and Californians’ Views on Climate Policy By David Kordus Aug 28, 2015 California Democrats and Republicans are divided over proposals to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But party registration is not the only driver of these views.
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 Californians and Climate Change By Mark Baldassare Aug 10, 2015 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 Mar 25, 2015 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.
