'The answer is clear: reduce demand through electric vehicles & better public transit... we need to open up California’s gasoline market & break apart the political stranglehold of the state’s oil industry. We don’t need half-baked answers that ignore the research and the data.'
Understatement: “the threat is not hypothetical”
www.latimes.com/world-nation...
This story has everything, a focus on desal that led to overlooking other water sources, a city manager making $400K/yr saying don’t panic, a former water system manager saying residents should absolutely panic, and magical thinking: “The last hope to avert disaster was a 20- to 30-inch rainfall.”
“The region’s monarchies are often described as petro-states, but they have also become what I call saltwater kingdoms, global superpowers in the production of human-made fresh water drawn from the sea.”
theconversation.com/persian-gulf...
Worth noting that investor-owned utilities in Maine outspent public power advocates 34:1. No wonder the latter's message was muffled! Legislative route makes sense. However, as my and others' research shows, investor-owned utilities are quite entrenched in state legislatures, too. (1/2)
At a time everyone is complaining about electricity affordability, House GOP wants to eliminate programs that help low-and-middle income Americans reduce their electricity consumption:
www.eenews.net/articles/hou...
The more things change...via @nohaggerty.bsky.social
The owner of the 170-unit mobile home park destroyed in the Palisades fire is trying to sell it, characterizing the lot as a "blank canvas for redevelopment" vs. re-occupation by currently-displaced residents.
www.latimes.com/environment/...
Perhaps you weren't able to absorb all ~10k words from our discussion paper.
Not to fret: co-author @edithdeguzman.bsky.social has created a more user-friendly table summarizing the 8 pathway options we discuss if you think any pathway should be pursued.
New paper out today suggests sea level rise may be substantially worse than we thought due to underestimates in models. What do all you slr modelers out there think of this paper??? www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Discussion paper: What is the function, if any, for statewide oversight (in the form of data collection, guidance, frameworks, and standards) of community water systems’ role in fighting wildfires? #cawater innovation.luskin.ucla.edu/publication/...
We are finally getting close to actualizing this idea, which has been around.
Yet:
1. It's still not clear if/when this will get done
2. The devil is absolutely in the details around the terms of wholesale-retail-customer cost impacts, & ultimate pass-through effects (see our 2019 report)
Marin County is updating the way it inspects and permits on-site septic systems. On Thursday, the public is invited to a West Marin community meeting to gather public input on how its Local Area Management Program (LAMP) should be applied and improved. #cawater localnewsmatters.org/2026/03/02/f...
Have you been wondering: What is the function, if any, for statewide oversight of community water systems’ role in fighting wildfires?
We wrote a ~10k word discussion paper, outlining 8 potential pathways, specifically for you🔽
innovation.luskin.ucla.edu/publication/...
“ sanitation has already cost nearly $100 million”
Will San Francisco finally get a chance to ditch Pacific Gas & Electric? A new bill in the state Legislature would let the city purchase PG&E's assets in the city and form a municipal utility: www.latimes.com/environment/... via @hayleysmith.bsky.social
Here for the conversation
A very good article on threading the needle between accurate, accessible and compelling drinking water, quality risk communication
As the title implies, yes, there is a direct trade-off
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
🚨 New publication in @natureportfolio.nature.com!!!
⏰ It’s taken a while, but sometimes good science takes time.
🚽 Near-source wastewater-based epidemiology is a game changer for public health surveillance in prisons.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Pretty incredible op ed piece from several rural county supervisors taking on Rep Gail Griffin’s actions on groundwater in their counties archive.is/2026.02.17-2...
As Altadena rebuilds after devastating fires, small private water systems face impossible tradeoffs. Our senior director @gregspierce.bsky.social explains why these systems are “really on their own” — and why consolidation may be a more viable long-term path.
@laist.com: laist.com/news/climate...
FREE well testing in Tulare County.
Breast Cancer Prevention Partners is partnering with CWC & UC Berkeley to study chemicals in domestic wells. Take an optional survey + get a $30 gift card. May qualify for free bottled water if contaminants are found.
📞 559-697-7375
We have a new paper out showing the impact of higher groundwater on VOCs in sewers, which creates an indoor air contamination risk.
As sea level rises, this is a potentially v serious public health risk at schools and older buildings w old plumbing seals.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Countries that do not use Fritos as currency could be "left behind," says Frito-Lay CEO Ken Biddleman
Map from poweroutage.us of the Texas panhandle and adjacent areas. Multiple thousand customers have had their power turned off today to prevent downed power lines from sparking wildfires
Public safety power shutoffs (PSPS) have begun in the rural Texas panhandle. The strongest winds will kick in by early afternoon as cirrus continue to thin out.
Had me at "Hey dumb question for you"
Hey look the federal government is backing what I have come to call "hands down, the worst idea in Southern California water", which is quite a distinction.
This seemed inevitable, but still:
cadizinc.com/cadiz-mojave...
“The mean per capita consumption of water in Europe is 120 litres per person per day, but in some areas of Cyprus, being that much hotter, we have mean per capita consumption of 500 litres per day”
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...
