Water
How California Agriculture Can Survive Another Year of Drought, State Water Cutbacks
Water management and drought preparedness should be cornerstones of every state in the West. Among the states suffering the most from lack of water is California. Water has shown itself to be a finite resource in many states, particularly those reliant upon surface snowpack sources from mountain ranges in the …
Europe’s Alternative Reality for Reducing Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Popular wisdom is often wrong. Consider, for example, how it views organic agriculture, which has grown to a $48 billion a year industry in the U.S. Organic products are sold at outlets ranging from local farmers’ markets to large supermarket chains, and many people assume that there is something more natural, wholesome, …
Embrace Genetically Engineered Crops to Mitigate Climate Change
By Henry I. Miller and Kathleen Hefferon Popular wisdom is often wrong. Consider, for example, how it views organic agriculture, which has grown to a $48 billion a year industry in the U.S. Organic products are sold at outlets ranging from local farmers’ markets to large supermarket chains, and many …
Feckless Feds Freeze Out Frost Fix
“That morning I squeezed every orange and it felt like a wet sponge – I knew I lost the whole crop,” said Natalia Derevianko, a small farmer in the tiny Florida town of Archer, somewhere in the void between Orlando and Tallahassee. Florida’s peninsular climate offers farmers an opportunity to grow …
California Should Embrace Nuclear in Race to Meet All Renewables Mandate
DOWNLOAD THE PDF California is the first state to surpass a million plug-in electric vehicle registrations. It’s a proud moment for those who are determined to eliminate fossil fuel vehicles. But it’s not the grand achievement they think it is. At the end of 2021, 663,014 electric cars and 379,125 …
CEQA: The high cost of good intentions
By Chris Carr and Ken Broad California is in a quagmire due in no small part to the weaponization of CEQA, the California Environmental Quality Act. We are not providing the physical infrastructure befitting the world’s 5th-largest economy and leading crucible of innovation. Too often, critical projects don’t get built, …
Watch Videos from 2022 PRI California Ideas in Action Conference
Conference Theme: Saving California As PRI’s new book Saving California suggests, market-based reforms can help solve California’s biggest policy problems and even advance the goals of the state’s most progressive legislators. Come hear policy experts and real life changemakers discuss reforms that could push the state onto a better track and …
The Fight for Greater Transparency in Public Schools
One of the big fallouts of the COVID pandemic has been the revelation of what is being taught in the regular public schools. Some of the most publicized revelations have occurred in California. Last year, it came to light that the Santa Clara Office of Education had conducted a series …
Farmers and Ranchers – The Unsung Heroes of 2021
What do evergreen trees, ham, turkey, eggnog, and champagne all have in common? The holidays, yes, but also America’s agriculture — most notably the great agricultural states of the West. Let’s start with Thanksgiving dinner. Our colleague Pam Lewison of the Washington Policy Center, and a farmer herself, recalls growing …
Cadiz Water Project a Victim of Can’t Do/Won’t Do California
An innovative project to squeeze water from the desert to help quench perpetually thirsty Southern California showed some promise – until the Biden administration decided to halt the plans. The courts might rule against the White House, but for now it looks just like another day in Can’t Do/Won’t Do …