Dear Deeply Readers,
Welcome to the archives of Water Deeply. While we paused regular publication of the site on November 1, 2018, we are happy to serve as an ongoing public resource on water resilience. We hope you’ll enjoy the reporting and analysis that was produced by our dedicated community of editors and contributors.
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Smokers burn through 6 trillion cigarettes every year, and most are tossed into the environment. Butts contain microplastics and harmful chemicals, and new research suggests they may be directly toxic to wildlife. Efforts to curb butt litter have been largely futile.
Jerry Meral
The $8.9 billion bond measure on the November ballot would solve groundwater contamination in disadvantaged communities, restore wetlands, protect the Salton Sea and much more, says the measure’s author, Jerry Meral.
Kirsten James Oversees the California Policy Program, Ceres
Farming and food production use most of the world’s water and produce 13 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. A number of major growers and processors are taking steps to reduce those impacts, writes Ceres’ Kirsten James.
Michael Kiparsky Director, Wheeler Water Institute, Center for Law, Energy & the Environment, University of California, Berkeley
Nell Green Nylen Senior Research Fellow, Wheeler Water Institute
California’s five-year drought highlighted the struggles faced by small water systems. Legal and policy solutions are in the works, but they must remain adaptable to meet the needs of small communities.
Synthetic garments are shedding tiny plastic fibers at an alarming rate, threatening wildlife that ingest the bits. Potential solutions include new textile blends, better washing machines and special filters. So far, a complete fix remains elusive.
The Trump administration is moving to weaken the so-called Waters of the U.S. rule, which protects wetlands and other waterways from development. California plans its own regulations to fill the gap, but progress is slow.
Holly Doremus Faculty Co-Director, U.C. Berkeley Law’s Center for Law
A recent ruling by the Ninth Circuit regarding the Clean Water Act addresses key issues pertaining to indirect discharges but leaves some important questions unanswered.
Brian Gray Senior Fellow, PPIC Water Policy Center
Leon Szeptycki Director, Water in the West
Barton “Buzz” Thompson Robert E. Paradise Professor in Natural Resources Law, Stanford Law School
Assigning Ecosystem Water Budgets for California’s major watersheds would provide a defined amount of water that could be flexibly allocated and could ease conflict, say authors of a new report from Public Policy Institute of California.
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