DECEMBER 2004 HEADLINES "The World's Water 2004-2005" Released to Enthusiastic Response The 2004-2005 edition of "The World's Water" (Island Press) was released to nearly a hundred people who packed the 6th floor auditorium of the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars in Washington, DC. Dr. Peter Gleick, who lead the team of nine researchers that contributed to the book, gave a presentation on "The World's Water Crisis and the Need for U.S. Leadership." Dr. Gleick's talk gave some facts and figures from the wide-ranging publication, while focusing on growing global and U.S. water problems. Gleick's central point was that the United States lacks "a coherent and strategic approach" to both U.S. and overseas water issues -- however, Gleick continued, solutions abound "if we use an approach that combines smart economic assistance, technology development, and efficient water planning and use." Audio tapes of the presentation are available from the Woodrow Wilson Center (contact Jennifer Kaczor: kaczorj (at) wwic.si.edu) and the archived webcast will be available in a few weeks. More information about "The World's Water: 2004-2005" -- including PDFs of the Introduction and first chapter -- is available online. Dr. Gleick's presentation is available as an online slideshow (requires Internet Explorer). Attention Water Managers: New Water to Air Models Online To give California water managers a better understanding of the relationship between water management decisions, energy consumption, and air quality the Pacific Institute has created two water to air models -- one for agricultural districts, the other for urban districts. Created with funding from the California Energy Commission, the models, along with a User Manual describing their operation, are available without charge from our website. Institute Responds to California Farm Water Coalition The Pacific Institute has posted a response to the California Farm Water Coalition's criticism of "Energy Down the Drain," a report that Dr. Gary Wolff of the Pacific Institute co-authored with Ronnie Cohen and Barry Nelson of the NRDC. The report looks at the close links between water use and energy use in California and is available online. Heather Cooley Joins Pacific Institute Heather Cooley has joined the Pacific Institute as a Research Associate in the Water and Sustainability Program. Ms. Cooley's research interests include water privatization, California water issues, environmental justice, and climate change. Ms. Cooley holds a B.S. in Molecular Environmental Biology with an emphasis in Ecology from UC Berkeley and an M.S. in Energy and Resources from UC Berkeley. Prior to coming to the Pacific Institute, Ms. Cooley worked at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory studying climate and land use change, and carbon cycling.

11/23/04, Margaret Gordon represented the Environmental Indicators Project at the San Francisco Foundation's "It Takes All of Us" series on race and power dynamics for their environmental health and justice grantees.

11/20/04-11/21/04, Margaret Gordon attended the California Communities Against Toxics Conference in Sacramento, Calif.

11/18/04, Peter Gleick was interviewed for the Foreign Policy Association's Great Decisions television program. PBS broadcast times will be announced shortly.

11/17/04, The Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars hosted the release of the new edition of "The Worlds Water" (Island Press). Dr. Gleick presented a talk on global water issues and U.S. water policy. More information above and online.

11/17/04, Margaret Gordon attended a "Science, Community, and Environmental Justice" meeting hosted by EPA Region 9 to discuss strategies for communities and researchers to work together for environmental justice.

11/17/04, Emily Lee and Margaret Gordon attended a West Oakland Health Survey meeting to discuss next steps for the survey. Survey partners decided to continue planning for a more comprehensive survey, and to implement outreach and education related to health insurance and asthma. Next meeting will be Jan. 19, 2005. For more information about the survey, please contact Emily Lee at elee (at) pacinst.org or 510-251-1600.

11/15-11/16/04, Peter Gleick attended the meeting of the Water Science and Technology Board of the National Academy of Sciences, Washington DC.

11/13/04, Gary Wolff presented the Institute's recent work on privatization of water utilities at Stanford Law School's Shaking the Foundations Conference. Since publication of "The New Economy of Water" in February 2002, Institute researchers have been working to identify what makes successful public or private water utility. Dr. Wolff is currently developing a guidance manual for municipalities in the upper Midwest that are considering privatization.

11/10/04, Peter Gleick participated in the Water Panel of the Business for Social Responsibility annual conference in New York City, describing the risks facing business and the financial sector from a wide suite of water challenges. [Link to our Business/Water report.]

11/10/04, Peter Gleick gave a talk on global water problems to the Art and Architecture Departments of Cooper Union in New York City.

11/6/04, Emily Lee and Margaret Gordon represented Pacific Institute and the West Oakland EIP at the SF Green Festival's "Community and Environmental Justice" booths. Pacific Institute and West Oakland EIP literature was distributed.

11/1/04 and 11/21/04, Margaret Gordon and the EIP Coordinating Team met with EPA Region 9 staff to further develop an Air Toxics Collaborative in West Oakland. The Collaborative plans to kick off its official workgroups by early next year.

11/1/04, At McDonalds' world headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois, Jason Morrison briefed Conservation International's Business & Biodiversity Council on the findings of the Pacific Institute's recently released water and business risks paper. Attended by approximately 30 VP-level CSR and Environmental Health & Safety executives and procurement personnel, the event focused on a discussion of the emerging issues around business supply chains and environmental conservation.

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