Pacific Institute Online Update for February 2005

FEBRUARY 2005 HEADLINES

New Report Charts Win-Win Policy to Reduce Pesticide Use, Help California Farmers

Global competition, suburban encroachment, tighter regulations, and rising costs are making farming in California more difficult and, in some cases, less profitable. At the same time, pollution from farming is causing serious harm to the state's water, air, and human health. But there is a way to reduce pesticide use, protect the environment, and help farmers stay competitive according to a new report by the Institute.

"Investing In Clean Agriculture: How California Can Strengthen Agriculture, Reduce Pollution And Save Money," by Dr. Gary H. Wolff, the Pacific Institute's Principal Economist and Engineer outlines a plan that "will reduce pesticide use, protect public health, preserve the environment, and help California's farmers stay competitive in a rapidly changing economy," Dr. Wolff said in a press release accompanying the report. "We think this will be a win for consumers, a win for taxpayers, and a win for agriculture."

The report is available online without charge.

Institute Continues Work to Cut Diesel Pollution

Efforts to cut diesel pollution in Oakland and other nearby communities continued last month. Meena Palaniappan briefed California Assemblymember Loni Hancock, chair of the Natural Resources Committee, on diesel pollution in Western Contra Costa County and solutions to reduce it. Ideas included tightening oversight of ports, ships and rail yards, and cleaning up school bus fleets. Assemblymember Hancock and her staff expressed interest in responding to the long-term impacts of diesel pollution on health and investigating the use of biodiesel as an alternative fuel. The Institute is at work on a new report modeled after "Clearing the Air: Reducing Diesel Pollution in West Oakland" that will focus on Western Contra Costa County.

Proposal to Cut Clean Water Funds Unwise

President Bush's proposal to slash funding for clean water protection was called shortsighted and unwise by the Pacific Institute today. As detailed in the proposed 2006 budget, $369 million in federal money would be cut from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund. "Cutting funding to protect our critical supplies of clean water is poor policy and a false economy," said Dr. Peter H. Gleick, President of the Pacific Institute in new release.

The full news release is available online.

UPCOMING
2/16/05, West Oakland Health Survey Meeting [Oakland, Calif.] 2-4 pm. Location TBA. Info: Emily Lee, 510-251-1600 or elee (at) pacinst.org.

2/16/05, Energy and Water [Buena Park, Calif.], Gary Wolff will present recent work on the energy used to manage water in California to the Association of Energy Engineers, Southern California Chapter, at 3 p.m. at the Radisson Resort Knott's Berry Farm. Info online.

2/22/05, Regional Diesel Meeting [Oakland, Calif.] 9:30 am at Communities for a Better Environment (1611 Telegraph Ave). Info: Emily Lee, 510-251-1600 or elee (at) pacinst.org.

3/30 to 4/1/05, Salton Sea Symposium [San Diego, Calif.]. Michael Cohen will speak about the future of the Salton Sea at the Salton Sea Symposium.

3/24/05, "The Colorado River Drought -- Sharing the Pain" [San Diego, Calif.]. Michael Cohen will participate on a panel at the Water Education Foundation's Executive Briefing. Info online.

3/3, Energy and Water [Coronado, Calif.], Gary Wolff will present recent work on the energy used to manage water in California to the California Municipal Utilities Association annual meeting at the Loews Coronado Bay Hotel. Info Online.

STAFF UPDATES

2/3-2/4/05, Jason Morrison participated in the MSWG Policy Academy's "Dialogue on Sorting Tools to Improve Environmental Performance." Held in White Plains, New York, and attended by roughly 40 high-level representatives from government, business, and NGOs, the meeting focused on constructing a policy, regulatory, and management framework for addressing current environmental challenges.

2/3/05, Michael Cohen participated in a Bureau of Reclamation Colorado River drought-modeling workshop in Boulder.

1/26/05, Meena Palaniappan provided public comment at a special meeting of the Oakland Planning Commission on the need to mitigate diesel pollution during the construction of housing at the old train station at 16th and Wood Street in West Oakland. The ten-year construction project would create a significant, new source of diesel pollution in a community that is already heavily impacted by diesel exhaust.

1/23-1/27/05, Jason Morrison attended a joint working group meeting of ISO Technical Committee 224 - Water Management in Valencia, Spain. Morrison serves as the U.S. expert to Working Group 3, Expectations of Users Relating to Water Service Delivery.

1/20/05, Meena Palaniappan and Emily Lee attended a General Committee meeting of the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project, which is becoming an independent 501(c)3 non-profit. For more information about EIP, please email margaretgordon (at) sbcglobal.net

1/18/05, Peter Gleick was interviewed by KVNO radio of Sonoma, California on global water issues.

1/14/05, Michael Cohen attended the Salton Sea Advisory Committee meeting in Sacramento, California to advise DWR on its development of a management plan for the Salton Sea.

1/13/05, Community Strategies Program staff, with partner organizations, coordinated a regional diesel follow-up meeting to discuss the structure of the collaborative and next steps for developing campaign issues. The next meeting of the regional diesel collaborative is 2/22 (see calendar for details).

1/13/05, Margaret Gordon and Emily Lee participated in the Alameda County Pilot Project meeting for stakeholders, which was sponsored by the CA Environmental Health Tracking Program. The Tracking Program, together with InfoOakland, unveiled InfoAlameda, a new web tool that will make county environmental health data available via the web. For more information, visit www.catracking.com.

1/10-1/11/05, Jason Morrison attended the first quarterly meeting of the Multi-State Working Group on Environmental Performance. The theme of the meeting, held in Salt Lake City, Utah, was multi-stakeholder collaborations to address resource and land use challenges in the Western U.S.

1/10, 1/11, 1/12/05, Peter Gleick made three separate presentations at the American Meteorological Society annual meeting in San Diego, including one at the President's Forum. He addressed the impacts of climate change on water resources and the state of the world's water overall.

1/5/05, Peter Gleick was interviewed by National Public Radio's All Things Considered on water and the disaster in South Asia in the morning. In the afternoon Bay Area TV station KRON-TV interviewed Dr. Gleick on same subject.

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