MAY 2005 HEADLINES June 1 World Environment Day Workshop Looks at Solutions to Global Water Crisis On June 1, the Pacific Institute and the Earth Day Network will present a workshop on "Solving Water Challenges in the 21st Century: Local Solutions to a Global Crisis." The event will be held at the Fort Mason Firehouse from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm and will feature Peter Gleick and Gary Wolff of the Pacific Institute along with experts from San Francisco City government and a speaker from the Earth Day Network. The event will be part of the week of festivities surrounding World Environment Day 2005, which aims to bring mayors and elected officials together with environmental experts, activists, and the public. For more information visit our World Environment Day page. Gleick Testimony Helps Ruskin Climate Bill to Committee Win Dr. Peter H. Gleick of the Pacific Institute and Dr. Ronald C. Cohen of the University of California at Berkeley testified in support of a new California bill that will combat climate change by adding green house gas targets to California's state planning priorities. AB 1365, sponsored by Ira Ruskin (D-21) and State Controller Steve Westley, passed out of committee 8-to-1 with bipartisan support and is now headed to the Assembly floor. "Climate change is real, has already begun, and poses a grave threat to the United States and the world," noted Gleick in a press release that accompanied his testimony. "The failure of the United States to act means that states must begin the process. This historic bill is a first step in that direction." Our press release and a fact sheet are available online. West County Diesel Project Moves Forward Efforts to reduce diesel pollution in West Contra Costa County moved forward this month, with two major events. On April 11, Pacific Institute staff, in conjunction with our local partners, held a meeting with residents who hosted indoor air monitoring equipment in their homes. Neighborhood House of North Richmond introduced the problem of diesel pollution, Pacific Institute staff presented information on the monitoring results and analysis, and the director of the Contra Costa Health Services discussed health risks and opportunities to create change. Preliminary monitoring results, to be released in June, show higher levels of black carbon in the air in inner West Contra Costa homes than in another home in Contra Costa County.		UPCOMING 5/12, Diesel Pollution Reduction [West Contra Costa County, Calif.], Join the Pacific Institute, community residents, and other activists as we brainstorm and develop solutions to reduce diesel pollution in W. Contra Costa County. Info: Emily Lee, 510-251-1600 or elee (at) pacinst.org. 5/18, Salton Sea [Sacramento, Calif.], Michael Cohen will attend the Salton Sea Advisory Committee meeting in Sacramento and the Salton Sea Coalition meetings held later that week. Info on the Advisory Committee is online. 6/1/05, "Solving Water Challenges in the 21st Century: Local Solutions to a Global Crisis," [San Francisco, Calif.], Peter Gleick, Gary Wolff, and other experts will present at this workshop for World Environment Day. Info is online. 6/08, Colorado River, [Boulder, Co], Michael Cohen will present "Environmental Impacts of Increased Colorado River Water Stress and Shortages: An Overview," at the University of Colorado Law School's "Hard Times on the Colorado River: Drought, Growth and the Future of the Compact" conference in Boulder, Colorado. More info online.

4/27, Forty climate scientists, including Peter Gleick, spent the day meeting with California legislators to discuss climate science. They were some of the more than 500 California scientists who signed a letter calling on the Governor and state legislature to act on climate change. Info is online.

4/27, The Pacific Institute and our local partners hosted a meeting to present the results of our diesel pollution study and identify solutions to the problem. The meeting was a great success, with participants coming up with a range of innovative solutions, including developing green barriers between train tracks and homes, and reducing idling on the Richmond Parkway. These ideas will presented as part of a final report being created by the Institute and local groups, which we hope will catalyze the community, local agencies, and businesses to solve this pressing problem.

4/26, Pacific Institute staff co-hosted a meeting with the Ditching Dirty Diesel Collaborative to craft a regional diesel agenda.

4/25, Peter Gleick testified in favor of AB1365 in the California Assembly. This bill, which passed out of committee 8 to 1, calls on California to adopt greenhouse gas targets in the state planning priorities.

4/23, Emily Lee and Margaret Gordon gave a presentation on West Oakland's environmental health issues and related legislation at a legislative training for community members. The workshop helped residents in Richmond and West Oakland prepare for the upcoming legislative trainings in Sacramento hosted by the Environmental Health Legislative Working Group on May 23-24. For more information, contact Alisha Deen at alisha (at) ejwatercoaltion.org.

4/22, Meena Palaniappan presented a talk on "Improving Urban Water Access" at the Technology, Innovation and Learning in Developing Economies Conference co-hosted by the United Nations and the University of California Berkeley.

4/20-4/22, Margaret Gordon gave a presentation on environmental justice to the Center for Disease Control's 2nd Annual National Environmental Public Health Tracking Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.

4/18, Peter Gleick lectured on the Soft Path to Water at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee.

4/15, Meena Palaniappan attended a the meeting of the Port of Oakland Technical Review Panel to identify ways to quickly and effectively spend Port settlement funds to replace older trucks.

4/12, Jason Morrison gave a guest lecture to Naomi Roht-Arriaza's environmental law class at the University of California, Hastings School of Law. Morrison's discussion with the second and third-year students focused on industry uptake of ISO 14000 and more generally on voluntary international environmental standards and certification.

4/7, Peter Gleick gave the opening keynote presentation at the University of Nebraska's conference on "Water Management and Policy: Increasing Competition for a Scarce Resource."

4/7, Pacific Institute and the West Oakland EIP hosted a meeting with City staff, community residents, and truckers to discuss implementation of a West Oakland truck route to reduce residents' exposure to diesel pollution. The draft truck route is expected to go to Oakland City Council in July and has been presented at numerous events and meetings to get feedback from all stakeholders. Info: Emily Lee, 510-251-1600 or elee (at) pacinst.org.

4/6, Nicholas Cain gave a presentation on the global water crisis to the Berkeley City Club as part of the Foreign Policy Association's Great Decisions series.

4/4-4/5, in Atlanta, Georgia, Jason Morrison attended the semi-annual meeting of the the national mirror body to ISO Technical Committee 207 - Environmental Management. At the meeting, the group approved a vastly revamped version of its operating procedures, which among other things, now emphasizes stakeholder balance in governance and decision-making. Approval of the revised procedures was a victory for Morrison and the Institute, who spearheaded the task force charged with revising them over the last year.

4/4, Emily Lee and Margaret Gordon attended a meeting to discuss the West Oakland Health Survey. In May, the West Oakland Health Collaborative plans to present the results of the survey and obtain support from County health agencies on ways to address health issues in West Oakland.

4/3-4/5, Peter Gleick was a Zucker Fellow at Yale University and gave a series of lectures, including a public lecture on Water and U.S. Foreign Policy.

An HTML version of this newsletter is available online: http://www.pacinst.org/online_update/

Problems, questions or comments: newsletter_editor @ pacinst.org (remove spaces)

Copyright 2005, Pacific Institute, www.pacinst.org

654 13th Street, Preservation Park, Oakland, CA 94612, USA