Date: Tuesday, February 25, 2014. 7:00 PM.
Location: Y2E2 Building, 473 Via Ortega, Room 111
California is in the midst of a historic drought. 2013 was the driest year since the state began keeping records 150 years ago, and this is the third driest year in a row. We began 2014 with record-low snowpack and reservoir levels. Newspaper headlines have been stark, warning of communities using their last months of water, zero deliveries from the state water project and rivers closed to fishing. Recent rains have not changed the fundamental situation: California is facing severe, perhaps unprecedented, water shortages. How bad is California’s drought and what are state officials likely to do about it? How will it affect agriculture, cities, homeowners, businesses and the Stanford campus? Three Stanford experts will discuss the causes, policy implications and possible responses to the drought. Topics will include: The meteorological causes of the drought and the longer-term implications of climate change for water supply California’s historical responses to drought and how the state, communities and water managers may cope with the drought this summer How the drought could influence California water policy The implications of the drought for the Stanford community and Stanford’s plans for adapting to the drought
Location: Y2E2 Building, 473 Via Ortega, Room 111
California is in the midst of a historic drought. 2013 was the driest year since the state began keeping records 150 years ago, and this is the third driest year in a row. We began 2014 with record-low snowpack and reservoir levels. Newspaper headlines have been stark, warning of communities using their last months of water, zero deliveries from the state water project and rivers closed to fishing. Recent rains have not changed the fundamental situation: California is facing severe, perhaps unprecedented, water shortages. How bad is California’s drought and what are state officials likely to do about it? How will it affect agriculture, cities, homeowners, businesses and the Stanford campus? Three Stanford experts will discuss the causes, policy implications and possible responses to the drought. Topics will include: The meteorological causes of the drought and the longer-term implications of climate change for water supply California’s historical responses to drought and how the state, communities and water managers may cope with the drought this summer How the drought could influence California water policy The implications of the drought for the Stanford community and Stanford’s plans for adapting to the drought