A recent and welcome news release informed us that, following several years of severe drought in California, water supplies had recovered to the extent that state officials suspended state-wide restrictions on water use. Regulation of water use reverted to local authorities. During the drought, there had been repeated suggestions that hard-hit localities (San Diego was one) might consider investing in desalination plants. A common response was that California might be wise to take a hard look at Australia’s experience with large-scale desalination during its long-lived “millennium drought” several years earlier. John C. Bergstrom and Alan Randall explain. […]

Sustainable consumption is going mainstream.

Ethical products can now be found in almost any store that a North American or European shopper might frequent, whether they are buying clothes, food, building supplies, pet food, or cleaning products. Not yet mainstream, but certainly on the horizon are new systems of finance and energy supply intended to be more sustainable – socially and environmentally.

Emily Huddart Kennedy, Maurie Cohen and Naomi Krogman go on to discuss.

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Image Credit: Istockphoto

In the face of environmental collapse, Baroness Mary Warnock considers what motivates us to act in ways which can have a positive impact on our habitat.

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We talk to Professor Daniel Press about his new book and the future of environmental policy in America.

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