Californians for Energy and Water Abundance

For too long, California has been held hostage by environmental activists and litigants, backed by politicians who prioritize environmental policies over the needs of people, imposing scarcity and high prices that benefit special interests but harm households and small businesses. Even on their own terms, California’s environmental laws and regulations are failing. They are already to blame for devastating wildfires and self-inflicted water shortages, and now we have reckless proposals to develop offshore wind farms that threaten marine ecosystems. California’s leadership has abandoned common sense.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

California is a global leader in technology and innovation. With practical, cost-effective and sustainable strategies, we can produce abundant water and energy, lower the costs of food, housing, and transportation, and protect our environment without sacrificing prosperity.

Energy Strategy: Powering California’s Future 

California should be setting the standard for affordable, reliable energy—not forcing people into rolling blackouts and some of the highest utility bills in the nation. The solution is an energy strategy that embraces responsible oil and gas production alongside rapidly advancing solar and nuclear power. We can deliver abundant, affordable energy to California while protecting the environment—and also set an example that other states and nations will enthusiastically follow.

Water Strategy: Capturing, Storing, and Expanding Supply 💧

California gets more than enough water, even in dry years—but mismanagement and misaligned priorities have left us rationing instead of thriving. By capturing storm water, expanding groundwater storage, upgrading reservoirs, recycling wastewater, and investing in desalination, we can secure our water future. Instead of scarcity, we can have abundant, affordable water for every Californian, including Golden State farmers.

California doesn’t have to choose between prosperity and environmental stewardship. With the right policies, we can have both.

For more information about CPC’s Californians for Energy and Water Abundance project, visit abundanceca.com.

director of water and energy policy, CPC

Edward Ring is the director of water and energy policy for California Policy Center, which he co-founded in 2013 and served as its first president. In addition to his policy work, his writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, the National Review, City Journal, Real Clear Politics, and other media outlets. Ring is the author of several books, including “Fixing California – Abundance, Pragmatism, Optimism” (2021), “The Abundance Choice – Our Fight for More Water in California” (2022), and “Solutions – Innovative Public Policy for California” (2024).

 
engin-akyurt-H4GGjhkhwF0-unsplash

California’s Refinery Capacity Stretched to the Limit

According to the California Energy Commission, in 2024 daily oil consumption in California averaged not quite 1.4 million barrels per day. Meanwhile, daily refinery capacity in California is just over 1.6 million barrels per day. There is a 16 percent buffer between how much…

pexels-kindelmedia-9875680

Maximizing Home Protection Against Wildfires

Nobody knew how the fire started. It took hold in the dry chaparral and grasslands and quickly spread up the sides of the canyon. Propelled by winds gusting over 40 miles per hour and extremely dry air, the fire spread…

pexels-mattycphoto-580900

Rebuilding Requires Reimagining Environmentalism

Helping thousands of victims of the wildfires in Los Angeles rebuild is an urgent concern, prompting, among other things, efforts to streamline the building permit process and expedite insurance claims. But this disaster and its aftermath must also prompt us…

pexels-jeremy-bishop-1260133-2923590

Restoring the California Dream

There’s no place like California. Situated on the western edge of North America, isolated from the rest of the world by alpine mountains to the north and east, vast deserts to the south, and nestled against the Pacific Ocean, it…