Ignoring Role of Bass in Salmon Decline is Negligence
Ignoring Role of Bass in Salmon Decline is Negligence
A March 5 “Perspective” in the Manteca Bulletin highlights a chronically underemphasized problem impacting every Californian. Bass, as editor Dennis Wyatt succinctly explains, are a “destructive, invasive species, that are a serious threat to the sustainability of the ecosystem.” Wyatt proposes a solution that has been implemented in Oregon, a bounty system. As he puts it, “The state would...
By Edward Ring
Redefining Environmentalism
Redefining Environmentalism
“I think what we can learn here is that we are guests in this landscape.” – Marissa Christiansen, Executive Director of the Climate and Wildfire Institute, Los Angeles If you’re looking for one sentence that encapsulates the mentality and premise that underlines mainstream environmentalism in America today, these words from Marissa Christiansen, quoted in the...
By Edward Ring
Wildfires and the Efficient Government Trap
Wildfires and the Efficient Government Trap
The misguided quest for efficient government As the wildfires raged in southern California last month, we witnessed bipartisan support for the reintroduction of The Fix our Forests Act, ostensibly designed to reform forest management. At the same time, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power announced that it will submit to outside investigations to...
By Mark Moses
Prairie Fire, 50 Years Later
Prairie Fire, 50 Years Later
Fifty years ago, in late July and August 1974, a 156-page paperback book with a red cover showed up in alternative bookstores, radical collectives, and coffee houses across America seemingly from nowhere. The book, Prairie Fire: The Politics of Revolutionary Anti-Imperialism, electrified and reinvigorated the nation’s dispirited and dispersing leftist radicals and exacerbated a new...
By Truman Angell
Edward Ring Testifies before Congress on the California Fires and the Consequences of Overregulation
Edward Ring Testifies before Congress on the California Fires and the Consequences of Overregulation
Edward Ring, Director of Water and Energy Policy at California Policy Center, testified before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust on Thursday, February 7, 2025. The hearing, “California Fires and the Consequences of Overregulation,” examined the ways years of overregulation on environmental issues has thwarted effective fire...
By California Policy Center
When Will Gavin Newsom Stop Deflecting Blame for the Wildfires?
When Will Gavin Newsom Stop Deflecting Blame for the Wildfires?
His responses to criticism don’t withstand scrutiny. The people of Los Angeles are experiencing one of the most horrific disasters in the city’s history. Wind-driven fires have raced through the canyons and into neighborhoods, destroying thousands of homes and costing dozens of lives. The ordeal has only begun; rebuilding is certain to take years. For...
By Edward Ring
California Government Breaks its Social Contract with Rich Liberals
California Government Breaks its Social Contract with Rich Liberals
Conservatives often wonder why California’s 13.3 percent top marginal income tax rate has not driven out more of its affluent residents. Indeed, a family earning $10 million annually stands to save over $1 million each year by moving to Texas, Florida, or another state that does not levy an income tax. But many high earners...
By Marc Joffe
Fire Prevention and Resilience in California
Fire Prevention and Resilience in California
A Policy Blueprint for Government Leaders Full PDF Version here INTRODUCTION The devastating fires in Los Angeles County underscore the urgent need for proactive measures to reduce wildfire risk and improve community resilience in California. While no preparation can entirely prevent tragedies when 100 MPH winds ignite urban canyons, there are practical steps local and...
How to Help Victims of the LA Wildfires
How to Help Victims of the LA Wildfires
Returning readers are accustomed to reading an array of policy suggestions or commentary on the myriad policy failures that lead to tragedies like this week’s devastating wildfires. But today we want to tell you how you can help. As we write, nearly 12,000 structures — homes, businesses, churches and schools — have been destroyed, and...
By Jackson Reese
A Firestorm of Failures
A Firestorm of Failures
SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT WILL SWAIM Before we get to our regularly scheduled programming — in which we discuss the myriad policy failures that led to this week’s devastating wildfires — we want to tell you how you can help. As we write, nearly 10,000 structures — homes, businesses, churches and schools — have been...
By California Policy Center
Trump vs. Newsom: California’s Tightrope on Energy and Environment
Trump vs. Newsom: California’s Tightrope on Energy and Environment
With national election results that have delivered a surprisingly unequivocal result, California’s business interests now find themselves on a political tightrope. On one side, the incoming Trump administration will pursue deregulation that may help businesses remain in California, and on the other side, the Newsom administration is going to do everything in its power to...
By Edward Ring
California’s Unplanned Obsolescence
California’s Unplanned Obsolescence
In the midst of my annual spring cleaning regimen, I came across a cardboard box of old charging cables and adapters taking up scarce space in my garage. Cords of various sizes from computers, printers, cell phones, televisions, and other devices I’ve discarded over the years were all clumped together, kept for the remote chance...
By Lance Christensen