Edward Ring is the director of water and energy policy for the California Policy Center, which he co-founded in 2013 and served as its first president. He is also a senior fellow with the Center for American Greatness, and a regular contributor to the California Globe. His work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Economist, National Review, City Journal, and other media outlets. Ring’s undergraduate degree is in Political Science from UC Davis, and he has an MBA in Finance from USC. 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).
There is a good chance that a Californian is going to be nominated to become the new Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation. One source of opposition to his confirmation could be senators representing states that share with California the waters of the Colorado River, concerned that a Californian will not sufficiently take into account...
By Edward Ring
Two imminent federal actions promise to greatly influence water policy in California for the next several years. The first arises out of an executive order from President Donald Trump to the secretary of the interior to restart the work “to route more water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to other parts of the state for use by the people...
By Edward Ring
If he hasn’t done so already, Governor Newsom needs to demand the state legislature rescind the so-called “ABX2-1” passed on October 14, 2024 in an effort to prevent “price gouging.” If the legislature does not cooperate, Newsom needs to declare a state of emergency and suspend the law. Because if he does not, he will lose whatever...
By Edward Ring
There is a growing bipartisan consensus even here in California that environmentalist restrictions have gone too far. It would be a dishonest oversimplification to pretend environmentalists have outlived their usefulness, or that many of the accomplishments of environmentalists over the past 50 years weren’t magnificent and necessary. But when special interests define and exploit environmentalism...
By Edward Ring
The first Earth Day in 1970 was organized in response to growing public concern for the environment. Many of the calls to action were justified: polluted rivers were catching fire, and smog was so dense that in downtown Los Angeles, you couldn’t even see the hills a few miles away. We’ve come a long way...
By Edward Ring
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 oil we use every day, and how much oil we are capable of refining. That...
By Edward Ring
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 over the ridge and into the town below. Overwhelmed firefighters could not contain the blaze...
By Edward Ring
As Los Angeles struggles to rebuild following January’s devastating wildfires, one thing is clear: Our broken policies didn’t just fail to prevent this disaster—they’re making it harder to rebuild. Decades of misguided regulations have restricted the housing supply and inflated building costs, leaving communities struggling to recover. Helping fire victims rebuild quickly has prompted efforts...
By Edward Ring
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 might has well be an island. And what an island. The megacity of Los Angeles,...
By Edward Ring
Governor Newsom’s priority constituency is now located outside of California and shaded purple, and a new team occupies the White House that is as red as red can be. So it is probably safe to say that even here in deep blue California, many of the policies governing energy and water are about to be...
By Edward Ring
It is nearly impossible to read a policy document on the topic of energy or water that won’t make frequent references to carbon. In California, the race to achieve a “carbon neutral” economy by 2045 has spawned a carbon accounting industry that calculates the carbon impact of absolutely everything we do. Certain numbers have become...
By Edward Ring
The United States used to be the undisputed leader in nuclear power and still has more operating reactors than any other nation, with 94 currently in service. But in the last 35 years, only one new nuclear power plant has been built in the U.S.—Plant Vogtle in Georgia, which only recently began commercial operations. Meanwhile,...
By Edward Ring
Prepared by Golden Together, a Movement to Restore the California Dream Edward Ring, California Policy Center Steve Hilton, Founder of Golden Together Published March 20, 2025
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
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