Skip to content

About PERC

All Areas of Focus

All Research

Smoke-filled skies over the Bay Bridge, San Francisco, CA

Fanning the Flames

[…] regulations aimed at protecting the delta smelt. Californiaโ€™s byzantine laws evenย complicateย groundwater storageโ€”the process of pumping water underground, to be drawn on later. Groundwater recharge isย not consideredย a legally valid โ€œbeneficial useโ€ of water rights, creating obstacles to restoring depleted aquifers. The state has alsoย failed to defineย groundwater rights, leaving aquifers prone to overuse. In some areas, […]

Published on: May 24, 2023

Carbon-Free Power Isn’t Free of Hard Choices

[…] environmental progress and environmental protections. Last week, the largest geothermal company in the nationย threatenedย to sue the federal government over an endangered species decision that could derail its plans to supply Californians with emissions-free electricity. The company, Ormat, claims that the government hastily and erroneously listed the Dixie Valley toad as endangered last year. The […]

Published on: March 29, 2023

Arizona Water Reform

[…] water use statewide was less than it had been 60 years earlier, despite the fact the population grew seven-fold over the same period. Arizona has also prudently planned for the long term by storing roughly 3 trillion gallons of water in underground aquifers, equivalent to the amount needed to supply Phoenix for three decades. […]

Published on: March 16, 2023

Hunt Talk: Creative Ideas to Conserve Elk

Elk grazing on private lands in Paradise Valley, Montana. PERC CEO Brian Yablonski joins Randy Newberg of the popular podcast Hunt Talk to discuss creative ideas to conserve open space and elk migration corridors in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. With rapid regional growth and fragmentation, it is critical to conserve the large open spaces […]

Published on: January 20, 2023
firefighter walking away from fire

Burn Back Better

Expanding the use of prescribed fire on state, private, and tribal land would have significant benefits for forest resilience, community protection, and environmental conservation.

Published on: January 10, 2023