- Author: Christina A Hecht
Tap water stands at the intersection of multiple issue areas including water resources, the environmental impacts of beverage choices, and infrastructure needs. Tap water is also a public health issue. COVID-19, for example, has elevated the need for tap water access for basic hygiene such as handwashing.
The University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources Nutrition Policy Institute (NPI), coordinator of the National Drinking Water Alliance, puts a focus on plain water as a healthy replacement for sugar-sweetened beverages. These beverages are the largest single source of added sugars in the American diet, a top source of...
- Author: Kathryn M Stein
Kristine Diekman is an artist, educator, and Professor of media at the California State University San Marcos School of Arts. Her digital media project, Run Dry, tells the story of the water crisis in California's San Joaquin Valley.
Could you provide an overview of the Run Dry project?
Run Dry is a story of small, rural California communities and their struggle to remain connected to the most precious resource—water. This digital media project combines short documentary...
- Author: Jim Logan, UC Santa Barbara
As the climate heats up and droughts intensify, especially in the American Southwest, it's crucial that households reduce their water usage. Water districts urge their customers to save, but their messaging generally lacks rigorous evaluation of efficacy.
In a new paper, researchers from UC Santa Barbara reveal how a large-scale field experiment in messaging based on psychological science significantly reduced water consumption on the Central Coast of California.
The paper, “How managers can reduce household water use through communication: A field experiment,” in the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, details how the...
- Author: Faith Kearns
Claudia Diaz Carrasco is a 4-H youth development advisor with UC Cooperative Extension in Riverside and San Bernardino counties who has expertise in developing water programs for diverse youth communities.
Can you tell us a little about yourself and your work as a 4-H advisor?
I was hired five years ago and, at the time, it was one of the few positions I saw focused on underserved communities. I'm originally from Mexico and becoming a 4-H youth development advisor gave me the opportunity to give back to my community by working with other 4-H professionals and the community itself to diversify the program locally. We...
- Author: Faith Kearns
Greg Pierce is the Associate Director of the Luskin Center for Innovation at UCLA and serves as a Senior Researcher, leading the Water, Environmental Equity, and Transportation programs.
Your research is centered on basic service provision, with a focus on water and transportation. Can you tell us a little more about your work?
I started out over a decade ago focusing broadly on basic service access in urban areas in low and middle-income countries. I'm a social scientist through and through, and I got into water and transportation somewhat by coincidence. Because I was concentrating on what individuals, households, and...
