- Author: Faith Kearns
Don Hankins is a professor of geography and planning at Chico State and a Miwkoʔ (Plains Miwok) traditional cultural practitioner. He has spent his academic career working on water and fire issues in California, with a focus on applied traditional Indigenous stewardship.
You've done work on the use of Indigenous traditional knowledge related to fire and
- Author: Faith Kearns
Rina Faletti received her Ph.D. in Art History from the University of Texas at Austin. As a fellow with the UC Merced Center for the Humanities and in line with their focus on water, she curated an art exhibit on industrial photography and the Central Valley Project.
You use the term “water culture” to describe California. What does it mean to be a water culture?
California's water culture is...
- Author: Faith Kearns
From beaches to canyons, southern California is well-known for its iconic landscapes. Palm-lined streets are so ingrained in the popular imagination that it's easy to forget the trees haven't been there all that long. In fact, much of what is commonly thought of as the area's natural beauty has been created to match a specific human idea of what nature should look like. However, a new study indicates that what many residents and visitors see as the ideal coastal landscape may have evolved during California's prolonged drought.
Andrew McCumber, a doctoral student in cultural and environmental sociology at UC Santa Barbara,
- Author: Faith Kearns
From ecosystems to housing, fire and water issues are deeply connected. That lesson keeps coming home again and again in California this year, most recently with the Thomas, Creek, Lilac, and several other fires in the southern California, as well as the Tubbs, Redwood, and related fires that happened in Sonoma and Mendocino counties. After years of drought, a wet winter that led to lots of summer-dried vegetation, and some very high winds (among other factors), many thousands of California residents are being deeply affected.
In addition to working here at the California Institute for Water Resources, I spent several years working at the Center for Fire Research and Outreach...
- Author: Faith Kearns
Doug Parker is the director of the California Institute for Water Resources and Strategic Initiative Leader for UC Agriculture and Natural Resources' Water Quality, Quantity, and Security Strategic Initiative. I interviewed him as we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the water institute.
Can you explain what the California Institute for Water Resources is?
It's a bit of complicated, but fun, history. In 1956, the state legislature passed a bill to...