What Can Mayors Learn from California’s Success?
In the last year, California’s economy grew 27% faster than the country’s as a whole. It has seen greater job creation than any other state, and continues to be an economic leader. All of this happened while the state was suffering a historic drought. So how did California accomplish this during such a long-term natural disaster? The answer lies with strong leadership at every level of government.
At the state level, Governor Jerry Brown and the legislature passed a sweeping law prohibiting communities from pumping more water from aquifer than can be replenished naturally, or with human help. At the regional level, the water district that serves all of Southern California implemented a cash-for-grass program. Finally, locally, cities like San Francisco are passing ordinances requiring new construction to include on-site water recycling capabilities.
California municipal leaders are showing that local, state, and regional economies can boom in spite of long-term environmental hardships. In order to accomplish this, leaders at all levels must push for bold climate solutions that invest in the future, boost economic productivity, and encourage sustainability. Join these leaders by visiting the Path to Positive Communities and see how your city can become a climate success story.
How California Is Winning the Drought
By Charles Fishman | New York Times | August 14, 2015
FOR California, there hasn’t ever been a summer quite like the summer of 2015. The state and its 39 million residents are about to enter the fifth year of a drought. It has been the driest four-year period in California history — and the hottest, too.
Yet by almost every measure except precipitation, California is doing fine. Not just fine: California is doing fabulously.
In 2014, the state’s economy grew 27 percent faster than the country’s economy as a whole — the state has grown faster than the nation every year of the drought.