Prediction is always a hazardous business. The Pacific Research Institute is pleased to present the fifth edition of the Index of Leading Environmental Indicators . The purpose of the Index is to provide policymakers and interested citizens with an annual checkup on environmental trends in the United States. It is especially propitious to do so this year, which marks the 30th anniversary of Earth Day on April 22. It concludes that the rate of land being urbanized in the U.S. has increased rapidly in the 1990s, to more than three million acres a year, and is providing fresh fuel for those who see urban sprawl as a crisis requiring significant new land regulation.
Water is undoubtedly California's most precious resource.
Many of the policies that govern California water, however, do not reflect water's value or scarcity. As a result, Californians face numerous political problems in an attempt to make the most of their limited water supply. One solution that policymakers and resource agencies are beginning to embrace is water markets. A Market Solution to the Politics of Water offers examples of existing water markets and makes policy recommendations to allow water markets to further benefit California. California's population is expected to increase by 15 million by 2020, straining the Golden State's water supply.