Barton Thompson

Robert E. Paradise Professor of Natural Resources Law, Stanford University

Barton Thompson sees that California is running a groundwater deficit as the state uses more water than can be replenished. Lured away from his partnership at a law firm in Los Angeles, Thompson became a Stanford faculty member in 1986. He is the founding director of the law school's Environmental and Natural Resources Program and senior fellow of the Woods Institute for the Environment.

Professor Thompson is chairman of the board of the Resources Legacy Fund and the Resources Legacy Fund Foundation, a California trustee for The Nature Conservancy, and a board member of both the American Farmland Trust and the Sonoran Institute. He previously served as a member of the Science Advisory Board for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Recordings

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Podcast

Water Whiplash

May 25, 2017
Over the past few years, many parts of the country have experienced wetter wets and drier drys. California has seen five years of severe drought...
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Podcast

After El Niño Now What?

April 6, 2016
Many Californians are wondering if El Niño has saved the Golden State from its historic drought. The snowpack in Sierra Nevada is more robust,...
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Podcast

Water Underfoot

August 14, 2014
During dry times, water is a precious liquid asset – and our savings are depleting. Will historic drought drive us to improve our conservation...