Heartland Senior Fellow Linnea Lueken, fresh off a visit to Israel, says the desert nation exports water while California rations it
Why? Senseless regulation in the Golden State
SCHAUMBURG, IL (September 23, 2026) — The Heartland Institute’s Linnea Lueken, a senior fellow with the Arthur B. Robinson Center on Climate and Environmental Policy, is available for interviews about her piece published in Townhall comparing water management in Israel and California, drawn from her recent trip to Israel.
Lueken reports that Israel, despite being in a desert, exports water and produces a surplus by using just six desalination plants for its population of more than 10 million people. California, by contrast, remains in a near-constant state of water emergency.
Lueken argues that the difference isn’t geography. Both regions share a similar Mediterranean climate and grow thirsty crops. The difference is regulation. She points to Israel’s approach of inviting private investment in desalination versus California’s California Environmental Quality Act permitting process, which took 20 years to ultimately reject the Huntington Beach desalination project, and which generally runs 12 to 20 years compared to about four years in Florida.
Lueken writes:
“Israel is in a far better position to deal with drought than California is, and the truly amazing thing is that California’s climate-crazed government chooses to keep the state in a constant condition of water scarcity.”
On your program, Lueken can discuss:
• What she saw firsthand in Israel that lets a desert nation export water instead of rationing it
• Why California’s permitting process — 12 to 20 years for desalination projects, versus about four years in Florida — is the real bottleneck, not the state’s climate
• How Israel’s use of desalination and treated wastewater for irrigation could offer a model for drought-prone Western states
• Why she says California’s water scarcity is a policy choice, pointing to the Huntington Beach desalination project’s rejection after 20 years in permitting
• The role water availability plays in wildfire risk, and why improved irrigation infrastructure is a fire-prevention issue as much as a drought issue
Why Book Linnea Lueken?
Linnea Lueken is a senior fellow with the Arthur B. Robinson Center on Climate and Environmental Policy at The Heartland Institute. She writes and comments frequently on energy and environmental policy and recently traveled to Israel to see the country’s water infrastructure firsthand.
To book Lueken on your program, reply to this email or contact VP & Director of Communications Jim Lakely at [email protected] or call/text 312-731-9364.
The Heartland Institute is a national nonprofit organization founded in 1984 and headquartered in Schaumburg, Illinois. Its mission is to discover, develop, and promote free-market solutions to social and economic problems. For more information, visit our website or call 312/377-4000.
Linnea Lueken is a Research Fellow with the Arthur B. Robinson Center on Climate and Environmental Policy.
