Edward Ring Wraps Up: California’s Path to Prosperity Lies in Facts, Not Fear

The November 10 edition of the AgNet News Hour wrapped up a powerful two-part series with Edward Ring, Director of Energy and Water Policy at the California Policy Center, whose insights on water, energy, and climate policy have sparked one of the most talked-about weeks in the show’s history. Hosts Nick Papagni and Josh McGill revisited key points from Friday’s show before airing the conclusion of Ring’s interview, calling it “one of the most fact-filled hours we’ve ever had.”

Papagni opened with a reflection on the overwhelming listener response to Friday’s segment, where Ring challenged California’s dependence on imported oil and exposed the irony of restricting domestic drilling while buying fuel from abroad. “We’ve got the oil right here,” McGill added. “If they’d let us access it, we could have gas prices like Dallas, Texas.” The hosts emphasized that California’s energy and water challenges are not due to lack of resources — but lack of leadership.

Ring’s Monday segment dove deeper into climate data and the misinformation driving many of the state’s environmental policies. “We’re not in a climate crisis,” Ring said plainly. “We’ve compared actual weather station data on temperature, rainfall, and humidity across 200 years — and there’s virtually no difference between the 20th and 21st centuries.” He explained that many government-funded reports are “grossly biased” and designed to perpetuate alarmism. “They’re getting funds to send a message, not to tell the truth,” he said.

Ring’s analysis revealed that rainfall patterns, humidity, and even temperature changes in California have remained steady, despite decades of predictions about catastrophic warming. “The data just doesn’t match the narrative,” he said. “When you push false fear and destroy prosperity, there’s eventually a backlash that hurts legitimate environmental protection.”

Papagni praised Ring for “having the courage to say what others won’t,” while McGill noted that the message resonated with many listeners. “People are waking up,” he said. “They’re realizing California’s not suffering from climate change — it’s suffering from bad policy.”

Ring also warned that California’s environmental extremism has gone too far, with groups demanding electric-only infrastructure and blocking projects that could help farmers and working families. “If the environmentalists had their way, we’d all be back in the Stone Age,” Papagni joked, as McGill agreed: “They’d have us picking berries and calling it sustainability.”

Despite the criticism, Ring ended on an optimistic note. “California is full of smart, resourceful people,” he said. “If we unleash that ingenuity instead of stifling it, California’s best days are still ahead.”

Papagni closed the show by calling Ring “the Water Master and the Voice of Reason,” and promised to bring him back soon. “Edward Ring doesn’t rant — he brings receipts,” he said. “That’s the kind of conversation California agriculture needs right now.”