Archive for November, 2008
« Previous EntriesSecond Lives
Submitted by everydaytrash
The Museum of Arts and Design has a show up through February 15th called Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary. The exhibit, which features work from 50 artists, includes recycling in its highest form: artistic and funcional. Well, some of it anyway, from what I can tell based on this Brooklyn Based weekly [...]
Global International Waters Assessment
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
DG sent me a link to a report on the Colorado River basin that was prepared by GIWA. I’ve never heard of the organization — a Sweden-based branch of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) — but they appear to be making progress in documenting issues relevant in water basins around the world. [...]
Law Professors on Regulation
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
“Regulation and Regulatory Processes” by Coglianese and Kagan.
Abstract: Regulation of business activity is nearly as old as law itself. In the last century, though, the use of regulation by modern governments has grown markedly in both volume and significance, to the point where nearly every facet of today’s economy is subject to [...]
Water Accounting
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
Some of you will have seen the headlines (”drip irrigation not the solution”), and I have blogged on the same conclusion, but here’s more from the article itself [PDF]:
Climate change, water supply limits, and continued population growth have intensified the search for measures to conserve water in irrigated agriculture, the world’s largest [...]
Learning from Plants
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
Here’s the good news:
Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology have discovered a new way of storing energy from sunlight that could lead to ‘unlimited’ solar power.
The process, loosely based on plant photosynthesis, uses solar energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gases. When needed, the gases can then be re-combined in [...]
Renewable Energy Highlights and Commentary
Submitted by R-Squared Energy Blog
In Part I, I presented the notes on renewable energy that I took as I read through the 2008 International Energy Agency (IEA) World Energy Outlook. Here in Part II, I organize those notes, and then provide some general comments and conclusions. I am now offline for a few days. Happy [...]
Buy Nothing Day is Tomorrow
Submitted by PlasticLess.com Blog
With the recent international economic turmoil, I am predicting that there will be a lot less media coverage of Buy Nothing Day. I almost forgot about it. All I bought today was a coffee and a sandwich. I think I have to buy toilet paper tomorrow.
Rating 3.00 out of 5
[?]
Plastic Christmas Trees? Bah, Humbug
Submitted by PlasticLess.com Blog
Here is an excerpt of an article about the Chinese production of artificial trees and plastic Christmas ornaments:
Liao Jiahua, flipped through his glossy catalogue of goods, the economics propelling his business emerged. He pointed at his most popular seller, the “Canadian pine.” The cost of making it at his factory is about [...]
Trash hiatus and happy Thanksgiving
Submitted by everydaytrash
Hello from Essaouira, Morocco. Sorry for the light, or rather absence of posting this week. My sister and I decided rather last minute to spend the holiday weekend…plus a few extra days…with our Iranian father by meeting up half way between Tehran and Brooklyn. I hope you are all having wonderful meals today [...]
Change = CCC
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
While you are giving thanks, consider this from Luke Sexton, who says:
I am so excited about this idea to reactivate The US Civilian Conservation Corps…
I work with the disadvantaged in my area. The problems these young people face today (unemployment, homelessness, addiction and much more) is staggering. The CCC would be an [...]
The Klamath Dams Deal
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
Last week, farmers, indian tribes, enviros, and a power company announced a deal to remove four dams on the Klamath River [read Aquadoc’s view]. The idea is that greater water flow will improve life for fish and the tribes, at a cost to the farmers and power company.
I am pretty ignorant of [...]
Forests and Trees
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
The Butte Environmental Council is suing water districts to prevent them from sinking monitoring wells to assess groundwater levels, depletion and recharge rates.
At first, I thought that BEC was a front group for farmers who want to be left alone while they overpump the aquifer, but it seems that BEC is a [...]
Sneaky Taking Via Public Trust
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
Stuart L. Somach, a lawyer whose firm has many irrigation districts, a few cities and no environmental groups as clients, attacks [PDF] the stealth methods of taking water in AG Brown’s “clarification” of Public Trust.
He begins with a useful fact:
In California, groundwater is generally not regulated through a statewide system of allocation. [...]
Caribbean Water
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
LR says [edited]:
“I live in the Caribbean, and our countries often have water shortages. So — while we don’t have the financial problems of many other countries — we know about fresh water scarcity. On my island (Antigua), drought is almost guaranteed every year. If a hurricane hits, the problem goes to [...]
Poll Results - Got Sick
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
Hey! There’s a new poll on the Right [Read about the water projects here] —–>Have you ever got sick from drinking water?
Yes 41% 40
No 46% 45
Dead… sorry 12% 12
97 votes total
So this poll got a lot of activity (even the dead participated!), and the thing I was interested to see (and [...]
Options for Water Trade
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
Tomkins and Weber (I know them) discuss “Option Contracting in the California Water Market” It’s full of math and a little bit of calibration data (SDCWA and MWD water options), so download at you’re own risk!
ABSTRACT: Temporary resource transfers, as achievable under option contracts, reduce transaction cost associated with the sale of [...]
Carrots and Sticks
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
As someone well-versed in corruption, asymmetric information, self-interest, etc.,* I am a HUGE skeptic of regulations designed to “make people do the right thing,” and this experimental paper [PDF] provides some useful evidence of how things really work:
We conducted a series of framed public goods experiments in fishing communities off the Caribbean [...]
Sustainable Agriculture
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
The GIO folks said this:
if all the regional climates of the world are going to be changing significantly in the next 50 years, do we need to start shifting the world’s agricultural centers today? Will the vast farm plots of the Midwestern United States need to be moved north into Canada? Can [...]
Happy Meals Make Me Sad
Submitted by PlasticLess.com Blog
A recent study has connected the dots between fast food marketing and childhood obesity.
I bought more than a few Happy Meals for my kids back in the day. It’s hard to believe how easily I could be convinced to ‘treat’ my little darlings to some over-processed bland food and a 1/2 hour [...]
A Lemonade Award? For Me?
Submitted by PlasticLess.com Blog
Plasticless was unexpectedly given an award. It’s the kind of award that is a cross between a pat on the back and a chain letter. Many thanks to Live Life Veg for this award
I decided to pass the love along to a bunch of garden bloggers. Several of these bloggers probably [...]
Which Projects Would You Fund?
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
Yesterday, I posted Paul Faeth’s thoughts of how to address problems of providing water to the poor.
His organization (Global Water Challenge, GWC), collaborating with Ashoka’s Changemakers, put out an RFP for projects that would “catalyze local entrepreneurs to create a worldwide movement to end the water and sanitation crisis” in January 2008. [...]
Grad School Bleg
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
I got this email:
I was wondering if you had any opinions about applied natural resource economics programs, I’m in the middle of applying to PhD programs… and thought you might be in the know about some programs.
I’m currently planning on applying to Minnesota, Colorado State, Oregon State, Berkeley, Davis… and a few [...]
00Agua to the Rescue
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
I just saw Quantum of Solace, and I liked it very much — more for the energy than the plot :). (It finishes the Casino Royale story; I can’t wait for the next story.)
Water people have noticed [here and here] that the plot involves a villain who wants to cut off people’s [...]
The 2008 IEA WEO - Renewable Energy Highlights
Submitted by R-Squared Energy Blog
I am working on an essay on the renewable energy portion of the recently released 2008 IEA World Energy Outlook. In Part I, I merely present some of the highlights of the report (actually the notes I jotted down as I read it). Part II will involve more commentary and analysis. [...]
A Plasticless Food Processor
Submitted by PlasticLess.com Blog
I’m not a big fan of modern food processors. That might stem from the fact that I have usually been in charge of cleaning the things after someone with actual culinary skills and/or ambitions had the pleasure of using the ‘time-saving’ appliances.
This mortar and pestle is not an all purpose machine, but [...]
