Archive for May, 2009
« Previous EntriesWeekend Discussion: Tradeoffs
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
NOTE: This post will stay here until Sunday night. Posts for Saturday and Sunday morning go below this post.
Dear Aguanauts,
Discussion posts allow you to discuss a topic among yourselves — exchanging views, learning and teaching. (I only read the comments.)
If you are interested, take a moment to check out (and add to!) [...]
The Poor Pay More
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
via TS, we get another example of the poor getting less water for more money in Peru:
Local residents of the shantytown pay 3.22 dollars per cubic metre of water, compared to just 45 cents of a dollar that is paid a few blocks away, across the main avenue, in Rinconada del Lago, [...]
Somewhere in the Middle
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
I often tell people that I am an “equal-opportunity critic” of any view or group in the water business. For me, it’s important that we debate things, and MORE important that we consider others’ opinions and perhaps change our own to reflect good arguments, analysis, facts, etc. (That’s why we have the [...]
Speed Blogging
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
Where America’s cities get their water. Compare Chicago (100% from 0 miles away) to Los Angeles (88% from 130+ miles away)
There are LOTS of good presentations from the Water Education Foundation’s “2009 Urban Drought Workshops: Managing the Crisis” posted here.
DWR takes its whole website down for the Memorial Day weekend. Two observations: [...]
Slandering Your Competition
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
A few weeks ago, I criticized Tara Lohan’s post on suicides by Indian farmers, GMOs, agribusiness and globalization as “hack journalism” because she elided from fact (suicides < debt < crop failure < drought) to fiction (debt < GMO seeds < evil Monsanto). That theme was popular with Alternet readers, who never [...]
Why Buy a Plastic Clipboard?
Submitted by PlasticLess.com Blog
My life is kind of boring right now. It’s been a while since a perfect PlasticLess post has presented itself in the form of a problem or a solution. I have resorted to looking at the most relevant item on Google Shopping when I use the search term ‘plastic’
I hadn’t thought about [...]
Bureaucrats vs Markets
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
This AWWA post on the failure of California’s Drought Water Bank. Why? High rice prices? Environmental problems? BurRec barriers? Nope.
But even as more supply has become available, there has been less demand than expected, as buyers from the water bank must pay the state’s administrative expenses and the cost of moving the [...]
Please Comment on My Paper on the Delta
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
The Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education (a publication of the Universities Council on Water Resources) has asked me to write a paper about water transfers, with a specific focus on the Delta.
I have posted a SECOND draft of the paper here [pdf].
If you have the time (and inclination) to make [...]
Tarps on Reservoirs Bleg
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
One of my engineering friends suggested that it’s possible to create water “rights” by covering a reservoir — as cement lining of an earthen canal can “create” water by preventing it from seeping away. That water, of course, can then be sold elsewhere. (I suppose that Ray would call this “non-tributary.”)
Is this [...]
Simulations vs. Reality
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
If you haven’t been paying attention to the ag-water-jobs debate, here’s an update.
In January, Howitt et al. published an academic study — a simulation — that estimated 60,000-80,000 job losses would result from the reduction in water exports from the Delta. (I went to Firebaugh to find out how it was looking [...]
Is the Dark Cloud Over Solar Energy Beginning to Break?
Submitted by R-Squared Energy Blog
Sitting in DFW Airport, about to make my way back to Europe. I will be offline for a day or so. This seems like a good time for the latest from Money Morning, which as I explained last week will be featured here once a week or so. As always, normal [...]
Metropolitan Water Pricing FAIL
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
There have been many stories in the press about the 40-50 percent price increases that the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (Met) is imposing on its wholesale customers (e.g., LADWP, SDCWA, West Basin Water District, Long Beach and 22 other agencies). These price increases are coming with (related) decreases in delivery [...]
Poll Results — Doing the Dishes!
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
Hey! There’s a NEW POLL (Voter Power!) to the right —->
We wash the dishes (most often) with
Cold water
5%
3
Cold water and soap
8%
5
Hot water
0%
0
Hot water and soap
35%
21
The dishwasher
52%
31
We don’t have dishes (paper plates, eat out, etc.)
0%
0
As most of you know, a full dishwasher is more-efficient (with water) than [...]
What’s ACWA Doing?
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
On May 20, a protest was held in Sacramento [press release PDF]:
Hundreds of local water leaders and stakeholders gathered… to call for action on long-term solutions to the state’s water supply challenges.
The rally, organized by the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA), took place as water agencies around the state confront an [...]
The Super Ditch
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
TM sent me this interesting article on the Lower Arkansas Valley Super Ditch Company (SDC), which — despite its name — is located in southeastern Colorado. The SDC is a project that allows agricultural irrigators to join together as a cartel in making deals to lease water to cities. The SDC has [...]
The White Revolution
Submitted by R-Squared Energy Blog
When I was recently transcribing the interview that Vinod Khosla did for the Milken Institute, something he said caught my attention:
Hybrids are an uneconomic way to reduce carbon dioxide. If you go to hybrids or electric cars, your cost of carbon reduction is about $100/ton. If you have 10 ways of [...]
Does the Fight Against Bottled Water Have Collateral Damage?
Submitted by PlasticLess.com Blog
I had a Twitter conversation with a pro-bottled water person today. She goes by Bottled Water Babe and her profile page includes a link to the site for a coalition formed in 2007 by the International Bottled Water Association.
One of the main points that she makes in her tweets is that many [...]
Justice for Water Hogs?
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
Amidst all the talk of drought and shortage, there has also been talk of raising prices. Prices are going up for two reasons:
There is less water being sold, so the cost/unit has to rise to cover costs; see this post.
Higher prices are a good way to encourage conservation; see this post.
I’ve got [...]
Tuesday Morning Smile
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
Hope you enjoyed the long weekend….
Save Water. Use Twinkies? is from GOOD Magazine:
Colbert hopes that you will bail out the Prescott Group (”we make everything you need so we are too big to fail”)
The Colbert Report
Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The Prescott Group Bailout
colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes
Political Humor
Keyboard Cat
“Did you know that [...]
ɹǝpun uʍop ɯoɹɟ sɐǝpı uʍop ǝpısdn
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
via ML, I got this editorial on water trading in Australia:
Water is a vital and increasingly rare commodity. It is essential for the maintenance of life which includes cities, towns, small communities, agriculture and industry.
Ownership should be controlled by the state for equitable distribution and use by all on a sustainable basis. [...]
It Takes Money to Make Money
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
via DW, we find that Goliath is doing pretty well from a fund dedicated to cleaning up underground fuel tanks:
big firms have taken $490 million from the fund since it was created in 1989… the program has been extended repeatedly amid lobbying by the big, politically powerful corporations. Those companies are now [...]
Book Review: Why Your World Is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller
Submitted by R-Squared Energy Blog
Jeff Rubin - the former chief economist at CIBC World Markets - has always struck me as someone who “gets it.” I have seen him do a number of interviews, both on television and in print - and he consistently sounds the alarm on peak oil. He understands very well that [...]
Chemistry: The Future of Cellulose
Submitted by R-Squared Energy Blog
I am not a big believer in a commercial future for the biochemical conversion of cellulose into fuels. There are many big hurdles in place that are going to have to be overcome before cellulose is commercially converted to ethanol. In a nutshell, one is the logistical problem, which I have [...]
It Takes Money to Make Money
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
via DW, we find that Goliath is doing pretty well from a fund dedicated to cleaning up underground fuel tanks:
big firms have taken $490 million from the fund since it was created in 1989… the program has been extended repeatedly amid lobbying by the big, politically powerful corporations. Those companies are now [...]
Pork Fest
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
I am not pleased that the Congress has fulfilled my deepest fears with its 900+ page, 85% free-permit, pork-laden and exemption-ridden draft cap and trade bill.
If you want to know how they took care of all those who were going to “suffer,” then check out this questionnaire [doc] that BP forwarded to [...]
