Clearing the Backlog
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
Here are some links of interest:
- EDF says 70% of fisheries (up from 15% in 1950) are overfished or collapsing (see figure).
Solution? property rights over fish… - After 40 years of messing about, the Auburn Dam will not be built. Everyone claims the Bureau of Reclamation’s 2.5MAF of water rights.
- The Economist on…
- The negative feedback loop between drought and desalination in Australia, and Professor Grafton (ANU), calls desalination a waste of money, i.e.,
The point that I simply raise - and the reference in particular to Sydney - is that they made a decision to build that de-sal plant in July of 2007 when they didn’t need to build that de-sal plant and they still don’t need to build the de-sal plant. So you’re spending well over $1 billion or close to $2 billion if you include all the infrastructure associated with that de-sal plant which is actually not needed at the moment. The alternative would have been to raise the price of water two, three, four years ago as the dam levels started to decline, people would pay a higher price, consumption would decline and then as rainfall lines [sic. rises?] which has in fact happened in Sydney then you can drop the prices somewhat so you have flexible prices upwards and downwards and that saves you $2 billion and a de-sal plant.
- The impact of the election on water policy [PDF] (by the American Water Works Association). One story predicts cleaner water [duh!].
- Indian cotton farmers make more per hectare than American farmers. (They have cheaper water and labor and sell at world prices BUT the study was done by a consultant.)
- Why the Winner’s Curse persists:
However, the winner’s curse appears when participants compete against other humans, even when cognitive demands for the correct bidding strategy are removed. These results suggest the humans assign significant future value to victories over human but not over computer opponents even though such victories may incur immediate losses, and that this valuation anomaly is the origin of apparently irrational behavior.
- Wave power: vortices and an overview.
- Lobbyists get LA to require more solar panels — and more work for unions — but at what price?
- One part of EPA eases mountain decapitation for mining (this destroys watersheds) while another part requires that a Utah coal plant meet CO2 emissions standards.
