Tag: economics
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Some curious things about water management
By Jay R. Lund *This is a repost of a blog originally published in 2012. Water management is often very different from what we think intuitively, or what we have been taught. Here are some examples. 1. Most water decisions are local. Water policy and management discussions often seem to assume that state and federal…
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Facing the Dragon: California’s Nasty Ecological Debts
By Andrew L. Rypel “Every time you borrow money, you’re robbing your future self.” ~N. Morris When I was younger, a close friend of mine struggled with a crippling debt. It was during that unique period shortly before and after college graduation. He had, in relatively short order, maxed out three credit cards, plus taken…
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Drought bites harder, but agriculture remains robust
Spanish version By Richard Howitt, Duncan MacEwan, Josué Medellín-Azuara and Jay Lund Today we release our second annual report estimating the economic impacts from prolonged drought. More than anything, the results of our 16-page analysis of the current growing season speak to agriculture’s remarkable resilience to multiyear surface water shortages. They also show that the…
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How to manage drought: Ask an economist
The economics of water scarcity is crucial to sustainable water management, particularly during droughts. California has long benefited from the insights of economists, though their ranks in state water agencies are thinning. Luckily, California has a wealth of young, talented economists already active in public water policy and who will be around for future droughts. California…
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Water and California’s Economy
Ellen Hanak, Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), San Francisco, CA Jay Lund, Center for Watershed Sciences, University of California – Davis Buzz Thompson, Stanford School of Law Today, PPIC released “Water and the California Economy,” a report that presents the consensus view of 15 experts* on the role of water in California’s economy, key…
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Whither the Delta economy?
Josue Medellín-Azuara, Richard Howitt, Jay Lund – University of California, Davis Ellen Hanak – Public Policy Institute of California, San Francisco Today, PPIC and UC Davis released a new report on the economy of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. “Transitions for the Delta Economy” explores how the Delta’s economy has evolved since the early 1990s and…
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Multiple stressors – funding the Delta like a public sewer
Jay R. Lund, The Ray B. Krone Chair of Environmental Engineering, University of California – Davis “There once was a woman who lived in a shoe. She had so many children, she didn’t know what to do.” It has become trite to observe that many environmental problems are caused by “multiple stressors.” Multiple historical and…
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Boldly approach the Delta’s future
By Jay R. Lund and Ellen Hanak Policy decisions on how to manage the lands and waters of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta are unavoidably controversial. The Delta Stewardship Council’s first Delta Plan, now under development, presents a rare opportunity to establish bold state policy directions on the Delta’s many controversies. Such bold action is needed…
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Woodman, spare that levee?
Jay Lund, the Ray B. Krone Professor of Environmental Engineering, University of California – Davis Policy debates sometimes seem to tragically miss the big picture. The current debate on levee vegetation in California is an example. Both sides assert noble and worthy causes—environmental and recreation interests favor trees and bushes on levees and public…
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What if the worst drought hit California today?
“And it never failed that during the dry years the people forgot about the rich years, and during the wet years they lost all memory of the dry years. It was always that way.” — John Steinbeck Jay R. Lund, Ray B. Krone Professor of Environmental Engineering, University of California – Davis California has been…
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Sea level rise and Delta subsidence—the demise of subsided Delta islands
Jay R. Lund, the Ray B. Krone Professor of Environmental Engineering, University of California – Davis Periodically, scientists point to the weaknesses of levees in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The press and policy makers respond with astonishment, followed by local assertions of levee sustainability and pleas for greater subsidies. This cycle has recurred several times…