I don’t know Florida water issues at all, so maybe someone can help me here. Tampa Bay Water spent $160 million to build a desal plant. But they don’t use it all that much: Tampa Bay Water says it costs four times as much to turn water from Tampa Bay into drinking water as it …
A couple of (possibly connected?) things that crossed my desk this morning – According to the latest data from the San Francisco Fed, Las Vegas (Nev.) has huge foreclosure numbers. And then this good news, from Henry Brean at the Las Vegas Review Journal: [W]ater use continues to decline in the valley, where the water authority …
I noticed yesterday evening a significant number of homes with outdoor Christmas lights still up and shining, far more than I remember in past years by mid-January. (No data here, just a hunch.) They looked like the new high-efficiency LED lights, which seems to be the Jevons paradox in action. The core of the paradox …
Continue reading ‘The Jevons Paradox and Christmas Lights’ »
Investors need to take long term water supply risks into account as they think about municipal bonds, according to a new analysis by the environmental-investor group Ceres published this week: The report shows that some of the nation’s largest public utilities may face moderate to severe water supply shortfalls in the coming years, yet these …
When the price of water rises, ag users feel the most pain. That seems to be what is happening in northern San Diego County, where rising prices of water delivered by the Metropolitan Water District to the Valley Center Municipal Water District is apparently making a big dent in the avocado business, reports Pat Maio: …
From this morning’s newspaper, a column (sub/ad req) about the reasons energy efficiency may not save as much as its advocates frequently claim: In a new paper, a team led by Tsao has drawn international attention by arguing that, instead of leading to reduced energy consumption, super-efficient bulbs may instead lead to people simply using …
Continue reading ‘Stuff I Wrote Elsewhere: The Jevons Paradox’ »
On my regular drive home, there’s a Red Roof Inn (and Suites!) by the freeway with a big sign advertising its price. It’s typically $49.99 (often $59.99 weekends) for a room. But during our annual Balloon Fiesta in October, when the town fills up with tourists, the price typically goes up to $89.99 or $99.99. …
Caltech prof David Rutledge’s “peak coal” argument is getting a lot of traction of late, and came up in a discussion on twitter this morning. The question was posed: if Rutledge is right, does this mean greenhouse gas regulation is not needed? Rutledge, in a talk two years ago here in Albuquerque, said the answer …
Continue reading ‘Rutledge on Climate Change and Peak Stuff’ »
Yesterday I found a dollar bill on the floor in the Journal newsroom. I picked it up and tacked it up on a little bulletin board in the middle of the newsroom. It’s still there today. People keep pointing at it and talking about it, but no one has taken it. It reminds me of my favorite economist joke. …
It’s hard to know how we’re doing to be able to address large scale global energy decarbonization needs when we’re still dealing with problems like this: Rising electricity prices are increasing the use of wood for heating in South Eastern Europe to alarming levels, posing a serious threat to health and the environment, experts warned. …