Worked some Yergin and Hartwick into a piece for this morning’s paper on the regulatory framework (or lack thereof) surrounding deep brackish groundwater in New Mexico: Water is not oil, but there are similarities in the politics and policies that accompany our consumption of the two precious liquids. Using groundwater, which is almost never replaced …
Continue reading ‘Stuff I Wrote Elsewhere: Brackish Water and “Sustainability”’ »
Transaction costs of brackish water regulation
Drier Climate on the Way for Southwest (ad gated): Climate change is increasing the chances of severe and persistent drought in the Southwest, according to a new report from a panel of federal scientists. “It’s going to get drier,” said Richard Seager, a climate researcher at Columbia University in New York. That means diminished water …
Continue reading ‘Stuff I Wrote Elsewhere: Water in the Desert Edition’ »
Fishin’ for help in thinking about NM’s water-population future.
On the horrifying simplicity of the H-bomb, and the possible unmasking of “Perseus”: Reed and Stillman suggest that the Soviets, desperate to solve the riddle of the H-bomb, returned to Perseus for one last favor in 1954. However they got the idea, by late 1955 the Soviets had built and tested their own H-bomb. h/t …
Continue reading ‘Stuff I Wrote Elsewhere: Armageddon Edition’ »
From my colleague Sean Olson, in today’s Albuquerque Journal (ad gated): While desalinating water could become a valuable tool to support a growing New Mexico, residents will have to be ready to bite the bullet when it comes to the huge energy cost associated with the technique. Experts say that cost comes in two forms: …
On the lessons from Chaco (ad gated): New Mexico has always been a dry place, at least on the time scales that matter for the ancient civilizations Henderson and Robbins were trying to understand. Our history could be written as a story of people forever searching for a stable water supply to support the cities …
Continue reading ‘Stuff I Wrote Elsewhere: Water in the Desert Edition’ »
We look up data and muse:
New Mexico State regulators approve expansion of rooftop solar incentives: New Mexico regulators Tuesday approved a major expansion of the state’s solar energy program, including provisions for solar installations on Albuquerque businesses. “We’re going to see a flowering of solar in this state,” said Jason Marks, a member of the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission. …
Continue reading ‘Stuff I Wrote Elsewhere: Solar Power Edition’ »
Dan McKay has an excellent story in this morning’s ABQJournal on some of the practical aspects of trying to spend all that federal cash in a hurry (ad gated): [C]ritics are starting to wonder whether the massive projects are remotely realistic — even if Congress doles out the money. For one thing, under federal law, …