Pumping the Colorado

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One of the quirks of western water law is the variety of ways the different states treat groundwater. In New Mexico, for example, the law recognizes that groundwater and surface water are inextricably linked. This is merely a recognition of hydrological reality. Pump groundwater, and eventually surface water soaks down to replace it, depleting a surface resource.

In Arizona, not so much. The hydrology is the same, but the law says one can drill to one’s heart’s content in one’s own backyard. I’ve heard stories of residents of Tucson, in defiance of high water rates, simply drilling a backyard well.

Now the Bureau of Reclamation is trying to crack down on such drilling along the Colorado River, according to Shaun McKinnon in today’s Arizona Republic:

Hundreds of people who illegally pump water from wells along the lower Colorado River could face a tough choice soon: Pay to acquire rights to the water or turn the spigot off.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which oversees the river in Arizona, Nevada and California, has proposed new rules that target the well owners, who drain as much as 5 billion gallons of water a year from the Colorado.

Most of the well owners are private citizens who have drilled their wells too close to the river. Instead of pumping groundwater, to which landowners have a right, they are drawing water from the river’s subsurface flow. Well owners must get approval to siphon water from the river’s surface or subsurface.

(Note that the New Mexico picture is not quite as rosy as I painted above, because of a state statute currently in the courts that gave a generous exemption for domestic wells.)

Evidence That My Boss Cares

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I recently complained to my boss about the plastic forks he keeps in his desk drawer. I regularly steal them when I forget cutlery for my microwave lunches. But Charlie was getting those really crappy, flimsy forks. Totally unacceptable for eating microwave lunches.

Yesterday, I noticed that he had gotten some of those beefy, sturdy picnic models.

Never let it be said that my boss does not take care of his people.

Meat Demand Waning

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As prices rise, the demand for meat in Korea is dropping, according to Bloomberg:

“Korea’s corn demand cannot help but fall down the road because feed demand is falling,” said Nicholas Chung, senior manager of the commodity derivatives team at Korea Development Bank. “Cheaper imported beef is coming into the market and overall meat consumption is waning as the economy slows down.”

This is one of those knock-on effects. Rising affluence in Asia drives up meat consumption, which drives up feed consumption, which significantly drives up food costs. Weakening economies mean people have less money for meat. Knocks back in the other direction.

Food prices this week stable, according to the Economist Food Price Index.

Cost of Food Rising

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I like this story mainly because it’s about a company named “Sara Lee” that makes sausage named “Jimmy Dean.” I mean, how can you not love companies with such cheerfully personified identities, even if they are about to raise their prices dramatically:

Sara Lee, maker of meat products such as Jimmy Dean sausages, said costs would compel it to push up prices on meat lines by up to a fifth later this year.

“We will be taking price increases on the vast majority of the protein products in this calendar year,” said C.J. Fraleigh, Sara Lee’s chief operating officer for North America, in a recent interview.

“Meat products” and “protein lines”. Doncha just love the way these people talk?

Natural Gas Rising

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While we’ve all been watching gasoline go through the roof (easy to spot – sign on every street corner), natural gas has been quietly doubling in price as well. My colleague Win Quigley has a story in this morning’s paper, and Al Zelicoff, who’s been helping the paper with consumer energy saving tips, put together a bunch of information for us about how to reduce your natural gas consumption. Al gets frustrated – with good reason – because so much of this is easy to do, low-hanging fruit. Save energy. Save money. No-brainer. One problem is simply information. People just don’t know. In that regard, I’m trying to help using the pulpit offered by the newspaper’s audience.