Speed blogging

1. Ron Griffin's "Origins and Ideals of Water Resource Economics" [pdf] has some interesting history of US water policy and the economic thoughts that underpinned -- or contradicted it. He describes how politicians continuously expanded subsidies to farmers (who paid 20% of cost), how the federal government crowded out entrepreneurs, the danger of dams that convert small 1-in-10 year floods into large 1-in-50 years floods, the abuse of benefit-cost analysis [often covered here], the problems with "third party" impacts, and the legal and institutional barriers to economic (good) policies. This statement justifies this blog:

   Water economics will have to redouble its contributions, largely through repeated applications of existing tools.

   Read it.
   
   
2. Some of Africa's poorest farmers have restored their environment and raised productivity by using natural features to gather water.
   
   
3. The EPA is modifying the way it enforces clean water regulations, to make it easier for localities to address their specific challenges.
   
   
4. Too much regulation plus christian activism plus free water equals lawsuits in Aridzona.
   
   
5. Businesses are interested in sustainable water, but there are competing -- and sometimes misleading -- standards on local conditions and appropriate corporate responses.

H/Ts to DL and PW