Comments on: Giving Our Choke Point The Heimlich Maneuver

By: W. Klein

W. Klein — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 21:02:06 +0000

On 22 September 2010 you state the “The US consumes about 100 billion gallons of water a day. Nearly 85% is used for crop and livestock production. Of the 16.1 billion gallons that remain, half is devoted to producing energy.” This conflicts with the 42% you propose here. Big difference. Wondering, which is correct?

By: Isaac Leung

Isaac Leung — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 01:59:19 +0000

I’m a UK citizen + am saying to explain that I don’t know US politics, water/energy economics etc. so well apart from what I’ve read here. My feeling is from reading this piece once, is that while the analysis of zero incentives for conservation due to the political cycle is insightful, anything that smacks of resource allocation or rationing in the US is politically unacceptable as healthcare reform showed. In the UK, more people might like this idea, but it would still never be implemented as consumers in practice don’t want to reduce their real income. In the US, there would be the additional problem that resource rationing would be an absolute political taboo and ideologically unacceptable. Imagine how much fun the right wing and talk radio would have with the Bushmen analogy if it ever get anywhere near policy-making. The equality of distribution between business, household and industrial units is also a major gap in the presentation as any such allocation would no doubt be challenged for being extremely arbitrary, even if it was a good way in theory to arrive at long-term welfare-maximizing watergy pricing. There is no point trying to introduce a micro-economic mechanism for water and energy use reduction if it is politically impossible. What is needed is much richer communication about the problems the US faces with water and energy, in ways that step far outside the pleasant Blue state intellectual bubble. This means real leadership and understanding of the American national mood as we enter a decade where resource scarcity could at last become a major macroeconomic risk factor.

By: Website of the Week: Circle of Blue | EWB Strathclyde

Website of the Week: Circle of Blue | EWB Strathclyde — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 12:45:08 +0000

[...] some pretty pictures and Info- graphics. Everyone likes a nice info graphic. There is an article on water consumption in the US that has some nice visuals, especially on the interactive slideshow halfway down the page. This [...]

By: Kevin Daum

Kevin Daum — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 21:09:01 +0000

this is true natural capitalism, the only hurdle I see is traders or bureaucrats who will try to take it over. would love to read more. doing something very similar with our programs, yet not competitive. please feel free to contact me or read my free book on my web site “how to Kill your Cleaning staff” http://www.oillift.net cheers Kevin

By: David Zetland

David Zetland — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 23:26:27 +0000

Brilliant! Yes, voters need to see an advantage to water conservation, and a few bucks in their pocket is far more “informational” than a few gallons or kWh less than ???