The dry economy

The severe drought in CA has significantly influenced its economy. There have been clear and profound negative impacts such as lost crops and the financial costs of forest fires. But the drought has also created some economic opportunities and spurred innovation. This series produced by the BBC radio program Global Business takes a look http://bbc.in/1K9jVA1. It is a two part series; you can navigate to the second part “A Tale of Two Farms” us the panel on the left side.

The shadow over...

Urban spaces are complex and dynamic ecosystems.  Managing these systems is no easy task, particularly given that so much of it involves managing complex human social interactions.  Check out this story about shade in cities from the Washington Post:

http://wapo.st/1E28BUe

More Water Talk

Another exploration of the water woes in CA.  This one from the Washington Post.


http://wapo.st/1aJRkrI

The Water in Our Food

In CA, Governor Brown's recent mandatory water use restrictions largely spared agriculture.  That  sparked a discussion about agriculture's use of water and its role in helping the state deal with the Big Dry.  There was a particularly lively discussion about the large amount of the State's water resources that go to growing almonds.  Check out this info-graphic from the LA Times that breaks down the water use for some of the state's crops.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-water-hungry-foods-20150406-story.html

You might also want to check out the fuller coverage on the drought that the LA times has compiled here:
http://www.latimes.com/local/drought/

The Big Dry

It has been dry in CA.  Several years of below average rainfall have been topped off this winter by record heat and the lowest  Sierra snow pack on record.  Faced with dwindling supplies, the Governor has ordered mandatory water use reductions for the first time in the state's history.

It might be tempting to see CA's plight as simply a cautionary tale about people living in an inherently arid climate.  But CA (as it has so often been) is a harbinger of a new reality that all or us will likely have to adjust too.  We increasingly live in a world where resources are limited, or where we will need to self-impose limits on how we use the planet if we want to sustain the earth's ecosystems for us and future generations.

Check out this interesting story from the New York Times about the new reality in CA:
http://nyti.ms/1DKkfab

City Bee

A study just published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society London reports that urban landscapes provide important habitat and resources (such as flowers) for a wide diversity of pollinators in the UK.  Check out a news story about the research here:
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-31359984

The ariticle itself is here:
http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/282/1803/20142849

Social Capital

Although not directly related to this class, I found this story about the Indian based multinational corporation Tata very interesting. 

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-31057308

The company places social responsibility and charity on an equal footing with profitability as goals for its business.  As the Tata example points out, this is not an entirely new idea.  Indeed, the structure and history of the Kaiser-Permanente health care conglomerate is perhaps an interesting comparison with the Tata group.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaiser_Permanente

Although, not entirely novel, there does seem to be an increased interest lately in exploring business models that are more socially responsible.  The social entrepreneurship movement, for instance, is an example.  I think these alternative business models and approaches dovetail nicely with changes in how we think about using resources and management the planet’s systems.