Our own Janie Chermak and Kristine Grimsrud, Professor and Assistant Professor, respectively, at the UNM Department of Economics, and Bob Doppelt, Director of Resource Innovations and the Climate Leadership Initiative at the Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, published an Op-Ed in Sunday's Albuquerque Journal titled Climate Change Will Cost, No Matter What.
The article summarizes conclusions from a new study that estimated the costs of climate change to New Mexico.
If no action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is taken, the minimum annual cost to each New Mexico household is estimated to be $3,430 by 2020, $5,410 by 2040, and as high as $12,000 by 2080. The costs of climate change include the wide-ranging economic impacts that would result from decreased surface water flows.
The take-home message is that the longer we wait to confront the problem of climate change, the more costly climate change becomes to New Mexicans.
The full article is highly recommended.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Otero County to grow cattails in wastewater effluent for use as biofuel
The Otero County Commission voted on July 16, 2009, to provide $20,000 to a feasibility study on using cattails for biofuel. As part of the study, Sustainable Technology Systems, Inc., will grow test beds of cattails near the Alamagordo and Tularosa wastewater treatment facilities. According to the company's proposal, the feasibility study objectives are to:
- Confirm remediation of effluent in the growing beds through water testing samples
- Evaluate water and soil levels for optimum stalk growth
- Evaluate water and soil levels for optimum rhizome growth
- Confirm remediation of effluent in the growing tanks through water testing samples
- Standardize a data collection protocol for evaluating remediation
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