The Latest Trending Economic, Environmental and Infrastructure News Curated for You by The Balmoral Group
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Happy Friday!
Welcome back to another Economic Perspective! We're almost out of the Dog Days of summer! Let's all hope for a swift end to the high heat in the recent past as we transition into the last leg of summer, and hope for some more temperate weather ahead. Oh, and let's hear it for our athletes at the 2024 Paris Olympics!
This week, as we mentioned before, The Balmoral Group is attending the American Water Resources Association Florida section meeting, where TBG’s President Valerie Seidel is also President of AWRA Florida chapter. AWRA is a scientific non-profit that is devoted to promoting understanding of water resource issues by facilitating information exchanges and opportunities for professional development. They will be diving into water resource management, resiliency and updates regarding other key topics. We will be sure to follow up here and let you know what develops at the meeting!
For our Washington State readers, there's an exciting learning opportunity coming up next weekend! On Saturday, August 10th, the Department of Natural Resources is hosting the Steve Stinson Legacy-Family Forest Owners' Field Day, where one can attend workshops and attend presentations on such topics as forest wildlife and habitat, fire risk reduction, Indigenous land uses, and even growing forest mushrooms! If you're around Longview, WA next Saturday, why not give it a shot?
In this edition we bring you stories on AI, the Olympics' budgetary problems, and in lighter news, an update on Florida's Sawfish population. Our data visualization is from Washington's Department of Ecology and lets people view air quality indicators, updated in real time, across Washington. We hope you enjoy the read and let us know what you think! Feel free to share this with your friends, and stay tuned for the next Economic Perspective. If you’d like to view previous editions please click here, or to subscribe please click here!
Thank you and have a great weekend!
Lithium Processing Byproduct Holds Potential to Replace Fly-ash, Cites Rock Tech
Rock Tech Lithium, a lithium processing company based in Ontario, has cited the potential of extracting “a supplementary cementitious material from leached spodumene concentrate (LSC),” which is a byproduct from processing lithium hydroxide. The byproduct is primarily composed of aluminosilicates, and would otherwise go to waste; Rock Tech plans to commercialize this lithium hydroxide production by installing converter facilities at two of their facilities, with the leached byproducts potentially going to cement and concrete production companies. The LSC is said to potentially replace fly-ash, a byproduct from burning coal, as a supplementary cementitious material, according to a study from a Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg Mineralogy and Geochemistry research group. Read more here
WA DNR Partners with Squaxin Island Tribe as Stewards of Squaxin Island Kelp Bed
The Washington Department of Natural Resources and Squaxin Island Tribe will be working together on conservation efforts regarding the Squaxin Island Kelp Bed, the last major kelp bed in the South Puget Sound, and one that has seen a 97% decline in the last decade. The two partners will collaborate to create a priority habitat zone and improve the health of the kelp bed, which has been monitored by both the DNR and Tribe since 2013. This will be the first priority habitat developed under the Statewide Kelp and Eelgrass Health and Conservation Plan, a plan to restore at least 10,000 acres of kelp forest and eelgrass meadow habitat by 2040. Source: WA DNR
Drillers Emit Far More Methane than US Estimates, Aerial Survey Shows
U.S. oil and gas basins are emitting around four times more methane than federal regulators have estimated, according to results from an aerial survey released by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). This study highlights concerns about the petroleum industry’s contribution to climate change being higher than official tallies from uncounted releases of greenhouse gases. While the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) derives its estimates from industry reports, the EDF takes results from aircraft equipped with a spectrometer flying over 12 oil and gas basins. This project, titled MethaneAir, is a precursor to MethaneSAT, which will use satellites to measure methane emissions. The U.S. has finalized rules that target large leaks of methane by charging a fee to operators that do not meet those targets. Read More.
Olympic Games Financially Untenable
As the Paris Olympics are in full swing, recent estimates put the costs for hosting the games to have exceeded planned budgets by over 100%, with costs still on the rise as the games continue. According to an Oxford University study, 5 of the last 6 Olympics have had inflation-adjusted cost overruns of more than 100%. With revenues generated by the games only covering a fraction of the costs and less than desired long-term economic impacts by the developed infrastructure, cities are becoming less and less enthused about hosting future games. To rectify this, the IOC’s Agenda 2020 plan contains several sustainability initiatives that have been implemented to lessen the impacts of the games including limiting the new construction of permanent sports facilities and reusing the newly constructed Olympic Village as new residential space for locals. Additionally, future Olympics will rely only on existing infrastructure to host the international games. Source: CNN
No New Sawfish Deaths in Florida Keys Since June
This week, the Florida Keys Wildlife Research Institute reported that there have been no additional sawfish deaths since June, providing hope that the mysterious die-off of these fish is likely over, for now. The fish had been sighted since last October exhibiting strange behavior, spinning and struggling in the water, with no known cause for the behavior and up to 190 deaths reported. A scientific working group is studying the fish deaths, and while the group has ruled out certain causes like red tide and low oxygen, it is still searching to identify the cause of this event and fully understand the impacts to the population. Read more here.
First Step in AI Sustainability
With the sprawling rise of artificial intelligence (AI) within today’s society, the need to supply and manage it has come with the construction of many large data centers worldwide. However, this comes with the increase in energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions from the extremely large computing power needs, and the necessity to cool off the hardware. A new innovative system architecture known as two-phase immersion cooling (2-PIC) can be a first-step in reducing these impacts. This new method is proposing to reduce cooling energy consumption in data centers by 90%, and can even contribute to the decrease in the physical size of data centers, marking it a first step in AI sustainability. Read more here, and more about 2-PIC here.
Data Visualization of the Week
Washington Department of Ecology Updates Air Quality Map
Last week, Washington State’s Department of Ecology (DOE) updated their Air Quality map with new features. Our Washington State readers can monitor their local Air Quality, including indicators for level of ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide, as well as a five-day forecast for wildfire impacts to air quality. In addition, one can find information on sixteen communities where DOE is currently working to improve air quality via the Climate Commitment Act, Washington’s landmark climate legislation that created the statewide cap-and-invest program. The map can be found and/or downloaded here. Image source: Washington Department of Ecology
Click the visual below for more information.
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