The Latest Trending Economic, Environmental and Infrastructure News Curated for You by The Balmoral Group
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Happy Friday!
Last week, our president Valerie Seidel presented on AI in Construction Cost Estimating: Lessons from Machine Learning with Transportation Bid Tabs at the annual Transporation Estimators' Association (TEA) Conference. Alicia Barker was in attendance as project manager of the FDOT Strategic Resource Evaluation Study and the VDOT Economic Market Analysis project as well. More than 150 DOT estimators, contractors, consultants, and vendors attended the summit, both in person and online, from more than 20 states.
In this edition, we recount flooding mitigation tactics in the Florida Everglades, new water standards and tree planting initiatives in Washington State, a survey of U.S. EV charging infrastructure, and AI advancements in agriculture irrigation. Our data visualization shows how changes in climate may impact suitable farming land for wheat by 2050.
We hope you enjoy the read and let us know what you think! Feel free to share 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!
A Case of Beneficial Flooding within Florida’s Everglades Agricultural Areas
Scientists are using rice cultivation to preserve soil within Florida’s Everglades agricultural area according to recent reports. The 1,100 square-mile agricultural area has lost nearly 6 feet of soil in the past century through subsidence, a natural process in which gradual sinking occurs in an area of land. One solution being implemented is to grow rice in these flooded areas during the rainy season to preserve soil fertility, and to slow down the subsidence process. Each summer, nearly 25,000 acres of rice is collected in the Everglades agricultural area, leading to many environmental benefits to the region and economic opportunities from agricultural rice production. Read more here
Washington State Sets New Water Standards
This week, the Washington State Department of Ecology (DOE) updated and set new rules pertaining to the limits of toxic substances allowed in fresh and marine waters. The new rules include setting the nation’s first “numeric, freshwater limit for 6PPD-quinone,” a chemical byproduct of vehicle tire breakdown which is highly toxic to some salmon and trout. Also among the new rules are limitations on polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) subgroups, Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonate or Perfluorooctane Sulfonic Acid (PFOS), along with limitations on aluminum content. In addition, DOE updated standards on toxic metal and metalloid substances such as copper, zinc, and arsenic. Read more here and here.
You get a Tree! Free Tree Initiatives
Applications are due this week in Bellevue, WA for residents and community organizations to claim free trees. For four years now, they’ve handed out nearly 3,300 trees to anyone eligible in the area. In addition to the two free trees per resident, and up to 20 per community organization, the City of Bellevue of is offering training on proper planting and care, reminders about tree care, watering bag and mulch, and yard signs promoting the trees. These efforts are expected to continue in future years to reach Bellevue’s goal of 40% tree canopy by 2050. The Balmoral Group's study on Energy Equity in Florida also supports these initiatives as they provide heat-reduction measures especially for low- and moderate-income communities where heat island impacts are prevalent. As we're currently experiencing record-heat days in Florida, check with your community to see if they offer similar initiatives such as those organized by the City of Orlando and Duke Energy.
Window Strikes Deadlier for Birds Than We Thought
The widespread use of glass has created many problems for birds that are largely unable to perceive it. A study coauthored by Partridge analyzed more than 3,100 collision victims in wildlife rehabilitation centers, and it was found that 60% of these birds ended up dying. Thus, the researchers concluded that collusion with buildings could kill more than 1 billion birds per year in the U.S. alone. According to the Smithsonian study, the fatality figures for the birds was between 365 million and 988 million. NYC Bird Alliance helps reduce these collisions in New York by monitoring where and when they take place. Read more here.
US EV Charging Infrastructure Already Aging
A new study from ChargerHelp reveals that the US infrastructure for EV charging could be improved, highlighting failure to report broken stalls, inaccurate statuses, aging equipment, and unreliable providers as the key areas of headaches for EV drivers. The study used four years of data from 20,000 chargers and compared the station’s self-reported uptime (or the time it is useable), against actual uptime drivers experience. Across its network, its estimated that actual uptime is only 73.7%, not the 84.6% that is self-reported by EV network providers and that 26% of all stations didn’t positively match the perceived status presented in the networks’ software. This unreliability can dampen confidence of EV owners in the charging infrastructure. The Verge.
AI Advancements Revolutionize Irrigation
New research in AI-driven irrigation management systems has shown to improve water use in agriculture, with systems achieving up to 27% in water savings and 57% less energy consumed compared to traditional irrigation practices. The new algorithms achieved nearly 99% accuracy in predicting the irrigation status of soil when analyzing environmental and weather data. The AI primarily calculates the appropriate thresholds for soil hydration capacity, and then creates an irrigation management plan to bring the soil to the maximum saturation level without over-hydrating. This technology is expected to have a significant impact on sustainable farming practices, especially with the threats of water scarcity and climate change growing. Read more here.
Data Visualization of the Week
USDA Wheat Production Data Mapped Against Climate Expectations
The latest U.S. Department of Agriculture Census of Agriculture, conducted every five years, provides a county-level agricultural production, labor, equipment, and spending information and may provide insight into historical and future trends in farming. Natural disasters like droughts, flooding events, or hurricanes may impact localized changes in production in the short-term, but over longer timeframes, forecasted changes in temperature and access to water for irrigation could disrupt whole industries permanently. A comparison of present-day (1970 through 2022) wheat suitability to 2050 expectations shows a significant shift of land suitable for wheat product to the north into Canada, where the climate is cooler and more hospitable. Read more here and here.
Click the visual below for more information.
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