The Latest Trending Economic, Environmental and Infrastructure News Curated for You by The Balmoral Group
The Balmoral Group provides practical, professional and precise Economics, Data Analytics, and Engineering Consulting services and is part of a globally integrated team.
Happy Friday!
Good Afternoon Readers,
The Balmoral Group’s President, Valerie Seidel, is presenting some TBG work next week at the Australasian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society (AARES) annual conference. Valerie is presenting a project from our team in which we evaluated the water quality improvement programs from Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS). TBG worked with FDACS to estimate the nitrogen leaching impacts of FDACS’ cost share projects on agricultural lands in springs BMAP areas. This is relevant in the Australian context, as there are major investments being made to improve water quality to help bring about recovery of the Great Barrier Reef.
In this edition, we bring you articles on clean water funding in Washington, coral reef protections, EV sales in Washington, and more. Our data visualization this week covers heat related deaths due to climate change and how each nation will be impacted.
Please feel free to forward this to anyone you think would be interested. If you’d like to view previous editions please click here, or to subscribe please click here!
Have a great weekend!
Washington State Proposes $175.5 Million for Clean Water Projects in 2025-27 Draft Funding Plan
The Washington State Department of Ecology has proposed $175.5 million in funding for 102 high-priority clean water projects in its draft offer list for the 2025-27 fiscal cycle. These projects include wastewater, stormwater, and nonpoint pollution initiatives across the state. Notable projects include a $28.6 million sewage pump replacement for King County and Seattle’s Ship Canal Water Quality Project. Two new funding sources, Community-Based Public-Private Partnerships (CBP3) and Stormwater Grants of Regional or Statewide Significance, have been introduced to support stormwater projects. Approximately $2 million in CBP3 grants will support areas like Clark County, Tukwila, and Kirkland in stormwater management. Additionally, Environmental Justice Assessments under Washington’s HEAL Act will evaluate projects receiving over $12 million to ensure fair distribution of environmental benefits. The public can comment on the draft funding list from Feb. 5 to March 7, 2025, with final allocations announced by July 1, 2025. Read more here.
Why the Home Insurance Model is Broken
After the L.A. wildfires home insurance companies are facing a historic payout of $40 billion. This has caused several insurance companies to pullout of the area completely leaving homeowners with ‘insurance of last resort’, the California FAIR Plan. The FAIR Plan also will struggle to provide payment for claims as estimates put their costs at $8 billion, and they only have $377 million in funds to pay claims. This highlights a major problem with home insurance and the inability to fund increasingly higher risk areas. As the rate of major natural disasters increase and more areas are exposed to risk, insurance companies are increasing rates, restricting underwriting in high-risk ZIP codes, or completely pulling out of areas. Home ownership in high risk areas will become increasingly difficult and expensive. Read more here and here.
Restoring Coral Reefs to Protect Coastlines and Economies
Restoring coral reefs in Florida and Puerto Rico can significantly reduce flooding and erosion and save millions in damages, according to a new USGS study. Unlike man-made structures, reefs grow with changing water levels, offering a sustainable solution with rising sea levels. By acting as natural coastal barriers, reefs absorb wave energy and lessen storm impacts, and reef restoration could protect nearly 3,000 people annually while preventing over $391 million in property damage and lost economic activity. With Florida’s reefs rapidly declining due to port dredging, overfishing, and direct damages, investing in reef restoration could unlock new funding opportunities, while preserving habitats and providing billions in economic benefits. Read more here.
Large Cement-Producing Firm, TITAN Group, Backs Innovation in the Industry
TITAN Group is expanding investments of a few startup companies utilizing AI and machine learning, waste upcycling, and more to drive innovation and sustainability in the construction industry. These efforts focus on new AI-driven efficiency opportunities and advanced property and climate technologies to cut environmental impacts. This move reflects a broader industry shift toward tech-driven sustainability, highlighting these sectors as key growth areas for the future of the construction and materials field. It is expected that more firms in the same, and other fields of the construction world will begin to push initiatives like this forward, seeking improvements in sustainability and efficiency through technology. Aggregates Business.
Washington State Weighs EV Sales Options
This Tuesday, the Washington State Senate Labor and Commerce Committee held hearings for two bills related to EV sales in Washington. Specifically, the hearings concerned Senate Bill 5592 and Senate Bill 5377 – 5592 would allow EV manufacturers to sell directly to consumers, a right which previously had only been garnered by Tesla in the state after the company successfully petitioned for an exemption around 10 years ago, while 5377 would repeal the exemption made to Tesla. If passed, SB-5592 would allow EV manufacturers who have at least two service centers and who provide a mobile service to open dealerships and sell cars directly to consumers – if SB-5377 passes, no EV companies could sell directly. Opponents of 5592, primarily auto dealers for whom these dealerships would come into direct competition, worry about lost sales and community connections, while proponents argue that a wider EV market would increase adoption of these zero-emission vehicles. Read more here
Climate Change to Wipe Out About $1.5 trillion in U.S. Home Values
According to a study by First Street Foundation, climate change is on track to obliterate nearly $1.5 trillion in U.S. home values over the next three decades. These declines can be attributed to rising home-insurance rates and more homeowners turning down some risky neighborhoods. The study aims to assess the economic risk that weather events such as hurricanes, drought and heat waves pose to homes. Climate change is partly to blame for making many of these events worse. As more Americans move to disaster-prone areas, the number of properties at risk also increases. Read more here.
Data Visualization of the Week
Heat Will Almost Double Death Rates in Pakistan Compared to Riyadh, Scientists Report
As climate change raises the temperature all around the world death rates will come with it. Tropical and desert areas will see the largest increase in days above 95F degrees (35C), and poorer nations in these areas will see the largest increase in death rates as these areas have lower access to needed healthcare systems. These poorer nations have argued at UN climate summits and other climate related conferences that richer nations with greater emissions should be footing the bill for climate action. Many richer nations also exist outside of the areas of greatest impact. An annual GDP investment of 1.4% worldwide would help lower emissions by 70% by 2050, but a greater investment at 5-8% from lower income nations will be required. Read more here and here.
Click the visual below for more information.
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