Tom Graff: A practical environmental visionary

As the world is preparing for a big environmental summit in Copenhagen, knowing that an agreement is very unlikely, it’s become apparent how difficult it is to reach an environmental agreement that can stick and change the course of history. People that can bring about such agreement are really rare, and last week we lost… Continue reading Tom Graff: A practical environmental visionary

The New Nobels: Small Steps Toward Integrated Social Science

I got a kick out of learning that Eleanor Ostrom and Berkeley’s Oliver Williamson won the Nobel in Economics. I had a similar response when the Psychologist, Dan Kahneman, won the prize. These are important steps in the expansion of economics and establishing an integrated social science based on rigorous logical thinking and empiricism.  This… Continue reading The New Nobels: Small Steps Toward Integrated Social Science

Irrigation Production Functions with Water-Capital Substitution

Abstract The dynamics of biomass growth implies that the yield of irrigated crops depends, in addition to the total amount of water applied, on irrigation scheduling during the growing period. Advanced irrigation technologies relax constraints on irrigation rates and timing, allowing us to better adjust irrigation scheduling to the varying needs of the plants along the growing… Continue reading Irrigation Production Functions with Water-Capital Substitution