David Edward Buschena (1964-2010) Recently I lost a dear friend, collaborator, and one of our most beloved alumni as Dave Buschena past away after a valiant struggle with cancer. I first heard about Dave when his professor at University of Minnesota and our alumni, Claudia Parliament, called me to recommend him for our graduate program.… Continue reading David Buschena, A Colleague and Student
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
Season Ticket Holder of the Game
[FB 303793877145] The $40,000 investment in the Warriors paid off! After 7 years tonight I was SEASON TICKET HOLDER OF THE GAME. The Warriors lost (nothing new) so I was robbed from getting a signed ball. Yet there where significant material gains – a stringy but elegant exclusive back pack, a unique white t-shirt (they… Continue reading Season Ticket Holder of the Game
Everything you ever wanted to know about the economics of biofuel?
Biofuel policy must evaluate environmental, food security and energy goals to maximize net benefits Model estimates food-versus-biofuel trade-off The Role of Biotechnology in a Sustainable Biofuel Future
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
Costa Rica – March 2009
[slideshow id=5] Today David was almost arrested! The story from David: Keith (the Dean),Federico, and I were driving to downtown to meet alumni in a restaurant. Federico – whose navigation skills are not better that mine – was driving around the same four streets in circles, and attracted the attention of two policemen. The two… Continue reading Costa Rica – March 2009
Conference: Biotechnology in Developing Countries
A two-day conference on the political economy of biotechnology, and drought tolerant GM varieties. Location: UC-Berkeley Dates: January 23-24, 2009 [button size=”small” color=”blue” style=”info” new_window=”true” link=”http://berkeleybioeconomy.org/”]Conference Website[/button]
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