Course:ECON371/UBCO2011WT1/GROUP2/Article 7 : Great Plains river basins threatened by Pumping of Aquafiers

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111118151416.htm

Summary

The Great Plains river basin is home to many animals and plants that create a large portion of the biodiversity in the area. Unfortunately, this once sustainable habitat is being depleted by aquifers, which are sucking the rivers in the area dry. Once the water has been taken out there is no replacing it as melting glaciers created the streams and since there is a lack of precipitation it is not an infinite resource.

These rivers are loosing their refuge pool habitats at a rapid rate, creating the wildlife in them to dry up. A scientist of the name Falke has discovered that in the next 35 years roughly 50 to 60 percent of the refuge pools in the Arikaree River will disappear and many other rivers are much similar. The aquifers must reduce there pumping by so much in order to stop the destruction of the rivers that it is not economically possibly to reach. This is due to a rise in the demand for goods such as wheat, which the aquifers are being used almost entirely for such agricultural purposes. We must find a way to sustain these valuable rivers before it is to late.

Analysis

In this article, the author figures out that the Great Plains river basin is threatened by pumping aquifers. One major economic consequence is the environmental imbalance of all the water resource on the earth. And that affect more and more native fisheries. There are mainly two reasons that caused this problem.

One reason is that Industry frequently discharges wastes into water caused pollution, makes the sea hazard for fish to live in. Government has taken some actions to this problem. First, the Government measures the water quality in the sea and the wastes discharged by each industry. Based on the wastes discharged by each industry, government could make damage estimation due to wastes and determine resulting ambient pollution in water. Therefore government could set up an efficient uniform standard (The amount of wastes discharged into water will have minimum or very little hazard result for water quality) for all industries. Second, Government set up a higher uniform emission tax. Each industry will choose a new efficient emission level based on its marginal abasement cost, which will lower than the old efficient emission level because of the higher tax. Then government can use the tax paid by industries to clean up water.

Another reason is that people overharvest fish in the sea. There are two major solutions to this problem. First, Government assigns property rights to fisheries. The sea was a public good before, everybody can enjoy harvesting fish freely and none will care about the environment of the sea and the amount of fish in the sea. But if the sea is a private good, fisheries will protect the environment and rise fish. Fishers can also negotiate with industries about the amount of wastes they discharge, make an agreement that have more social benefit. Second, Government issues fish harvest policy and moral suasion. For example, fishers are not allowed to catch fish during the reproduction season for fish, they will be charged if caught. Government can also set up a progressive program and policy based on the amount of the fish people catched (the more fish they catch, the higher proportion of tax they need to pay for.

Profs Comments

Based on your summary, you do not appear to understand what an aquifer is. It is a 'pool' of naturally occurring underground water. The issue here is that the aquifer was filled by glacial melt water, and is not now being recharged.

Your analysis also does not directly address the issues reflected in the article.

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