The Economics of Dead Zones: Causes, Impacts, Policy Challenges, and a Model of the Gulf of Mexico Hypoxic Zone

This article reviews and analyzes the issues related to worldwide hypoxic zones and the range of economic questions sorely in need of answers. We begin by describing the extent and causes of hypoxic zones worldwide, followed by a review of the evidence concerning ecological effects of hypoxic zones and their impacts on ecosystem services. We describe what is known about abatement options and cost-effective policy design, and then focus on the large seasonally recurring hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico. We offer a simple econometric model to estimate the relationship between pollutants (nutrients) and the size of the hypoxic zone. This “production function” relationship suggests that both instantaneous and historical nutrient contributions affect the size of the zone. Our results support concerns that ecologists have raised about lags in the recovery of the ecosystem and confirm the importance of multiple nutrients as target pollutants. We conclude with a discussion of the types of research and cooperation across disciplines that are needed to support the development of policies to address this important ecological and economic issue

The Economics of Dead Zones: Causes, Impacts, Policy Challenges, and a Model of the Gulf of Mexico Hypoxic Zone

This article reviews and analyzes the issues related to worldwide hypoxic zones and the range of economic questions sorely in need of answers. We begin by describing the extent and causes of hypoxic zones worldwide, followed by a review of the evidence concerning ecological effects of hypoxic zones and their impacts on ecosystem services. We describe what is known about abatement options and cost-effective policy design, and then focus on the large seasonally recurring hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico. We offer a simple econometric model to estimate the relationship between pollutants (nutrients) and the size of the hypoxic zone. This “production function” relationship suggests that both instantaneous and historical nutrient contributions affect the size of the zone. Our results support concerns that ecologists have raised about lags in the recovery of the ecosystem and confirm the importance of multiple nutrients as target pollutants. We conclude with a discussion of the types of research and cooperation across disciplines that are needed to support the development of policies to address this important ecological and economic issue.This is a working paper of an article from Review of Environmental Economics and Policy 8 (2014): 58, doi:10.1093/reep/ret024</p

The Search for Water in Lunar Soils Through Coordinated Analysis of Space Weathering Characteristics in an Apollo 17 Sample

Hollow nanophase iron particles were identified in a vesicle-rich region of the space weathered rim in a mature lunar mare grain. Coordinated analyses may shed light on the relationship between vesicles, water, and the hollow nanoparticles

Direct democracy catalysed by resident-to-resident online deliberation

In the context of local civic governance, much of the interest in e-Participation concerns the extent to which online media might overcome the limitations of geography and scale, and so allow local interests to be better represented in institutionally driven participatory processes at national or regional level. In contrast, this study investigates the online deliberations of a local, geographically bounded community in a series of mailing lists that had originated from their own initiative and self-organisation. The interactions we observe challenges assumptions of democratic deliberation as mainly policy debate between citizens and government, or of lobbying administrative government. It also proposes a broader conception of the role of online deliberation in local governance, where instrumental decision-making and developing consensus is frequently over privileged in research