AN ANALYSIS OF THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF WATER TRANSFERS FROM AGRICULTURAL TO URBAN USES

A two stage nonlinear optimization model was developed to account for the major surface and groundwater hydrologic features and cropping patterns in Colorado's San Luis Valley. Conjunctive use of surface and groundwater is included to assess changes in crop patterns and producer income from water exports outside the valley.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Estimating the Economic Value of Temporary and Permanent Carbon Sequestration Activities on Agricultural Land

This paper estimates the value of carbon from soil sequestration and emission reductions from setting aside highly erodible land. Increases in soil carbon are estimated using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change soil organic carbon inventory method and NRI data. Emission reductions are estimated using fuel use data from USDA-ERS.Environmental Economics and Policy,

Potential Carbon Sequestration and Revenue from Timber and Carbon Credits for Landowners of West Virginia Abandoned Mine Lands.

An optimal forest rotation model estimates potential value from timber and carbon for owners of WV abandoned mine lands (AMLs). An OLS regression provides merchantable volume and carbon density for six forest types which could sequester 0.41 Tg of carbon per year on approximately 33,800 hectares of AMLs.Environmental Economics and Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Examining the Cost of an All-Organic Diet

Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

The Effects of PTEN Deletion on Cell Size and Plasticity in the Hippocampus

The tumor suppressor phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) is the central negative regulator of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) -signaling pathway, which mediates diverse processes in various tissues. In the nervous system, the PI3K pathway modulates proliferation, migration, cellular size and synaptic transmission and plasticity. Neurologic abnormalities such as autism, seizures, and ataxia are associated with inherited PTEN mutations. Yet, how PTEN loss contributes to neurologic dysfunction remains unknown. PTEN loss during early development is associated with extensive deficits in neuronal migration and substantial hypotrophy of neurons and synaptic densities. However, whether its effect on synaptic transmission and plasticity is direct or mediated by structural abnormalities remains unknown. Here we analyzed neuronal and synaptic structures and function in Pten-conditional knockout mice in which the gene was deleted from excitatory neurons during late development. Using 2-photon imaging, Golgi staining, immunohistochemistry, electron microscopy, and electrophysiologic tools, we determined that late Pten loss does not affect hippocampal development, neuronal or synaptic structure or basic synaptic transmission. However, it does cause deficits in both major forms of synaptic plasticity, long-term potentiation and long-term depression. Deletion of Pdk1, the positive regulator of the PI3K pathway, rescued Pten-mediated deficits in synaptic plasticity. These results suggest that Pten independently modulates functional and structural properties of hippocampal neurons and is directly involved in mechanisms of synaptic plasticity

What might it cost to increase soil organic carbon using no-till on U.S. cropland?

Existing research provides estimates of the biophysical potential for increasing soil organic carbon (SOC) stock, however additional research is needed to enhance our understanding of the economic potential for agricultural soils to offset or help reduce CO2emissions. This study derives the marginal cost to increase SOC sequestration by combining SOC sequestration potential estimates developed using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) factors with an existing payment scheme that was designed to increase no-till (NT) adoption on U.S. cropland. The marginal costs of increasing SOC is a function of the amount of SOC that could be increased through NT and the expected cost to landowners of changing management to use NT. Results The variability in SOC sequestration rates due to different land-use, management histories, climate, and soils, combined with the 48 unique payment rates to adopt NT, yield over 5,000 unique marginal cost values for increasing SOC sequestration. Nearly 95 percent of the biophysical potential SOC sequestration increase on U.S. cropland (2802 Tg CO2 from 140.1 Tg CO2 year−1 for 20 years) could be captured for less than $100 Mg−1CO2. An estimated 64 to 93 percent of the biophysical potential could be captured for less than the low and high estimated costs to capture CO2 for geologic storage of$36.36 to $86.06 Mg−1 CO2, respectively. Conclusions Decreasing tillage intensity through adoption of no-till agriculture offers a cost-effective way to offset a portion of increasing global CO2 emissions. This research demonstrates that increasing SOC stocks through NT adoption can offset CO2 emissions at a lower cost than some other options for preventing CO2 from entering the atmosphere

Rajneeshpuram: Religion Incorporated

In 1981, the Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and his followers, acting through their religious corporations, purchased 64,229 acres in rural Oregon. On this land they hope to realize their religious vision by creating a unique religious community dedicated to the teachings of Rajneeshism. The Rajneeshees have attained that dream by incorporating two thousand of those acres as Rajneeshpuram, an Oregon municipality. The one thing that potentially can obstruct this dream is the establishment clause of the first amendment. Because the land ownership scheme and corporate holdings in Rajneeshpuram place the City in the actual control of an organized religion, the constitutional wall separating church and state has been weakened. This Note first explores whether the state\u27s incorporation of Rajneeshpuram and its distribution of state funds to the City violate the establishment clause of the first amendment. It next analyzes the free exercise implications raised by a denial of municipal status and state funds to Rajneeshpuram. Finally, the Note weighs the free exercise concerns against the establishment clause challenges and concludes that Rajneeshpuram\u27s municipal status violates the first amendment