Environmental policy-making in New Zealand, 1978-2013

This article examines the ways in which key environmental policies have been made in the past, and reflects on the present state of play with respect to these policies. The article draws on my experience with the Environmental Defence Society (EDS) since 1978 and the reflections are personal ones. The issues covered are: government agencies; climate change; oceans; freshwater; and resource management law. The objective of this discussion is to see if the past illuminates the present in any useful way. • Gary Taylor is the chairman of the Environmental Defence Society, with which he has been involved since the late 1970s. He is an environmental policy analyst and has had extensive governance experience as a director of public sector entities in Auckland

The 2001 National Agricultural, Food, and Public Policy Preference Survey: The South Dakota Perspective

Farmers and ranchers in 27 states were surveyed during the spring of 2001. The survey contains questions about farm income and risk management, conservation and environmental policies, trade, food labeling, the changing structure of agriculture, producer demographics, and a series of optional questions. In South Dakota, 1500 producers received surveys and 325 returned completed forms. This document compares the responses of South Dakota producers with those in the North Central region, and the nation.Farms, South Dakota, risk management, conservation, environmental, agricultural policy

Lehmer's conjecture for Hermitian matrices over the Eisenstein and Gaussian integers

We solve Lehmer's problem for a class of polynomials arising from Hermitian matrices over the Eisenstein and Gaussian integers, that is, we show that all such polynomials have Mahler measure at least Lehmer's number \tau_0 = 1.17628...

The Impact of Increased Ethanol Production on Corn Basis in South Dakota

A basis model is used to empirically estimate the impact of ethanol production on the South Dakota corn basis on the district and State levels. Monthly data is used to estimate basis as a function of futures price, supply, demand, storage, and transportation costs. The independent variables used are corn futures prices, corn production, corn usage for ethanol production, corn usage by cattle, Midwest No. 2 Diesel retail sales prices, storage availability, and unit train transportation The regression results show the impact on corn basis varies by district from $0.04 to$0.27 per bushel, with a State impact of $0.24 in 2005. The impact from an additional 40 million gallon per year (MGY) ethanol plant ranges from$0.06 to $0.16 per bushel, with a State impact of$0.03. The impact from an additional 100 MGY ethanol plant ranges from $0.16 to$0.40 per bushel, with a State impact of $0.08.Crop Production/Industries,