Economics

"Running Dry" Water Resources

"Running Dry" educational resources consist of two topic areas, the Colorado River Basin and water-related health issues. Students explore and debate the environmental and political issues of the Colorado River Basin and analyze their personal water usage, the global impacts of water issues and other water-quality topics.

Alternative Energy Projects Stumble on a Need for Water

This New York Times article explores the emerging alternative energy industry and how it relies on another resource, water, to function. The article can be used to discuss the societal aspects of alternative energy and resource limitations, such as conflicting interests between the public and industry and economic implications. It can also be used to explore the subjects of alternative energy technology and engineering.

Plugged-In Age Feeds a Hunger for Electricity

This New York Times article explores how the surge in electricity-consuming gadgets, including cellphones, iPods and personal computers, has led to greater energy consumption. The article also discusses the role of the government, industry and trade organizations on energy usage.

Reverse auction ineffective at solving Maryland’s crabbing woes

This summer, Maryland tried to address a growing problem in the Chesapeake Bay: there are too few blue crabs and too many licensed watermen. Efforts were directed to a particular set of watermen, the 3,676 individuals holding "limited crab catcher" licenses. A little more than half of the watermen in Maryland hold this kind of license. These watermen are limited to setting up to 50 wire-mesh pots to trap crabs underwater and don’t often make their living off crabbing. Many don’t even take advantage of their licensee privileges.

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