birding-aus

Proposed new Hunter Valley Dam

To: "Birding-aus" <>
Subject: Proposed new Hunter Valley Dam
From:
Date: Mon, 20 Nov 2006 12:37:21 +1100 (EST)
> Yes, either water must become more expensive or tanks must become cheaper,
> but as things stand the money would be better put towards community
> projects
> with economy of scale.

So, in summary, how might we connect water pricing (and dam building) with
ornithological equations, and ecological strategies designed to achieve
better outcomes for birdlife in broad and specific terms?  One major
problem I see with the Hunter dam proposal is that it depends on large
scale clearing of native vegetation in the short and long term: not at the
dam site itself necessarily, but in regions nearby marked for
(over)population ?growth?.  Consider the additional impacts on regional
biodiversity that will come from this clearing: insectivorous woodland
species are already having a fairly bad time of things due directly to
land clearing.  This dam proposal will therefore contribute to a set of
processes that are resulting in the disappearance of a number of such
species from the Lower Hunter and Central Coast regions.

On pricing, incorporating rainwater tanks or not, the evidence indicates
that water companies see excellent opportunities for increasing the price
of water for domestic users in the very near future.  This is what comes
of monopoly control I suppose.  Many of these companies have already
achieved a range of benefits when measured in terms of that old chestnut
of fairytale talk from the dismal science, ?economies of scale?. I?m not
sure what these water companies will do in terms of pricing for business
and industry: that will depend on how many directors they appoint who have
fingers in those other industry pies (so to speak).

There is also evidence supporting the view that ?economies of scale?
achieve lower costs of production and increased profits for only some
companies, partly because local/regional communities and domestic users
bear the brunt of the environmental costs involved in the expansion of
particular, high-impact industrial activities.  We might then argue that
the value of the ?economies of scale? concept needs to be either thrown
out, or radically refined so that broadscale environmental impacts and
?costs? are fully factored into equations and preferably paid for by the
companies themselves before they relocate to some ?other? place in the
world once they have exhausted the environment here.

Who out there can put a bit of the bird into economics?

Cheers

Craig Williams




> On Friday, November 17, 2006 9:44 AM John Leonard wrote:
>
>> "I'd have to pay about $1000 for a tank that would hold less than $1
>> worth of water."
>>
>> This assumes that the current pricing of water is ecologically
>> rational.
>

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