jivetalking

Episode 37: Ralph Pentland was Director of Water Planning and Management in the Canadian Federal Government from 1978-91. In that capacity, he was responsible for negotiating and administering numerous federal - provincial and Canada - U.S. Agreements, was responsible for administering the Canada Water Act and the International River Improvements Act, and was the primary author of the 1987 Federal Water Policy. Since 1991, Ralph served as a water and environmental policy consultant in many countries, served as Canadian Co-Chairman on several International Joint Commission Boards and Committees, collaborated with numerous non-governmental and academic organizations, including Chairing the Canadian Water Issues Council at the University of Toronto for a decade, helped negotiate major intergovernmental agreements in the Great Lakes- St. Lawrence and Mackenzie River Basins, assisted in the development of federal water export legislation, and was co-author of the book Down the Drain: How We Are Failing to Protect Our Water Resources. He is currently President of Ralbet Enterprises Incorporated, a Member of the Forum for Leadership on Water, a Board Member with LakePulse, and a Member of the Advisory Committee for Environmental Defense Canada.

This episode's motto: "Policy depends on public opinion, which tends to lag science by 20 years."

Links of interest:

http://www.aguanomics.com/2013/11/down-drain-review.html

https://www.aguanomics.com/2017/05/so-what-would-carbon-tax-really-cost.html

Episode 36: Jori Korpershoek graduated LUC in the summer of 2016 with a Bsc in Governance, Economics and Development. He is mainly interested in knowledge and information, and how societies learn though bottom-up processes. After working for a year, he enrolled in an Mphil in economics. Although he had been a (maybe over)-active class participant for his three years at LUC, for the first semester of his Mphil he was reduced to muttering "wait, what just happened?" to himself as the professors scrolled through endless equations.

This episode's motto: "Math is a tool, not reality"

[Jori's photo here is from his marathon run, which was good training for graduate school ;) ]

Some links from Jori:

http://www.econtalk.org/david-epstein-on-mastery-specialization-and-range

A great conversation about learning, especially on how to think about learning, and the difference between "kind" and "wicked" learning environments.

https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/123456789/4370/759_PUB_working_paper_33.pdf?sequence%253D1

An academic paper on how hard it is to model uncertainty and discontinuities (tipping points etc.) and the limits of formal modeling when it comes to understanding the implications of climate change. Just because we can’t model exactly what’s happening, does not mean we should not be concerned.

Episode 35: Ed Bourque (http://www.edbourqueconsulting.com) has more than a decade of experience in the domestic and international water sector, in research, technical writing, communications, and proposal writing roles. He has experience in urban water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), urban planning, watershed management, and water governance / political economy analysis. He has experience working with major donors (USAID, the World Bank, and UNICEF), numerous NGOs, government, and the private sector.

Ed holds a B.A. in biology/environmental science from Colby College, an M.A. in international development from Brandeis University, and a PhD in geography from King’s College London. He speaks French and Swahili.

This episode's motto: "Co-dependency does not lead to good results."

**Links of interest from David**

https://www.ib-net.org

http://www.aguanomics.com/2017/07/review-development-projects-observed.html

The Divide: https://one-handed-economist.com/?p=857

https://soundcloud.com/jivetalking/29-giel-verbeeck-makes-water-systems-sustainable

**Links of interest from Ed**

Here are some links on some of the water governance topics we discussed (enabling environments, project failures/corruption, and tools to address some of these issues).

Failure and corruption

http://www.improveinternational.org/cause/why-do-water-points-fail/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Failures_of_water_supply_and_sanitation_systems

http://www.edbourqueconsulting.com/why-do-water-sector-public-private-participation-projects-ppps-fail/

https://ssir.org/articles/entry/development_malpractice_in_ghana

https://qz-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/qz.com/africa/1368422/the-2018-hilton-prize-went-to-a-kenyan-nonprofit-that-builds-aerial-water-systems-for-slums/amp/

http://www.edbourqueconsulting.com/corruption-water-sector-water-mafias-exist/

http://www.watergetenemy.org/

Assessing access and improving enabling environments/institutions, finances, systems, and accountability frameworks.

https://washdata.org/

http://sanitationandwaterforall.org/

https://www.unwater.org/publication_categories/glaas/

https://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/monitoring/investments/trackfin/en/

https://www.ircwash.org/resources/blended-finance

https://thecityfix.com/blog/urban-water-governance-in-the-developing-world-accountability-and-affordability-are-keys-to-access-water-ed-bourque/

https://www.ircwash.org/symposium

http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/527371468166770790/World-Development-Report-2004-Making-services-work-for-poor-people-Overview

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282848264_Mapping_of_Water_Sanitation_and_Hygiene_Sustainability_Tools

https://akvopedia.org/wiki/FIETS_sustainability_principles

http://washplus.org/rotary-usaid.html

Water wars: https://flows.hypotheses.org/1126

The Tanzania electricity scandal of 2008.

https://www.africaresearchinstitute.org/newsite/publications/iptl-richmond-escrow-price-private-power-procurement-tanzania/

(NB: One major impact of failed electrical grids in Dar es Salaam was that deep water wells in the city that were dependent upon functional electrical grids were pretty much useless. It rendered the water supply for those off the piped water system (all but those who had a share of/access to those 50,000 or so water utility connections) non-existent for hours and days on end for months on end in that era.)

Episode 34: Tyler McMahon is an entrepreneur based in Colorado, USA and Kathmandu, Nepal. He graduated in 2007 from Colorado College with a degree in Economics focused on Environmental and Water Resource Economics. During this, in 2006 he studied abroad on the School for International Training (SIT) Nepal program and developed a proposal for a Fulbright Scholarship on the Economics of Urban Rainwater Harvesting in the Kathmandu Valley, which he won and went back to Nepal in 2007-2008. After this he worked for the UN World Food Progamme in Nepal on monitoring and evaluation and sustainability, which included the largest urban solar system in Kathmandu which set a trend for urban solar. In 2011, wanting to pursue the research from his Fulbright more and the fact that there was a market, need and few suppliers for rainwater harvesting, he started pitching people on the concept. Tyler McMahon, Suman Shakya, and Hem Narayan Shrestha and two others started SmartPaani in September 2011. On the side he races mountain bikes and trail runs, including competing the world's highest and one of the hardest mountain bike stage races, The Yak Attack, 6 times.

This episode's motto: "Cheap in the short run is expensive in the long run."

Tyler's description of Smartpaani:

"SmartPaani (http://smartpaani.com) started in Nepal in 2011, a direct result of my Fulbright (07-08) research on the economics of urban rainwater harvesting and subsequent efforts to get US properties to adopt it as well, along with my work at the UN World Food Programme on sustainability. The company provides a complete set of sustainable water management solutions: rainwater harvesting, water filtration, and wastewater treatment and recycling. These are primarily designed and built in Nepal, with a few products imported to complete the service offering. To date the company has reached over 2000 clients. These include rainwater harvesting systems that collect 50 million liters and recharge 150 million liters back into the ground regularly. Our clean water systems at schools cover more than 35,000 students and our wastewater treatment systems treat and recycle more than 20,000 liters daily. Finally our water filtration system for businesses, resorts and outdoor event management have eliminated the need for more than 40,000 plastic water bottles.

Our clients range from households, schools, and larger companies and industries including being the primary urban partner for Coca Cola's water neutrality project. SmartPaani's systems have also been instrumental in one of the most eco-friendly resorts in Asia, Pavilions Himalaya and recently in the new Green School for Blink Now Foundation/Kopila Valley where they both water 3 times before it leaves the premises.

The company's ability to address SDG #6 through sustainable water supply access, clean/safe drinking water, and wastewater treatment is unique and has won it recognition through Case Western University's Aim2Flourish award in 2017 and University of Michigan's Positive Business Award in 2018."

(The company pitch is a bit long, but trying to work out a pitch that captures our array of services and unique ability to attack the urban and even rural clean water issue with a multi-pronged approach)."

Episode 33: Maranie R. Staab, in her own words: "For me, photography is a means to an end and the camera, a tool to be used wisely.

In a world that seems to be increasingly focused on division, building walls, and what makes us different from one another, images have the capacity to transcend these lines and help us see a bit of ourselves in the “other.”

Driven by curiosity and a desire to learn I tend to be armed with a combination of compassion and moderated outrage at all that is wrong in the world. Though much of my work focuses on social issues, displacement and the impact of conflict, it is, for me, all about human-centered storytelling. I like to get close to people and their experiences and am forever grateful to those who allowme into their lives.

My belief in the power of images and storytelling is my constant motivation. We often hear that photography can change the world. I believe that, but it’s not the images alone; it is what we do with them. It is how we choose to engage, and how we allow ourselves to be informed and changed. Many times, this change has shown its face in the acceptance of another way of life, and the willingness to identify with others. My hope is that the work might help move us, as a collective society, one step closer to embracing our shared, flawed, humanity.

To date, I’ve had the privilege of working throughout Eastern and Western Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. I call Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania home but am currently a graduate student at Syracuse University. I’m always looking to connect with others so please reach out: [email protected]"

This episode's motto: "Your life's value emerges from the choices you make."

Links:

WWW: www.maranierae.com

Instagram: @maranierae

Skype: maranie_rae

Some photos by the young women we discussed:

https://maranieraephotography.pixieset.com/bajadkandalaphotocamp/

Episode 32: Philip Bowles is the Chairman of Bowles Farming Company, Inc. of Los Banos, CA. Bowles produces cotton, alfalfa, wheat, processing tomatoes, melons, other row crops. Its foundations date from 1856. Philip earned his BA from Yale in Drama, now serves as president of the California Alfafa and Forage Association, and pursues a diverse range of hobbies (from hunting and fishing to collecting stamps, firearms, cane fly rods and antique silver).

This episode's motto: "Farming is hard work -- and not like you expect."

**Links**

Water Education Foundation https://www.watereducation.org

...on Westlands

https://www.aguanomics.com/2011/03/westlands-worse-than-i-thought.html

https://www.aguanomics.com/2009/12/tom-birmingham-of-westlands-water.html

...on the Resnicks

https://story.californiasunday.com/resnick-a-kingdom-from-dust

https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2016/08/lynda-stewart-resnick-california-water/

http://chanceofrain.com/2009/12/the-resnick-touch/

Episode 31: Russell Roberts is the John and Jean De Nault Research Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. Roberts hosts the weekly podcast EconTalk (http://www.econtalk.org), which features hour-long conversations with authors, economists, and business leaders. Past guests include Milton Friedman, Thomas Pikkety, Nassim Taleb, Christopher Hitchens, Marc Andreessen, and Michael Lewis. EconTalk was named podcast of the year in the 2008 Weblog Awards. Over 680 episodes are available at EconTalk.org and on iTunes at no charge.

His two rap videos on the ideas of John Maynard Keynes and F.A. Hayek (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTQnarzmTOc), created with filmmaker John Papola, have had more than ten million views on YouTube, been subtitled in eleven languages, and are used in high school and college classrooms around the world.

His animated poem, It’s a Wonderful Loaf (https://wonderfulloaf.org), is an ode to the emergent order of our everyday lives.

His latest book is Gambling With Other People's Money: How Perverse Incentives Caused the Financial Crisis, a look at how the bailouts of the past encouraged the recklessness that led the events of 2008.

His book on Adam Smith--How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life: An Unexpected Guide to Human Nature takes the lessons from Adam Smith’s little know masterpiece, The Theory of Moral Sentiments and applies them to modern life.

Roberts is also the author of three economic novels teaching economic lessons and ideas through fiction. The Price of Everything: A Parable of Possibility and Prosperity (Princeton University Press, 2008) tells the story of wealth creation and the unseen forces around us creating and sustaining economic opportunity. The Invisible Heart: An Economic Romance (MIT Press, 2002) looks at corporate responsibility and a wide array of policy issues including anti-poverty programs, consumer protection, and the morality of the marketplace. His first book, The Choice: A Fable of Free Trade and Protectionism (Prentice Hall, 3rd edition, 2006) is on international trade policy and the human consequences of international trade. It was named one of the top ten books of 1994 by Business Week and one of the best books of 1994 by the Financial Times.

A three-time teacher of the year, Roberts has taught at George Mason University, Washington University in St. Louis (where he was the founding director of what is now the Center for Experiential Learning), the University of Rochester, Stanford University, and the University of California, Los Angeles. He earned his PhD from the University of Chicago and his undergraduate degree in economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

You can find him on Twitter (https://twitter.com/EconTalker) and on Medium (https://medium.com/@russroberts)

The episode's motto: "Everything's complicated!"

Episode 30: Nils Hegel served in the German Military and Military Police for 12 years before resigning to co-found the MINE MARK Foundation, an NGO based in The Hague which aims to educate and protect children and youngsters in landmine affected areas worldwide by translating UNMAS guidelines into cartoons. Nils is also pursuing his Bachelor of Science in Security Studies at Leiden University.

This episode's motto: "We need a circular economy for landmines"

Links:

www.minemark.org

www.facebook.com/MineMarkHub/

www.linkedin.com/company/19017074/

Episode 29: Giel Verbeeck (https://www.linkedin.com/in/giel-verbeeck-3999194/) provides consultancy services to water utility companies and authorities in Eastern Europe, Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East. He holds two Master degrees in economics i.e. from the University of Amsterdam (1996) and the Central European University (1997). After his studies Giel started off as an equity research analyst and later as portfolio manager Eastern European equities. Ever since 2000 he has worked on water sector reform, corporate and sector restructuring, Financial and Operational Performance Improvement Programmes, performance monitoring systems, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), business and investment planning, staff optimisation, finance, accounting, billing, collection and Management Information Systems.

In projects he takes on the role of Team Leader and/or Financial Expert and has by now worked in over a dozen countries around the world.

Over the last years he is working more and more on water utility regulation and tariffs. Special interests include financial modelling according to the so called FAST modelling standards. (Flexible, Accurate, Structured and Transparent) and social measures in water supply and sanitation. Giel has published papers on water sector development, amongst others in the OECD studies in water.

At home in the Netherlands Giel raises four daughters together with his partner Christy. Together they have also established also TreeVelop Projects & Processes in 2004 for their consulting activities and TreeVelop People and Planet for their not-for-profit work (www.treevelop.nl).

In their hometown Bussum (Netherlands) Giel is active as a member of the “Christian community, movement for religious renewal” as well as well as in supporting the local Waldorf elementary school.

This epidode's motto: "Explain your goals, then deliver."

Links:

https://www.aguanomics.com/2011/07/miya-waters-quest-to-plug-leaks.html

https://www.aguanomics.com/2011/09/time-to-dump-increasing-block-rates.html

Episode 28: Paul's work focuses on the environmental impact of human consumption, and his research on climate change, energy, and food has appeared in leading scientific journals. Paul is passionate about science communication and his work has appeared in outlets such as The New York Times, the BBC, and Scientific American. Paul has recently finished a textbook on Food Sustainability, to be published with Oxford University Press at the start of 2019.

Paul is a physicist by training, his Ph.D. is from the University of Auckland (New Zealand), where he developed techniques for improving wind energy generation in mountainous terrain. Paul has worked in industry, NGOs, and academia. He has worked at the Royal Society of New Zealand, providing expert scientific advice to the New Zealand Government on environmental sustainability and other topics.

Note from David: This is definitely not our last talk!

This episode's motto: "I sure hope we get to the social tipping point before we get to the ecological one!"

EROI Charles Hall: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421513003856

A related article: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/eroi-charles-hall-will-fossil-fuels-maintain-economic-growth/

Joeseph Tainter: https://www.cambridge.org/nl/academic/subjects/archaeology/archaeological-theory-and-methods/collapse-complex-societies?format=PB&isbn=9780521386739

David Graeber: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/295/295446/bullshit-jobs/9780141983479.html

Rutger Hoekstra (Replacing GDP by 2030):

https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/replacing-gdp-by-2030/1583BE07055EAD85CBFECE1FC5EF6442

David's post on using time for life instead of work:

https://one-handed-economist.com/?p=961

David's book reviews of mentioned work:

http://www.aguanomics.com/2010/05/collapse-review.html

http://www.aguanomics.com/2010/06/limits-to-growth-review.html

https://www.aguanomics.com/2017/08/review-in-our-hands.html (UBI)