The Economic Perspective 5/30/2025

The Latest Trending Economic, Environmental and Infrastructure News Curated for You by The Balmoral Group

The Balmoral Group provides practical, professional and precise Economics, Data Analytics, and Engineering Consulting services and is part of a globally integrated team.

Happy Friday!

And good afternoon! This week The Balmoral Group (TBG) President Valerie Seidel, and team member Laila Racevskis attended the NASA Annual Biodiversity and Ecological Conservation Team Meeting in Washington D.C. They discussed Balmoral's research on the impacts of workshops conducted on the use of satellite data in coastal resource management across the Gulf States. The team is excited to hear about their experience and takeaways when they return, a snapshot of their experience is below.

Next week Valerie Seidel, Laila Racevskis and Dan Dourte will be speaking at the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation's Corridor Connect Summit, about our work in Protecting Private Lands and Innovative Funding. More information can be found here.

Additionally, our interns curated articles this week on Removing Greenhouse Gas Limits, Key West International Airport, Climate Smart Dairy Farming and More! This week's data visualization is from Movebank.

Please feel free to forward this to anyone you think would be interested. If you’d like to view previous editions please click here, or to subscribe please click here!

Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!

---

NASA Biodiversity and Ecological Conservation

Valerie and Laila both attended the conference which was packed with many thought-provoking presentations featuring cutting-edge research from scientists representing a multitude of disciplines, including ecologists, biologists, physical scientists, landscape ecologists, geologists, and more. Researchers presented work on use of NASA remotely sensed data for conservation efforts around the world, including the development of wildlife corridor data and tracking tools; BioSCape, the first biodiversity-focused field campaign conducted by over 100 researchers from multiple countries studying one of the most biodiverse regions in the world, the cape of South Africa; and many other fascinating topics, including this cool animal tracker shown in our Data Visualization today (scroll down).   

EPA Intends on Removing Power Plants’ Greenhouse Gas Limits

The New York Times reported that the EPA drafted a proposal to eliminate greenhouse gas limits on power plants powered by gas and coal. In said proposition, the EPA argued that these power plants make negligible contributions to climate change and dangerous pollution, and that eliminating fossil fuel emissions would have no meaningful effect on public health and welfare.  Read more here. 

Snohomish to Begin Fish Barrier Removal Project

Along Sexton Creek in Snohomish County, WSDOT and the County are to begin a joint project on May 27. This project seeks the replacement of existing 5 1/2' culverts along Sexton Creek with structures that will allow the fish to swim more freely. The culverts are expected to be replaced with a 29-foot-wide steel arch culvert and remove other barriers on Sexton Creek near where it empties into Pilchuck River. Read more here.

Concourse A opens at Key West International Airport

Key West International Airport has opened Concourse A as part of a $130 million modernization initiative that began in late 2022. The new 48,802-square-foot concourse includes environmental and sustainability features such as a facility elevation of more than 14 feet to combat storm surges and a 27-foot glass curtain wall. The second phase of the project is underway, with completion expected in 2026. Read more here. 

Florida Law Passed to Protect Students Walking in Hazardous Areas

Governor Ron DeSantis recently enacted a law that protects students walking in hazardous areas in response to safety concerns voiced by families in the St. Johns Forest community. Students have biked and walked on sidewalks along St. Johns Parkway, where cars have flipped onto said sidewalks multiple times. The new law will require school districts across Florida to provide bus transportation for students living in hazardous areas as of July 1. Read more here.

Announcement for Preservation of Alachua County Farmland

Holt Agricultural, a 421-acre property in Alachua County consisting of cropland and pastureland with small strips of wetland forest was announced to be preserved through FDACS Rural and Family Lands Protection Program. The property is being preserved after a rural land's protection easement of $2,975,000. The program purchases the development rights on the agricultural land; this prevents future development while still allowing the agriculture operations to contribute to FL economy. Read more here.

Climate Smart Dairy Farming   R&D Field Day 

Starting at 9am on May 30 at Royal Dairy in Royal City, WA, scientists from Washington State University and Cornell University will be testing experiments from this spring that may reduce dairy farms' greenhouse gasses through new technology. Sensors, feed additives, biochar, and weather monitoring will be showcased to understand and manage emissions. The research is funded by the Washington State Conservation Commision through the state's 2021 Climate Commitment Act. Read more here.

US DOT Calls Its DBE Program 'Unconstitutional,' Asks Judge to Block Key Parts

Lawyers for the US DOT have recently called the agency's disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) program 'unconstitutional' and have asked a judge to block it from setting DBE contract goals as part of a proposed settlement with two contractors suing over the program. This move could disrupt a program that has given small firms owned by women and minorities a leg up in competing for work on some highway and transportation projects. Congress first enacted DBE programs in 1983 under President Ronald Reagan's signature with the goal of remedying discrimination against disadvantaged businesses. Currently a coalition of the National Association of Minority Contractors, Women First National Legislative Committee, Airport Minority Advisory Council, and more have filed to intervene in the case to keep DBE programs alive. Read more here and here.

2023 Fly Ash Production Declines

The American Coal Ash Association (AACA) published their 2023 production and use survey results. The report provides volume estimates of coal combustion products (CCPs) generated by electric utilities. 2023 results showed Fly Ash production at 21,423,716 short tons, down significantly from 2022 and 2021 levels at 28,227,974 and 28,004,916 short tons, respectively. However, use by the concrete/concrete products/grout category increased by slightly less than 1 million short tons, back up to 2021 levels. This year’s survey shows increased use of recycled coal ash, which is an indication that “beneficial use markets are adapting to the decline in coal-fueled electricity generation in the United States” according to the AACA director. Read the full report here.

---

Data Visualization of the Week

Movebank Animal Tracking Map

This week's data visualization highlight is an interactive map published by Movebank displaying global animal tracking data, published worldwide to manage, share, analyze and archive animal-borne sensor data. Check it out below!