The Economic Perspective 7/10/2026

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! 

Hello and welcome back to another Economic Perspective! We are excited to share that our own TBG President, Valerie Seidel, and Director, Laila Racevskis, attended NASA Biosphere conference meetings relating to our coastal management work.

With negotiations ongoing and the market optimistic that the Iran War is nearing an end, oil and asphalt prices continue to decline but still remain above pre-war levels. Interviewed material producers have reported eating the costs associated to the fuel price increases over the past three to four months but are holding off on passing these costs to customers with the hope that prices will come back down before the end of the calendar year. 

Articles this week cover agricultural advancements in technology and fertilizer production, the announcement of Washington State's Draft Water Supply Forecast, solar panel financing options to reduce costs, extreme heat conditions, and AI expansion in the Australian workforce. Our data visualization captures the dramatic temperature change in the United States over the years, and provides a simple, yet insightful way of understanding climate change.

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New Technology Used to Detect Drought Stress in Crops

Researchers at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences are using hyperspectral imaging to detect drought stress in lettuce. The use of hyperspectral imaging has allowed stress, such as wilting and color changes, to be observed long before visible signs occur. This early detection gives farmers using greenhouses and irrigation systems enhanced information on when they need to water crops. The long-term goal of this technology is to implement it in environments that are difficult to control and take a higher level of monitoring to ensure that successful harvests happen. The use of this imaging technology enhanced by artificial intelligence will give these researchers hope to provide new tools for growers and space researchers. Read more here and here.

Washington State Department of Ecology Releases Draft Water Supply Forecast

Washington State Department of Ecology, along with researchers at Washington State University, have released a draft forecast of water supply and demand for the Columbia River Basin. This report comes close on the heels of the Washington State’s Water Future initiative, which instructed Ecology to lead conversations about current and future water needs across the state. The draft report outlines current drought conditions and potential sources of additional water, as well as climate conditions that contribute to the vulnerability of the Columbia River watershed. Read more here, and read the draft report here.

Wastewater Could Transform into Nitrogen Fertilizer

A Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientist has begun testing turning wastewater into nitrogen fertilizer. Recent experiments have revealed that when water was put through an electrochemical reactor, 20% of the nitrates were split from the wastewater within an hour. While still in an experimental phase, there is the potential for the process to be scaled up to supply an entire farm. If successful, this technology may have significant impacts in the next decade, potentially making the US agricultural economy more self-sufficient and less susceptible to global supply shocks. Read more here.

Solar Panel Financing Could Decrease Electricity Bills

The primary barrier to using solar panels to generate electricity in households is their high upfront cost. To address this, researchers from the New Economics Foundation and Finance Innovation Lab suggest implementing a low-cost loan for the installation of solar panels in England. The loan initiative, backed by the Bank of England, could reduce electricity bills for approximately 8 million households by an average of £250 (~$335 US dollars) each. The Bank of England would offer commercial banks access to its funds at low or zero-interest funding if those funds are used to loan money to households who wish to install solar panels. Read more here.

Extreme Heat Threatens World Class Athletes

Major heatwaves are currently hitting both North America and Europe and athletes playing in the World Cup and riding in the Tour de France are feeling the effects. Temperatures reached 106F degrees on Tuesday in Carassonne, where the Tour de France’s fourth stage is beginning, while temperatures at Philadelphia World Cup games are hitting well over 100F degrees. While the woes of professional athletes may not seem important to everyday people, these heatwaves are also a public health problem for the general public, especially for heat-related deaths. Higher energy costs for air conditioning, increased heat related deaths, heat illness, and other human and economic strains are expected to increase. Read more here and here.

Australian Dock Workers Demand 28-hour Work Week Amid AI Expansion

According to a study commissioned by the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA), artificial intelligence (AI) automation could threaten job security for more than 60% of the dock and maintenance workforce. As such, the union has demanded a 28-hour work week (compared to the current range of 32 to 35 hours) from global port logistics leader DP World. "If DP World wants AI and automation, then they must pay the social dividend. The new technology doesn't have to cost our members their jobs or put their livelihoods at risk just so a terminal operator can boost profits,” the union said in a statement on July 3, 2026. Read more here

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Data Visualization of the Week

Temperature Changes in the US Across the Years

Using data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Climate Central created the "Global Warming Stripes." Each stripe represents the average annual temperature in the United States (excluding Hawaii) from 1895 to 2025. Blue stripes represent years that were cooler than the 1961–2010 average, while red stripes represent years that were warmer than the 1961–2010 average. The visualization illustrates the dramatic shift from cooler to warmer temperatures over the past century, with the most pronounced warming occurring in recent decades. Although many regions across the United States have experienced rapid warming, the fastest-warming areas include the Northwest, Southwest, and Alaska. To learn more about the U.S. Global Warming Stripes visualization and explore similar diagrams for individual states and cities, click here.