The Economic Perspective 8/15/2025

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! 

As proud NASA researchers, we were sad to hear that Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy will end climate and earth science at the agency as it refocuses solely on space exploration. The Earth Science division looks to deploy data already captured and paid for by NASA Space exploration, and put it to use understanding conditions here on Earth. Our recent work found that coastal managers were able to reduce time and costs by half for some crucial tasks once they learned how to use the available data.

On a lighter note, AWRA FL's Annual Key West Meeting was held last week. As Past President of AWRA FL, TBG President Valerie Seidel was able to recognize some key achievements, including Member of the Year Woody Boynton of SJRWMD, Private Sector supporter of the year WIRX Engineering @Greg Stelmack @Andrew Nixon @Clifford Hippolyte, and Public Sector Support of the year Monroe County for their continuous, generous support of our annual meeting. Water Management Districts, FDEP, NOAA and Army Corps provided extremely informative updates, including concerns about AI use on water resources - with utilities reporting that 1 AI search uses 16 oz. of water more than a simple Google search. A great meeting, as always.

On Tuesday, The Balmoral Group's Seattle Office celebrated the conclusion of their interns' time with the team by taking a quintessential ferry ride across the Puget Sound and getting lunch on Bainbridge Island!

This week's articles explore the Beezley Hills Preserve transfer in Washington State, cow manure for environmental protection in Idaho, and strengthened water quality standards in Washington State, among more! This week's data visualization covers the flow of heavy crude oil imported to the United States. 

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!

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Beezley Hills Preserve Transferred to WA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife

On August 11, 2025, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) announced that it was transferring the Beezley Hills Preserve (BHP) to be managed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). BHP is part of the largest remaining intact shrub-steppe landscape in the state of Washington, and is home to one of the most endangered mammals in North America - the Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit - along with many native plant species including sagebrush and lupine flowers. This move was made because WDFW currently manages other parcels of land near the BHP, so larger-scale efforts for preservation and restoration can be made in the future. Read more here. Image source: USFWS Pacific, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. 

Researchers Turn Cow Manure into Desirable Products, Protect the Environment

Idaho is the nation’s third-largest dairy producer following an exponential growth in the last 25 years, and with that comes challenges such as managing manure. A team of scientists led by the University of Idaho and backed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), has undertaken a groundbreaking plan to harness nitrogen and phosphorus from dairy production and convert them into valuable bioproducts. These products can be reused for crop production or as raw materials for value-added products like bioplastics. They can even enhance soil and water quality, sustain agricultural productivity, diversify income streams, and create employment opportunities. Read more here. 

WA Department of Ecology Proposes New Clean Water Protections

Insights provided from a concrete rubble study led Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) to propose changes to their current Sand and Gravel General Permits in order to uphold their commitment to meeting water quality standards. The 850 sites covered by the permit discharge wastewater and stormwater as sources of possible pollution, and the new permits will increase protections for treatment and control. Some proposed changes include: additional water monitoring and vehicle washing requirements, and required best management practices. Ecology intends for the changes to better protect the water quality of rivers, streams, and groundwater. Read more here. . 

EPA Rescinds $7 Billion in Solar Grants

Solar energy production in the United States set a record-breaking capacity of 50 gigawatts in 2024, and more than 263,000 Americans are employed in the sector. However, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced last week that they will be rescinding all $7 billion of Solar For All grants – a law passed as part of the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022 that aimed to make solar energy more accessible for low-income areas across the country. 60 projects had already been awarded the grant funding, that, if completed, would have provided nearly one million homes in the US with solar power. Read more here. 

eDNA Aids Search efforts for the NSW Kangaroo River Perch

A $1 million investment from Reflection Holidays in New South Wales is funding research trips and ongoing efforts to support the recovery of the potentially extinct Kangaroo River Perch. This species has not been spotted in the last 20 years, but the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) is now using environmental DNA (eDNA) to search for them. They combed the Shoalhaven River, where the perch was known to reside, for four days testing the water for signs of detection, but were unsuccessful. Their search will continue and will include an assessment of survey work, sampling methodology and other geographical areas. Read more here.

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Data Visualization of the Week

Crude Oil Moving In and Out of the U.S. is Changing

Traditionally, oil refineries in the United States have processed mostly heavy crude oil because they were cheaper to buy due to a large supply from nearby Canada, Mexico, and Venezuela. With the discovery of light shale oil domestically, refineries have switched to processing mostly light crude oil. Light crude oil is typically more valuable, but the large supply within the U.S. dropped the prices. Geopolitical factors have also altered the crude oil market. Crude oil imports from Mexico have dropped as Mexican heavy oil production has declined. Venezuela also used to export heavy crudes to the U.S., but ever since U.S. sanctions restricted Venezuelan imports from 2019-2023, they now only make up a small fraction of U.S imports. That being said, Canada has become the dominant heavy crude oil supplier to the U.S. With the completion of the Trans Mountain Expansion pipeline (TMX) in 2024, it will be interesting to see how it changes the Canadian exports of crude oil to the U.S. Read more here. Image source: United States Energy Information Administration (EIA).