The Economic Perspective 8/29/2025

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! 

Welcome Back! As we said goodbye to our Economic Interns last week the Economic Perspective will be taken back over by the rest of our staff team. 

TBG President Valerie Seidel, along with team members Laila Racevskis, and Dan Dourte, were guest speakers at the UF Ecosystems Summit last week held at UF's Austin Cary, which brought together academics and practitioners throughout Florida. The Summit was a great exchange of ideas, resources and challenges on managing natural assets in Florida. 

This week's articles explore new food supplements for bees, conservation for old forests in Washington, southern rust impacts on Midwest corn farmers, among more! This week's data visualization covers global bee populations and recoveries seen in other parts of the world. 

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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Saving Bees with 'Superfoods': New Engineered Supplement Found to Boost Colony Reproduction

The University of Oxford has released a new study that could provide a cost-effective and sustainable solution to help tackle the devastating decline in honeybees. This food supplement is engineered to have essential compounds found in plant pollen and has been found to significantly enhance colony reproduction. This food supplement is a sterol-enriched yeast and during the study period showed rearing levels for larvae to be 15 times higher compared to hives fed control diets. While further studies will be needed, this sterol-enriched yeast can potentially replace many artificial pollen substitutes that beekeepers have been using that lack the proper sterol compounds to be nutritionally complete. Read more here and you can find the study here.

States Embrace Road Use, EV Fees to Boost Transport Revenue

Revenue-strapped states are increasingly relying on funding alternative to fuel taxes to pay for road and bridge repairs and maintenance. Since 2016, fuel taxes have declined as a share of transportation fund revenue. Declining from 41.1% in 2016 to 37.6% in 2023, this puts a strain on road maintenance funds and projects. To combat this, some states are hiking alternative funding sources by increasing road fees, increasing usage fees on EVs, or adding road usage fees to sales of diesel and gasoline. Colorado and Virginia have recently raised usage fees, and Hawaii has begun charging light-duty passenger EVs a road usage fee. Many other states have passed similar tax increases, and fees. A more complete list of what fees have been passed can be found here. 

Commissioner Upthegrove Takes Bold Step to Conserve Washington's Most Valuable Forests

The Commissioner of Public Lands in Washington, Dave Upthegrove, acted to conserve 77,000 acres of Washington’s older state-owned forests. This order will require agencies to pursue strategies other than traditional industrial harvests to ensure these carbon-dense and habitat-rich forests remain available for future generations. These strategies include selling carbon credits and other ecosystem services, acquiring replacements timber lands, and seeking increased value from timber sales with mass timber markets, and innovative silviculture practices to improve habitat and forest health. 29,000 acres of forests are still available for harvest to ensure the department meets its responsibilities to local governments. Read More here. 

Southern Rust Threatens Midwest Corn

Southern rust is spreading quickly across the Midwest this season, raising alarms for corn growers and agronomists alike. This corn fungal disease, which thrives in warm and humid conditions, has appeared earlier and farther north than usual, striking during the kernel development period when yield potential is most vulnerable. Left unchecked, southern rust can reduce corn yields by 45% for severe cases as it reduces the plant’s ability to photosynthesize. Researchers and extension specialists are urging farmers to carefully scout fields, differentiate southern rust from common rust, and consider late-season fungicide applications. While management decisions will vary by field, timely fungicide use remains the most effective way to limit losses as the disease continues to advance. Read more on the story here.

Mexico's Jaguar Population is up 30%, but Still at Risk

In recent years, Mexico’s Jaguar population has made some recoveries but still is at risk of extinction. As of 2024 the population is 5,326, which 30% more than in 2010 and 11% more than in 2018. Driving forces for this recovery include larger protected areas that have allowed for more movement of Jaguar populations. 15-30 more years of steady population growth will be required before Jaguars are expected to be less at risk. A report released by Humberto Pena says 30 more years will be needed before the population reaches 8,000. Habitat destruction, illegal hunting, trafficking, and rancher conflicts continue to pose issues for Jaguars. Advocacy groups in Mexico continue to urge for incentives to conserve Jaguar corridors, and crackdowns on sales of Jaguar parts. Read More here.

Lego to Replace Oil in its Bricks with Pricier Renewable Plastic

Lego announced on Wednesday it was on track to replace the fossil fuel based plastic they use in their bricks with recycled plastic by 2032. Additionally, they plan to lower the oil content in its bricks by paying up to 70% more for certified renewable resin, hoping to encourage manufactures to boost production. This will be a sharp increase in cost of production, but they plan to have half of the resin they need by 2026. This resin will be made from bio waste, such as cooking oil and food industry waste fat. While pricing for these materials is still in its infancy and driven by subsidized biodiesel. Other toymakers have taken similar steps to incorporate organic and recycled materials in their production. Read More here.

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Data Visualization of the Week

Regional Differences in Bee Population Changes

Media Headlines have long depicted a dire situation regarding global bee populations, but this is not 100% accurate. While bees still face threats from climate change, synthetic pesticides, homogenization of environments caused by agriculture and other human activities, many areas around the world are using managed bee hives to help restore populations. Asia in particular has seen major increases in managed beehives compared to North American declines. The areas that have seen the largest bee declines since 1990 are Northern America, Eastern Europe, and North Africa. Meanwhile Western Asia and Southeastern Asia have seen over 200% increases in bee populations that can be found here. You can take a look at other graphs covering managed bee habitats here.