Robert Buxbaum on Water Resources, etc.

08/03/2026

There are a couple of Oakland wetlands that could really use a beaver dam to reduce flood-damage. And I think park visitors would appreciate seeing them. The DNR was willing to help by providing the beavers.

A family of beavers completed a $1.2 million wetland restoration while officials remained delayed by permits. 🦫🌿

Officials in the Czech Republic spent seven years planning to block an old drainage channel and restore a wetland near a former military site. While permits and land negotiations delayed construction, beavers built several dams in nearly the same locations, retained water, recreated habitat naturally, and reportedly saved taxpayers around $1.2 million in projected costs.



References:
The Guardian: Czech Beavers Complete a Long-Delayed Wetland Restoration Project and Save Taxpayers an Estimated $1.2 Million.
Radio Prague International: Beavers Build Natural Dams at a Former Military Site and Restore a Drained Czech Wetland.
National Geographic: How Beaver Dams Retain Water, Rebuild Wetlands, and Create Valuable Habitats for Wildlife.

08/03/2026

West Texas oil is now at $80/bbl, higher than the $70 or so before the war, lower than the $100/bbl at the peak. Not that bad. Saudi Arabia is exporting via a pipeline to the Red Sea. Oman has a pipeline past the straight of Hormuz, and we're now oil self-sufficient, selling some excess abroad. China is using less too, in part because of a purchasing recession: they have cars, more than half ICE, but hardly drive, it seems.

08/03/2026

August 2, Bill Hickcock was shot in the back on this date by someone who wanted to become famous. What he made famous was Hickcock's "dead-man's hand," the poker hand Hickcock held when he was shot. People kill often, it seems, for fame, and it's easier to kill than become great yourself.

07/29/2026

For what it's worth, in the vote for judges, I voted for Lisa Marie Neilson and Elisabeth Dery. They seemed the most experienced and least crazy. I don't like social activism in judge candidates. I also note that all the candidates are women as has been common. Are there no competent males in the legal world?

07/28/2026

El-Sayed is leading Haley Stevens by 7% in the polls, and has for months. I don't think the debate helped Stevens either. Democrats like young Socialists, the rest of Michigan, probably not.

07/21/2026

While we can't stop the Canadian fires that seem to come every summer, Tesla cars apparently, models S, X, and Y, feature hospital-grade HEPA filters and "Bioweapon Defense Mode" significantly outperforming the cotton and fiber filters on most regular cars.

07/19/2026

Good news for Great Lakes shipping a new series of container / bunker ships that can still fit through the St. Lawrence locks.

BBC Chartering’s LakerMax vessels are expanding heavy-lift project cargo capabilities through the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Seaway, with BBC Genoa completing the class’s first full transit to Duluth-Superior.

07/08/2026

Some good news: oil prices are down to $72/bbl, barely higher than last year, and the US is doing a lot of the selling. I figure that gasoline prices will take another 2 months to come down as tankers re-route and refiners adjust. And the threat of an Iranian A-bomb has been pushed off for a few years at least.

07/05/2026

A clear sign that the Iran war ceasefire is holding: France and the UK join the peacekeeping.

France said it has deployed mine countermeasures to the Middle East, including two mine-hunting ships.