"Michigan Tech, Yale will study Great Lakes water." That was the headline on a recent news release from MIchigan Tech University.
http://www.admin.mtu.edu/urel/news/media_relations/608/
To find out more, I asked Alex Mayer, head of Michigan Tech's Center for Water and Society, to answer some questions. Today's question concludes the interview.
Q. What's your personal and professional connection
to water? What can we learn from
A. I'm a hydrologist. I began my career working for the largest water and wastewater utility in the western US. I've worked in university research, education, and outreach on water since 1985. I'm intrigued by many, many aspects of water- from the natural water environment to how humans use and think about water. I've only recently begun to study the Great Lakes, but can understand the deep commitment to the people of the
You mentioned
In relation to some of the issues I've already discussed, I think that water is generally under-priced in
Sonora.This under-pricing does not lend itself to motivate conservation, especially in the agricultural sector. Some of the irrigation methods are very inefficient. However, it's also a complex social situations. The farmers may not have enough money to invest in more efficient irrigation technologies. Also, they seem to be very conservative: if they have been doing something the same way for a number of years, and have been successful (obtained good crop yields), they are averse to change.
In any case, it is very stimulating to study the Great Lakes, where water is (or appears to be) very plentiful, vs.
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