The debate surrounding Measure 27, to require labeling of genetically modified (GM) foods sold or distributed in or from Oregon, encompasses many aspects of an important and complex topic. At one level, questions are raised about the benefits and potential risks of GM foods.
Encouraged by successes such as pollution trading and fishery catch-shares, “markets for ecosystem services” (MES) are being promoted to foster conservation. In many cases, however, conditions do not exist for successful use of MES, and costly taxpayer-funded payment schemes could deplete fiscal resources and compete with schools and public safety.
Measure 37 imposes an enormous burden on government. It asks government to know the unknowable: what would the world look like if a particular land use regulation had not been enacted or enforced? And, how would land prices
in that alternative world compare to land prices in the real world?...
In order to understand the economics of the 2001 irrigation curtailment in the Upper Klamath Basin, and the prospects for lower-cost solutions
to future irrigation shortfalls, one must appreciate just how much the economic value of irrigation water varies from one piece of land to
another throughout the Upper Basin....
The conflict over water allocation in the Upper Klamath Basin encompasses many important, complex, and difficult questions. One aspect of the situation, energy pricing, has come under increased scrutiny in connection with relicensing of the Klamath River hydropower operations, which is scheduled to take effect in 2006.