Environmental Economics

Beach allocation conflicts

From the Virginian-Pilot:

After 12 posts marking a bird closure were found knocked to the ground, the area closed to off-road vehicles on [South Beach in Cape Hatteras National Seashore, about 1.7 miles east of Ramp 49] has been expanded by 50 meters.

... An investigation found two sets of footprints along the edge of the fence line. Footprints or tire tracks were not seen within the closed area, and the least tern colony appeared undisturbed, the statement said.

The posts holding "area closed" signs were broken and several closure markers were pulled out at the shoreline.

Rumors that the source of the footprints is the "Ghost Captain (and ghost crew) of the Graveyard of the Atlantic" are currently being investigated by Velma, Daphne, Fred, Shaggy and Scooby-Doo. In a cruel, ironic twist, they've found it impossible to get the Mystery Machine near the scene of the crime due to the beach driving van.

Ug99 is not another Neil Diamond cover band*

And you thought food prices were high now?

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned in March that Iran had detected a new highly pathogenic strain of wheat stem rust called Ug99.

The fungal disease could spread to other wheat producing states in the Near East and western Asia that provide one-quarter of the world’s wheat.

*I know UB40 isn't a cover band.  But their most popular song--at least in the U.S., and really, where else does music matter?**--was a cover of Neil Diamond's Red, Red Wine.  "Red, Red Wine you make me fell so fine, you keep me happy, all of the time"...then there's something about a monkey.

**I'm joking international readers. 

In a strange twist, a U of Michigan economist called me yesterday to ask me how he can be more like John Whitehead

From the Detroit Free Press:

The Winston-Salem Journal reports that Appalachian State, which pulled a shocking 34-32 upset at then-No. 5 Michigan last season, is getting calls from Big Ten schools looking for an edge over the Wolverines. Coach Jerry Moore, the genius behind Appalachian State's three straight national championships has been receiving numerous phone calls.

The favorite topic: ASU's spread offense, which is based on Urban Meyer's Utah model but involves nuances that Moore's staff learned while visiting West Virginia as guests of Coach Rich Rodriguez.   "Since Rodriguez got the Michigan job," Moore told the Journal, "I've had calls from every other school in the Big Ten."

I won't sign the "cap & trade economist statement"

From the inbox (links added):

Dear Economist:

Are you concerned about the impact efforts to cap U.S. carbon emissions may have on the economy? 

For the past year, we have worked with the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and other interested groups to ensure that legislation making its way through Congress is structured correctly.

A critical aspect of a carbon cap and trade program will be how the carbon credits are allocated -- will they be given free to emitting industries or will they be sold at auction? 

The attached statement makes the case for auctions.  Please review it and let us know if you are willing to add your name. 

Current signatories include Greg Mankiw from Harvard and James Barrett from Redefining Progress. This is an issue that transcends politics and party -- getting the allocation question right is critical to the success of the program and our economic future. 

Please respond and let us know if we can add your name to this important statement. 

Some environmental economics of Nissan's electric cars

From the NYTimes:

The Nissan Motor Company plans to sell an electric car in the United States and Japan by 2010, raising the stakes in the race to develop environmentally friendly vehicles. ... The zero emissions refers to those from the car’s tailpipe and not those from the production of electricity used to power the car. ...

Mr. Ghosn [Nissan’s chief executive], ..., said the Israeli government would encourage sales of electric cars by sharply cutting taxes to levels below those on gasoline-powered vehicles.

“We would never have done this if the Israeli government was not encouraging it,” he said. “Whoever puts the most incentive on the table is going to get the technology first.”

Quote. Incentives matter. Unquote.

Climate politics

From the NYTimes:

Senator John McCain sought to distance himself from President Bush on Monday as he called for a mandatory limit on greenhouse gas emissions in the United States to combat climate change. ... The two Democrats seeking their party’s presidential nomination, Senators Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, criticized the McCain plan as too timid, because their plans would reduce emissions more quickly. ... In his speech, Mr. McCain advocated cutting emissions 60 percent below 1990 levels by the year 2050; Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama propose cutting them by 80 percent in the same time frame, while the Lieberman-Warner bills calls for a 70 percent reduction.

Using my vast Microsoft Excel superpowers, I've created the following graphic to illustrate the comparison between McCain, Clinton-Obama and Lieberman-Warner (click on the thumbnail for a 50% enlargement):

The EIA'll do some of the 'splainin' for Peter King

From Peter King's Monday Morning Quarterback (page 2):

Enjoyable/Aggravating Travel Note of the Week II

Wednesday, Santa Monica, Calif., 76 gas station, full-service regular: $5.09.9

Saturday, Iselin, N.J., Shell gas station, full-service regular: $3.53.9.

Somebody's got some 'splainin' to do.

A partial answer can be found in the EIA's A Primer on Gasoline Prices.

Congrats Mike! And good luck!

Sorry Greg Mankiw, EclectEcon and Environmental Econ Guys...

But I beat my goal, so $100 will not be going to the sources of your choice.

...

I appreciate all three blogs mentioned above for helping me with this. Because of that, I will be making a smaller donation to the charity/organization of their choice.

My new goal is that for the seven days between May 1 and May 7, I need to have an average body fat percentage of under 16.84%. Wish me luck!

Our charity/organization of choice? Environmental Defense Fund.

How stable is OPEC?

One predicted outcome of most game theoretic model of cartel behavior is that as prices rise, there are increased incentives for individual members to deviate from the group's optimal behavior--indvidual greed is a powerful disincentive to group behavior.  Like this:

"We would consider among other options the possibility of increasing output as a way to ensure market stability," Ghanem, the Libyan official, was quoted by Bloomberg News as saying Friday.

Has McCain added an environmental economist to his writing staff?

Sounds like it:

"For all of the last century, the profit motive basically led in one direction - toward machines, methods and industries that used oil and gas," said McCain. "Enormous good came from that industrial growth, and we are all the beneficiaries of the national prosperity it built. But there were costs we weren't counting, and often hardly noticed. And these terrible costs have added up now, in the atmosphere, in the oceans and all across the natural world."

Nothing new here, just a different tone.