GOT A QUESTION?Students tell me they like real world context for quiz questions. So, students of Env-Econ, here you go: Using the basic tools of supply and demand described here, predict the effect of a recession (decreased income for consumers) combined with increasing supplies on the price of natural gas in Ohio.
Read below the jump for the answer...
I'm teaching a couple of sessions in the MGSI this week and next and received a question for which I didn't know the answer:
My answer was "forever" but then I had to admit I wasn't sure. Any help out there?
On April 26, 2006, Renee Montagne asked me, in an interview for NPR's Morning Edition:
"One last question, if a boycott won't work to lower [gas] prices is there anything the public can do to bring down gas prices?"
My brilliant response?
DRIVE LESS!
Thus were the humble beginnings of the Env-Econ grassroots DriveLess! campaign. Well, it's taken over 3 years and countless hours (2) of toil, but the Env-Econ DriveLess! campaign is finally taking hold in Ohio:
Gas could drop to $2 as we drive a lot less
Gasoline prices peaked early in the summer driving season and now have begun a tumble that might go all the way down to $2 per gallon.
This good thing arises from a bad thing: the economic downturn. Families and businesses are driving fewer miles, so the supply of gasoline is outpacing demand.
Small quibble.
Supply is not outpacing demand. Demand is decreasing (shifting to the left), causing downward on the price of gas. If prices were not falling, then supply would be outpacing demand and we would have a surplus of gas. Nevertheless, DriveLess! is working.
Quibble over.
Why did my 10,000 hour energy saving compact fluorescent lightbulb stop working after less than 5,000 hours?
I don't think I realized my promised energy savings.
The latest doomsday scenario from The Oil Drum:
The neverending debate over taxing gas or taxing miles drones on:
The idea of shifting [from a gas consumption tax] to a by-the-mile tax has been discussed for years, but it now appears to be getting more serious attention. A federal commission, after a two-year study, concluded earlier this year that the road tax was the "best path forward" to keep revenues flowing to highway and transportation projects, and could be an important new tool to help manage traffic and relieve congestion.
The decision by the 15-member National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission was unanimous, which surprised Robert Atkinson, the group's chairman. But he said it became clear as the commission's work progressed that a road tax on miles traveled was the best option.
The problem with a mileage tax is it provides no incentive for increased fuel efficiency. That's why two years ago I proposed a Fuel Efficiency Payment that provides incentives for higher fuel efficiency AND fewer miles driven. Here's how I said it would work (make sure you read to the end for the surprise ending)...
Columbus-based American Electric Power has backed out of a plan to help build the world's first "clean" coal-fired power plant.
It joins Atlanta-based Southern Co. in dropping out of an alliance to build the FutureGen plan in Illinois. Both companies citied the bad economy and growing cost of the project.
AEP was a founding member of the FutureGen Alliance, a coalition of coal and power companies that formed in 2006 to build the plant. There are now nine members.
The proposed FutureGen power plant is supposed to test new technologies to filter out and capture carbon dioxide, a gas linked to global warming.
The project, whose price tag has grown from $1 billion to $2.4 billion, has teetered since its inception.
My seemingly suspended impacts of offshore wind energy on coastal recreation study funded by the state energy office could use a few thousand dollars to pay for some data collection:
Link: http://www.newsobserver.com/business/story/1583295.html
...the single enormous windmill blade on the back of that semi I blew by on my gas guzzling commute to work this morning sure burned a lot of gas to get to it's renewable-energy-producing destination.
ASU's wind turbine update:
The new wind turbine High Country Radio reported on over the weekend will soon be generating electricity that will be fed into New River Light and Power.
According to the Appalachian State University News Bureau, the turbine’s construction began on June 15.
The turbine stands 121 feet tall and is behind the Broyhill Inn and Conference Center on ASU’s campus. The University News Bureau reported that each of its three blades is 34 feet long.
The project cost about $533,000 and was funded by ASU students through a $5 renewable energy initiative fee (which is collected each semester), a donation from the senior class of 2009, and about half the tab was picked up by New River Light and Power.
Officials told the ASU News Bureau the turbine has the potential to generate enough electricity to power 10-15 households per year.
ASU News: http://www.news.appstate.edu/2009/06/24/wind-turbine-on-campus/
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