Environmental Economics

Post recession summer getaways

Despite yesterday's declaration that the recession is over, many are still struggling to find a summer vacation for the family on the cheap.  For those to whom this applies, thank your Federal travel assistants for solving your dilemma (from CNN.com):

It's hardly a bailout, but the federal government is hoping that waiving fees at national parks will help boost local economies across the country. On three weekends this summer, the National Park Service will offer fee-free weekends to encourage cash-strapped families to visit the parks.

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced the initiative Tuesday at a news conference at Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio.

"National parks also serve as powerful economic engines for local communities, and we hope that promoting visitation will give a small shot in the arm to businesses in the area," Salazar said.

Many national parks were bracing for a busy summer, and this improves the tourism forecast, said George Price, superintendent of Cape Cod National Seashore.

"Sometimes, when the economy downturns, places like the seashore see an upsurge because people choose to stay closer to home," Price said. "Visitation will be very strong this year. The question will be how much people will actually spend when they come to visit."

And, of course, what the local multiplier is?

...and how many jobs will be created?

Ash holes found in my hometown

Invasive species are invading:

An insect that infests and kills ash trees has been discovered in Dublin.

City officials plan to treat older trees with chemicals and remove young ash trees in order to stem the infestation of the Emerald Ash Borer, 10TV's Glenn McEntyre reported.

The Emerald Ash Borer is a non-native insect that is spreading throughout Ohio and has already destroyed millions of ash trees in the Midwest.

Linda Yost of Worthington is already familiar with the damage the Emerald Ash Borer can do. Fourteen trees on her street had to be removed, and four more trees are waiting to be cut down.

The difference is dramatic - from a charming, tree-shaded avenue two years ago to an open, empty roadway today.

"Now it just looks like a normal old street," Yost said.

The same charm Linda Yost cherished on her Worthington street, Matt Arnold of Dublin loves about his.

"That's a million-dollar view," Arnold said of the mature ash trees on his street. "You couldn't replace those for a million dollars."

Anybody know what a mature replacement tree would cost?

Forest green jobs*

From Green, Inc (Forest Service Doles out Stimulus Funds):

The stimulus payoff for the Forest Service comes to $1.15 billion — $650 million for road, bridge and trail maintenance and related activities, and another $500 million to reduce fire hazards (of which $250 million should go to state and private lands). Also, up to $50 million can go to “wood to energy grants to support the increased use of biomass” on forest land.

Using Romer-Bernstein method's mulitiplier of 1.5, the $1.15 billion in USFS funding will generate $1.725 billion in GDP. This is about 0.0123% of GDP in a $14 trillion economy. Using the Romer-Bernstein Rule, each 1% of GDP generates 1 million jobs, the USFS component of the stimulus bill will generate about 12,321 new forest green jobs.

Note: I won't rest until we definitively answer the questions: What is a "green" job? When will 5 million green jobs be created? Previous efforts:

1. Aquamarine Jobs
2. Carolina blue Jobs
3. Olive green jobs

My best post of 2008

I left a comment on a green jobs post the day after pagan celebration of a Christian holy day:

That is why economics is known as the dismal science. We strange economists are most adept at recognizing the opportunity costs of various decisions. No one else really seems to care if opportunity costs offset some, or all, of the benefits of a good idea.

Opportunity cost is a strange notion to some (especially intro micro students) ... it is the value of the next best alternative whenever a choice is made. For example, if I purchase a $1000 flat panel LCD TV, the true cost of the TV is not $1000, but what I could purchase instead (such as $500 in each kid's college education 529 plan [sorry kids]).

In the case of green energy subsidies, if you are an economist then you must at least wonder if this is the best way to spend the money. There are benefits of pushing down the costs of green energy (e.g., improved air quality), and there are opportunity costs. Ignoring the opportunity costs is likely to lead to wasteful spending. Considering the opportunity costs is likely to lead to better social decision making -- regardless of whether the benefits of the subsidies exceed the costs.

The notion of opportunity cost, its recognition and the inevitable result that not all great sounding ideas are really great ideas, is the most important thing that economists bring to many policy discussions. Pointing out the unpleasantantries of opportunity cost is one of the purposes of this blog. The dismal part of the dismal science can not be avoided.

Save a tree this x-mas

In away this week, so I'll leave you with some holiday ideas from the inbox:

The site worldchristmastree.com, launched a week ago by two activists from Riga, Latvia is dedicated to save at least a portion of what is lost in this NOT VERY GREEN festivity.

During THIS WEEK most of us will cut or buy a tree just for purpose of strong traditions. We donate money to the World Land Trust to save 1 sq. foot of rainforest in exchange for ones decorated tree photo. So simple!

Quote of the Day

"It's like eating an elephant - you've got to eat it one bite at a time"

Jason Kirchner, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service, on fighting the California wildfires.

Um, yeah. Just like that.

A carbon offset story

A friend:  "Hey, do you know anything about carbon offset programs?"

Me: "A little."

A friend: "I'm thinking of relandscaping my yard and putting in some new trees.  Do you think I can get somebody to pay me to do it?"

Timber sales and the economic theory of crime

Screaming Trees (Timber thieves ...):

Across the country, trees are disappearing in cases that are often small in scale but largely unsettling, probably prompted by the rise in timber value and the increase in worldwide demand for American hardwood — particularly from builders in Europe and China. The total value of the American log export market has more than doubled since 2000, industry experts said, and it continues to grow.

In the United States, forests are not being illegally logged on a systemic scale, ... Here, the issue is often scattered and intimate, and often affects homeowners, parks and public forests.

An egregious misuse of public funds

H.R. 3454 [CBO's cost estimate (PDF)]:

H.R. 3454 would require the Secretary of Agriculture to convey a small parcel of Forest Service land to the Central Advent Christian Church in Alleghany County, Virginia. The land that would be conveyed contains a cemetery used by the church as well as an adjoining tract of land. CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 3454 would have no significant impact on the federal budget. The church would pay for all costs of the conveyance. Enacting H.R. 3454 would not affect direct spending or revenues.

Free-market, non-secular forestry?

I-66 (almost the devil's number)

From my hometown paper, a Christmas X-iday story:

I-66 once was planned as a transcontinental highway, but current plans call for a drastically scaled-back version -- two relatively short segments in Southern and Eastern Kentucky.

And even those have come under fire for being too expensive ($3.5 billion or more for 61 miles of roadway), unlikely to fulfill supporters' claims of an economic-development bonanza and a threat to inflict significant environmental damage.

How much money could 61 miles of roadway save in eastern Kentucky?

Let's say that you can save an hour of time on each trip into the Daniel Boone National Forest. If time is valued at $25/hour, it would take 140 million trips to justify the $3.5 billion price tag.