Environmental Economics

I'm shovel ready

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:

The N.C. State Energy Office was awarded $30.4 million today, the agency's first infusion of federal stimulus money to create jobs and promote energy savings. ...

The State Energy Office has earmarked six areas for spending stimulus funds awarded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. They include creating green jobs, improving government energy efficiency, promoting residential energy conservation and fostering renewable energy resources.

Link: http://www.newsobserver.com/business/story/1583295.html

Apparently it's Columbus Dispatch Day at Env-Econ

Another one from the Dispatch:

Budget cuts mean at many state parks in Ohio it's now BYOB: bring your own bag, for trash.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources has removed garbage cans from park areas used by day visitors because it has cut back on waste pickups. In a policy that began at some 30 parks on Memorial Day, guests must take their trash with them.

Regional manager Tim Carr says Caesar Creek and other southwest Ohio parks will save an estimated $5,000 per year in trash-hauling costs that they can use for vehicle fuel and other basics.

An official with the Sierra Club in Ohio calls the new policy a bad one. Brandi Whetstone says she has noticed excess park litter, including trash dumped in restrooms.

Carr says park visitors must learn to change their habits.

Pic of the day from a bouldering trip in Wales

Photo Credit: PEC

The value of an additional fish

I'm currently suffering the ill effects of a visit to Dale Hollow Lake on the Kentucky/Tennessee border this past weekend with two college buddies. We rented a cabin ("Pie in the Sky") for two nights and a boat from East Port Marina at the southern tip of the lake for two days. We spent about $600 and caught six fish. A simplistic way of valuing those fish is to divide $600 by 6, but that would be wrong.

Counting spending as economic value is what is done in economic impact analysis. While $600 is a nice addition to the local economy, that money would be spent somewhere else if 3 college buddies don't go fishing. If I had stayed home last weekend I could have spent the money on a nice dinner and a show one night and ... er, a nice dinner and show the next. By going away I hurt my own local economy. Spending and the resulting economic impacts are simply transfers from one region to another and not reflective of location-specific economic benefits.

The value of those 6 fish is the consumer surplus they generate, the value over and above the money spent to get there. In 14 hours of fishing I caught one little bluegill (picture above right). If someone would have asked me how much (a) further I would be willing to ride in the boat and (b) more I'd be willing to pay in extra gas costs to find a nice fishing hole in order to catch one nice sized bass (largemouth, smallmouth or white), considering my budget constraints and substitutes,I'd have said about $42. The $42 is the value of the additional fish.

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?

Picture of the (Memorial) Day (Weekend)

Will climate change take the fun out of fun?

Researchers Daniel Morris and Margaret Walls at Resources for the Future have written a background paper on "Climate Change and Outdoor Recreation Resources."  In it they describe potential impacts on:

Snowpack — Extended warm seasons may result in more rainfall than snow, which would reduce skiing and snowboarding opportunities, particularly in comparatively warmer areas in California, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico.

Fresh waterways — Reduced snowpack and more rain in winter months would mean an earlier spring runoff into streams and reservoirs. That could mean less fresh water flowing in the summer months, when sportfishing and boating are most popular. Fishing depends on water temperature, streamflow levels, and ecological quality, while boating is more sensitive to lake, reservoir, and stream levels.

Noncoastal wetlands — Stretching across 216 million acres of the northern plains and Canada, these wetlands are rich sources of many species of ducks and other waterfowl.  By one estimate, lower water levels due to climate change in the Upper Great Lakes could reduce regional duck populations by nearly 40 percent in the area.

Beaches — Rising sea levels over time could reduce the size of beachfront recreation areas, national seashores, and coastal waterways, the authors find. A full 85 percent of tourism-related revenues in the United States are generated by coastal states.

Forests and Parks — Tree cover, particularly in the western United States, is already feeling the impact of climate change, particularly as a result of drought. Insects have decimated millions of acres of evergreens in the Rocky Mountain region, and dryness has fueled damaging wildfires. Tree dieoffs also resulted in closures of campgrounds, trails, and picnic areas in public parks.

Interestingly, but perhaps not all too surprisingly, they find that there will be both costs and benefits to longer and warmer summers.

We have also shown that some economics literature indicates that the value of these resources for recreation purposes may be higher than ever. Recreation demand is highly dependent on climate, and several studies show that longer and warmer summers are expected to increase the demand for outdoor recreation,from hiking, fishing, and camping to simple beach visits.

Oh, and they cite some of John's North Carolina sea level rise work.

Happiness and outdoor recreation

Lucky for me, I moved away from #49 (Kentucky doesn't ...):

Looking for happiness — it’s family-friendly communities for some, tropical paradise or the rugged West for others.

A survey of Americans’ well-being, conducted by Gallup in partnership with Healthways and America’s Health Insurance Plans, gives high marks to Utah, which boasts lots of outdoor recreation for its youthful population.

Speaking of outdoor recreation, the islands of Hawaii took second place and Wyoming was third in the poll that rated such variables as mental, physical and economic health.

But fun outdoors obviously wasn’t the only criteria — “wild, wonderful” West Virginia was ranked last among the states.

And the bluegrass state of Kentucky was 49th, with Mississippi 48th on the list.

Here is the link to the survey: Gallup-Healthway Well-Being Index

Update: I wonder if there is a study in here? West Virginia is a beautiful place with lots of recreation opportunities. Are these mostly exported to people who live out of state? And do people move to Utah because of the recreation amenities? I wonder if the raw material to test this proposition is in the National Survey of Recreation and the Environment. What percentage of outdoor recreation is due to out-of-state travel? And the local value question could be answered with a hedonic analysis. Do homes in Utah and West Virginia have different price premia for proximity to recreation?

Picture of the Day

"My days as a hand model are numbered."

Photo Credit: Unknown.

Park economics

The county (Forsyth) that contains my nearest big city (Winston-Salem) is taking a look at their park system (Parks for 2020):

According to the county's parks report, the most recent annual operating costs range from $106,150 for Union Cross Park to $19,455 for Old U.S. 421 River Park. The Walkertown park costs $48,094 to run, and Joanie Moser costs $42,349. None of the smaller parks make a profit, but then, no county park does. ...

County officials say that there are 5,818 acres of parks and open spaces in the county, including land in city parks. Using a 2006 population estimate, officials said that means the county has 17.5 acres of parks or open spaces for every 1,000 residents. But Sanders-Pratt said that the county needs to add 643 acres of parkland by 2015 to maintain that ratio, and an additional 386 acres beyond that to maintain that ratio by the year 2020.

The county is looking for new ways to both raise park money and finance repairs ...

One idea being considered is a pool of money to match contributions that would be made by towns or nonprofit groups considering the creation of parks.

Another idea would be to allow Tanglewood to keep the revenues that come from those park activities that generate a profit, instead of putting that money back into the county's general fund. The idea is that this money could pay for needed repairs.

Dave Plyler, the chairman of the board of commissioners, said that it is difficult for a park to operate on its own revenue.

"Public parks should not be expected to make a profit because they are public parks," Plyler said.

I would have been quoted a bit differently:

"Public parks don't make profit because they are public goods -- both nonrival (up to the point of congestion) and nonexcludable (or too costly to exclude users) -- which justifies government taxation and provision of parks," Whitehead said.