Environmental Economics

Rainy days and Mondays always get me down

From Ray's Weather Center:

A cold front moving through this morning will set the stage for an abrupt weather changes. Expect morning rain, but the sun will make an appearance this afternoon. Tonight, much colder air will overtake the region with a few snow flurries possible especially on mountaintops near the TN/NC line.

From The Carpenters:

Talkin' to myself and feelin' old
Sometimes I'd like to quit
Nothing ever seems to fit
Hangin' around
Nothing to do but frown
Rainy Days and Mondays always get me down.

Picture of the Day: Stuck Hummer

Having dug out from the "Storm of the Century" on Saturday* we decided to venture to the mall yesterday to celebrate my daughter's 10th birthday.  Much to my delight, I had the chance to capture the image to the right.  Not the best picture--a video would have captured the moment much better--but I did the best I could with a camera phone.  In the foreground you can barely make out a man with a shovel.  In the background is his Hummer.  Stuck.  As smaller cars and minivans drive by.

Now a good Samaritan would have stopped and helped.  Right?  Not me ! My immediate reaction:  "Holy crap, I gotta get a picture of this and post it."  I always have our readers' best interests in mind.  While he struggled, I snapped pictures--from a distance of course, I didn't want him to think I was an a$$h@!&.  After 15 minutes or so he finally broke free.  The best part?  Right after he drove away, a Toyota Corolla drove through the tracks he had made with no problems. 

I chuckled. 

I'm going to hell.

*Official total: 20.5" of snow.  The most in central Ohio since 1916. 

It's March!

Grand total?  19 inches in the front yard.  5 foot drifts against the back of the house.

Today's weather forecast

See the star?  That's me.

Rain futures

From the inbox:

Financially hedge the drought. 

See. http://nwr.centraldesktop.com/re/

Benefits and costs of the Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 2007

Just so you know that it's not all climate-change-induced-whatever* around here, how about if we consider a mundane and relatively small budget government policy: coastal and ocean observation systems (COOS). From the North Carolina COOS webpage:

One of the primary goals of NC-COOS as it grows is to develop a robust set of Ocean Observing platforms. ... These include offshore buoys and Navy towers, estuarine profiling platforms, a rooftop development package, and a remotely sensed surface current radar.

... observations are collected in real-time and presented in a series of graphics. Parameters presented include wind velocity, surface water temperature, surface water velocity, water level and surface salinity.

... Forecast products include winds, surface water temperature, surface water velocity, and water level.

I know what you are wondering, what are the benefits and costs of such a program?

Hurricane season starts today!

I'd completely forgotten about "the season" up here in the mountains where we tropical storm wind gusts only in the winter and usually up top.

From the inbox:

Hurricane season starts today. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency urges people and businesses to start planning before hurricane force winds or storm flooding may occur. Early preparations can help minimize injury and property damage. 

EPA's hurricanes Web site includes information for business operators on preventing and reporting chemical releases due to severe weather, which can be required by law. Local governments and community agencies can find suggestions for preparing and protecting water and wastewater facilities. There is also detailed information for debris planning, since storm debris can occur in enormous amounts that overwhelm local landfills, and can also present serious dangers to human health and the environment.

Happy Groundhog Day

Here is a link to a classic env-econ groundhog day post: You know I always wanted to pretend that I was a meteorologist.

Don't try this sort of budgeting at home

According to the AFS Policy coordinator the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate are $1 billion apart on the fiscal year budget for NOAA (see page 587 in 12/06 Fisheries, PDF):

The House and Senate remain $1 billion apart on the budget for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for fiscal year 2007. NOAA has been operating under the House appropriations bill, which cuts the agency's budget by over $500 million to $3.4 billion in FY 2007, since the new fiscal year began on 1 October. In contrast, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a bill in July that would increase NOAA's budget by nearly $500 million to $4.4 billion. However, the full Senate failed to complete action on the bill before it adjourned for the elections. The fate of NOAA's budget may be determined by a House-Senate conference committee that is charged with reconciling the differences between the two bills. If the House and Senate were to split the difference between the two bills, then NOAA's FY 2007 budget would be nearly the same as its FY 2006 budget.

The House and Senate bills both protect the budget of the National Weather Service. The House bill would cut funding for other NOAA programs, including research programs, in order to achieve $500 million in budget cuts. In contrast, the Senate bill would provide substantial increases for NOAA research programs.

The Env-Econ Home Game

Here's a fun game to play with your friends. 

1. Quickly read through both excerpts from related news stories below the fold.
2. Debate boisterously who is the biggest idiot*.

Submit all arguments in the comment section.  The winner is the one who receives the most enjoyment from submitting a comment.  See how fun economics can be.

*No matter what my wife, my kids or John tell you, 'Tim' is not an acceptable answer.