Environmental Economics

Average Price for a Gallon of Regular Gas

Click on the thumbnail for a big pic.

Source: a long article in the NYTimes on impacts of higher gas prices. According to the article cabbies can't afford groceries, band practice, Wendy's french fries and long distance romance.

NYTimes' Tierney on the gas tax

From Fiddling While Fuel Burns ($):

Congress and President Bush are promising to solve the crisis of $3-a-gallon gasoline. But before we get to their eight-point plan and other scams, a brief digression: How about trying something that works?

Somebody Stop Me! I'm Obsessed...

Hopefully this is my last post of the week on gas prices.  There seems to be an underlying theme to all of the gas price talk this week that somehow U.S. Energy Policy and U.S Oil companies are responsible for gas prices.  So I decided to take a look at the gas prices in Europe.  Not because they are higher in than prices in the U.S., but because changes in the price of gas in Europe are almost perfectly correlated with changes in the price of gas in the U.S.  Click on the image to see the graph taken ffrom DOE-EIA numbers.

I calculated the simple correlation coefficients between U.S. and select European country gas prices (those on the graph) between 2001 and 2006 and they all fall between .9 and 1.  So, either U.S. energy policy and U.S. oil companies' greedy behavior have an overwhelming effect on world gas prices, or U.S. gas prices react overwhelmingly to global supply and demand conditions.  I vote for the latter.

From the Answer Desk: Should big cars pay higher gas prices?

Rashelle J.M. writes: I think that the gas problem is mostly because people are driving larger vehicles. This conveys to me how greedy people are! I also see very conservative people who are riding scooters to work! People who conserve should be rewarded! I myself drive a 4 cylinder car. Now, with that said, I propose that if people buy bigger vehicles that they pay bigger prices at the pumps. The gas pumps are computerized, so, why can't gas be priced by size of engines?

Poll results

The votes are in and it is a surprise. Env-Econ readers are happy to pay for beach nourishment. Click the thumbnail for the numbers.

New opinion poll

Well, not really an opinion poll. More like marketing study. Inspired by Tim's NPR moment, we wonder:

What is the most that you would be willing to pay for a "Drive Less! www.env-econ.net" bumper sticker?

If we can cover costs we might even have them printed up and try to figure out how much work it might be to try to sell something (sounds like a job for a env-econ spouse, and not the sociologist). If all goes as planned, we'll progress to hats and t-shirts (I'm imagining Ben Bernanke wearing them during a Congressional hearing) and, finally, a cabinet-level position for Tim in the "geo-green" administration of the 2008 election winner (John envisions a low-level staff post for his-self):

If the Democrats shirk this energy challenge, as the Republicans have, I'm certain there is going to be a third party in the 2008 election. It is going to be called the Geo-Green Party, and it is going to win a lot of centrist voters. The next Ross Perot will be green.

Source: Thomas L. Friedman, Gas Pump Geopolitics [$], NYTimes, April 28, 2006.

Ben Bernanke has final word on gas prices?

From the AP (via CNN.com):

"Unfortunately there's nothing, really, that can be done that's going to affect energy prices or gasoline prices in the very short run," Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told a congressional hearing.

Oh, but he doesn't appreciate the growing power of "Drive Less!"

Water conservation follow-up III

Fines accumulate in Raleigh as water prices remain low and quantity restrictions get older (Water Demand, Fines Rise):

It has been nearly 180 days since mandatory water restrictions went into effect in Raleigh and towns, including Garner, that get water from the capital city.

The word hasn't reached everyone. Water use is rising, and so are the number of fines the city issues to homeowners and businesses for violating water restrictions.

Previous post: Water conservation follow-up II

SciAm Blog: Are You a Global Warming Skeptic? Part III

Scientific American's blog has a "summary of misgivings about whether global warming is occurring and whether it is caused by human activity." The list is extensive, so I am only going to include the main sections, but there is quite a bit of more detail in the original list. Also, in case anyone wants to participate, there is a poll on which arguments against global warming are the most compelling:

SciAm Blog: Are You a Global Warming Skeptic? Part III: As promised, here is the updated list of misgivings about whether global warming is occurring and whether it is caused by human activity. I've incorporated comments from the first and second threads and from private emails, and I've reshuffled some of the categories. I've done my best to be fair in representing the variety of opinion.

Ah, the stench of politics

From the American Prospect:

WHO YOU CALLIN' STUPID? Methinks a lot of folks out there are too quick to underestimate the intelligence of highly trained professional politicians. The basic dilemma facing Democrats at the moment regarding gasoline goes as follows: