Environmental Economics

Toles on Global Warming

Tom Toles (WaPo Editorial Cartoonist) has this take on Global Warming--click if you need it larger:

From the Answer Desk--7 months of nonsense in one post

We started Env-Econ almost 2 years ago.  Not long after the launch we installed an answer desk feature with the intent of me answering questions as they were submitted.  Honestly it was an attempt to mooch off our readers for ideas for posts if we ran out.  Turns out we are far smarted and more creative with post ideas than we ever imagined and we haven't had to use you as a crutch nearly as much as we thought.  But that also means that I have completely ignored the answer desk for almost a year.  So I thought I would try to catch up and cram a year's worth of answers into one post--which of course means all of these answers will be short and virtually void of content.  Questions have been selected and edited for no real reason other than to amuse myself--and really, what more could matter.  My responses are in italics.

Some more Earth Day news

From The Onion:

At a special Earth Day event Sunday, Vice President Dick Cheney inhaled his first-ever breath of oxygen.

"I am…proud to stand before you today and…breathe in the same gas used by…millions of Americans," said a wheezing and gasping Cheney, whose body is accustomed to compounds of chlorine and sulfur dioxide. "One breath, however, is enough for me. I'm glad the stuff will be out of the atmosphere forever in a few decades."

Cheney then left the press conference to attend a cardiac health awareness dinner, where he feasted on human hearts.

Quote of the Day--Yankee Hater Edition

For all of you fellow Yankee haters* out there, here's one from ESPN.com's Sports Guy:

Watching A-Rod turn into the Dominican Roy Hobbs on the heels of Peyton Manning winning a Super Bowl was a little too freaky for me. Did you know global warming could turn the sports world upside down? Apparently it can. Being scared of A-Rod was one of the strangest sports feelings I can remember.

*I know all of our European readers perk up when I mention Yankee haters. Calm down, I'm referring to the baseball team and not Americans in general. 

Should mutual fund managers care about the environment?

Catching my attention this morning:

U.S. mutual funds are ignoring the business risks of global climate change, said a report on Monday that criticized the industry for abstaining from or opposing shareholder pressure for environmental disclosure.

My immediate reactions was a resounding "SAY WHAT?"  Why should mutual fund managers care about the environment?  Unless, of course, it makes their investors money.

Advice to undergrads

From the inbox:

I aspire to become an environmental economist (specifically in your field) and I was sending this email in regards to advice on classes to take, and or organizations to join. I was also interested (of course at the expense of your time) in your approach to your current occupation; the classes you took or the routes you took in acquiring your current occupation. Thank you for your consideration.

Oh wow, I'm awful at giving advice.

An ethanol article from the WSJ micro weekly review

I'm still at the EPA valuation workshop ... here is something to occupy my space until my head stops swimming:

Ethanol Creates a Pricing Puzzle for Corn Farmers
by Lauren Etter
Mar 29, 2007
Page: A1

TOPICS: Marginal Analysis, Risk and uncertainty, Supply and Demand

Quote of the Day--No Sh*t Edition

"I propose a limitation be put on how many squares of toilet paper can be used in any one sitting. Now, I don't want to rob any law-abiding American of his or her God-given rights, but I think we are an industrious enough people that we can make it work with only one square per restroom visit, except, of course, on those pesky occasions where 2 to 3 could be required."

Singer Sheryl Crow, from her Saving the Earth: The Biodiesel Bus Blog

Quote of the Day--Drive Less Edition

Here is the official Env-Econ explanation of the always popular 'Drive Less' campaign: "Drive Less!" is an answer to the question "What can we as consumers do to bring down the price of gas?"  "Drive Less!" places to burden on drivers to take action.  Gas prices are high because drivers are willing to pay high gas prices.  "Drive Less!" and gas prices will fall.  With that in mind, here's the semi-irregular quote of the day.

"...the low number explains why gas demand is at a record high, despite high prices. Because for the vast majority of people, it isn't a hardship for them."

Phil Flynn, senior oil analyst for Aleron, on recent CNN poll results showing only 1 in 5 Americans report severe economic hardships from recent gas price increases.

EPA Workshop: Valuation for Environmental Policy

I'm in beautiful Crystal City, Va (up since 5:30 am with a splitting headache, is there a convenience store amidst the office buildings?) for an EPA valuation workshop:

EPA's National Center for Environmental Research (NCER) and National Center for Environmental Economics (NCEE) are sponsoring a meeting to discuss research being conducted on ecological valuation. The meeting will consist of a series of presentations and discussions by researchers from the NCER Science To Achieve Results (STAR) grant program, NCEE, other EPA offices, and universities. There will be presentations on the estimation of values for ecological goods and services such as water quality, wetlands, riparian habitat, and aquatic resources. Other presentations will be on improved methods for benefit transfer.

I'll begin to make a complete fool of myself around 2 pm. The paper is about the avoidance of double counting when adding estimates of environmental benefits obtained from different valuation methods. Open this file.ppt at 2 pm and advance the slides about 1 per minute. Speed up when you get to the equations. Slow back down when you get to the data. Suppress all smirks and giggles.

Conference notes will appear in the comments section.