Environmental Economics

Friday Vicarious Sports Update

Only two games this week for the Dublin GreenSox 12U softball team (double-header rained out last night).  One win-one tie against a solid team from nearby Plain City.  Sloppy fielding and flat bats hurt the team early in both games forcing them to come from behind.  Official oldest daughter of env-econ got a 7-6 win in game two to push her record to 6-1-1 on the year with a 1.4 ERA.  This weekend--a 7 game tournament if we can dodge the thunderstorms.

Friday Beer Post: Update

Things are about to turn ugly in the uncalled-for, unpatriotic, Belgium-Brazilian takeover of Anheuser-Busch:

InBev, the world’s largest brewer, said on Thursday it would launch a hostile bid for Anheuser-Busch as its US rival rejected its $46bn bid as “financially inadequate”.

I once got turned down by a girl in a bar because she said I was "financially inadequate."  Only she didn't say financially.  It was another word.  That I can't repeat here.

I'm buying a new car today

Yesterday was my 15th wedding anniversary (yes, you can feel free to pity my wife).  Today, I'm biting the bullet and replacing the stylish 2001 minivan with the ever-so-slightly more stylish Saturn Aura.  I didn't plan on replacing the van quite this soon--I was hoping to wait until the end of the summer--but circumstances make this a good time.  Below are my top 5 reasons for replacing my minivan with the Aura.

1. The 8 inch rust hole in the side of the van embarrasses my 11 year old daughter.  Then again, my very existence embarrasses her, so I'm not sure this is a good reason.
2. According to my latest calculations, 30 mpg is better than 20 mpg.  Driving 12,000 miles a year I figure that will save me...well...something. 
3. 5 family members--5 seatbelts
4. I hate car salespeople (persons?).  Saturn doesn't negotiate prices.  I'm hoping for a pleasant car buying experience.
5. OSU employees get the GM supplier discount
6. I have a GM Mastercard that has earned me a $1,000 discount on a GM car
7. 72 months--0% financing if purchased by June 30--assuming I have good credit

My Wilmington, NC restaurant guide

In response to vast interest in this topic (location, food quality, prices ($ to $$$), kid friendly?):

• Deluxe: downtown, very yummy, $$$, leave kids at home
• Jerry's: Right before the Wrightsville Beach bridge, very yummy, $$$, leave kids at home
• Caffe' Phoenix: downtown, yummy, $$, kids OK but leave them at home if you can
• Elijah's: downtown with river views, yummy, $$, kids OK but leave them at home if you can
• The Oceanic: Wrightsville Beach with ocean views, yummy, $$, kids OK but leave them at home if you can
• Indochine: crummy location, yummy (Thai), $$, kids OK but leave them at home if you can
• South Beach: Wrightsville Beach with a view of the ICWW, yummy, $$, kids OK but leave them at home if you can

There are other good ones rated "yummy" (e.g., Pilot House, K-38, Circa 1922, Dockside, Bluewater) but these are my favorites. Anything else is rated "kind-of yummy" and you can find those on your own.

One final tip: order seafood (but not if Tilapia [actually leave if you hear this one as I did at a decent restaurant that won't be named] or Spanish Mackerel is the catch of the day).

One more final tip: Grab a beer at Front Street Brewery and maybe an appetizer, but forget the meal.

Still another: Port City Java for coffee.

And another: Take the Cape Fear to Southport ferry and hit The Provision Company for lunch (but not on the weekend).

The truth is out there

Democrats and Republicans disagree and both are wrongish ad nauseum (In Congress ...):

The two political parties have settled on markedly different strategies for improving domestic oil supplies to help lower gasoline prices.

Republicans want to end the 27-year ban on offshore drilling along much of the nation’s coastline, while Democrats want to force companies to speed up exploration in certain offshore areas that they already control.

The article goes on to mention that Republicans might be overstating the amount of oil out there and ... my spin ... Democrats, with their degrees in geology and strong profit incentives to place the wells in the correct place, are trying to micromanage where companies drill.

And, of course, neither strategy will lower oil prices before my little kids are driving electric cars.

Anglers vs Plovers update

It's getting ugly out there:

Three areas closed off to protect shorebirds near Oregon Inlet have been expanded after someone in an off-road vehicle ran down fencing and carved "doughnuts" in the sand over the weekend.

...

It's the third such incident since a consent decree settled a lawsuit in which environmental groups had challenged the management of beach driving in the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

I can't hear you (hands on ears)

From the inbox (White House refused ...)

The White House in December refused to accept the Environmental Protection Agency’s conclusion that greenhouse gases are pollutants that must be controlled, telling agency officials that an e-mail message containing the document would not be opened, senior E.P.A. officials said last week.

Weird parallel: About 2 years ago I refused to accept a JEEM editor's conclusion that one of my papers could not be accepted for publication. I told them that an email message containing the rejection letter would not be opened. I have yet to see my paper in print but I list it as forthcoming on my vita.

Hat tip: Mr. Nobody ("The W plan: if you have bad news coming in the mail, I don't open it.")

The cost of spilling oil just got 80% cheaper

The Supreme Court has decided that the punitive damages in the Exxon Valdez oil spill were excessive:

The Supreme Court on Wednesday reduced a $2.5 billion punitive damages award against energy giant Exxon for its role in an infamous 1989 maritime oil spill off the coast of Alaska.

The high court concluded punitive damages should roughly match actual damages from the environmental disaster, which were about $507 million. Lower courts were asked to reassess the jury verdict, extending the years-long litigation in the case.

JEEM impact factor

For whatever it is worth, the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management ranks 12th out of 52 journals in the category of environmental studies. From the inbox (click the thumbnail):

We need a RFE blog

From the inbox:

This is to notify you that the June 2008 issue of the Resources for Economists on the Internet (RFE) is now available online at http://www.aeaweb.org/RFE.

I've puzzled about something for awhile. The RFE is large. We get monthly updates that there is a new issue but the new stuff is included in the old stuff and there are no "new this month" directories. So, unless your opportunity cost is lower than mine (and mine is quite low), you don't have time to find the new stuff. What is the point of the monthly update emails?

My suggestion: A RFE blog would be a perfect way to announce new entries.