Environmental Economics

Could you please define 'many'?

Like many economists, oil companies maintain that it is an inefficient system, with too many middle men to handle the complex trading of permits.

via money.cnn.com

I've heard very few economists describe cap and trade as inefficient.

Is Cap'n Trade Dead?

In the next couple of weeks, lawmakers are expected to unveil an unprecedented climate change proposal that may open up more areas for offshore drilling and cut emissions through a cap on greenhouse gases and a tax on gasoline.

Details on the proposal, put forth by Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., are scant - the actual bill isn't expected until at least the end of the month.

via money.cnn.com

Env-Econ: The NCAA Tournament Pool 2010 Reminder

A little over 24 hours left to get your entries in for the most anticipated NCAA Tournament Pool in the environmental economics sub-blogosphere.  All entries are due by Thursday at noon.

Entries are free.  The winner gets bragging rights and a highly invaluable "Drive Less" bumper sticker

Just click here to access the EnvEcon group at ESPN.com.   The password is:  capntrade.   You need to create an ESPN.com account to join, but it's relatively painless and you can opt out of all the spam.

The environmental impacts of St. Patrick's Day

Sometime in the 19th century, as St. Patrick's Day parades were flourishing, wearing the color green became a show of commitment to Ireland, Meagher said.

In 1962 the show of solidarity took a spectacular turn in Chicago when the city decided to dye a portion of the Chicago River green.

The tradition started when parade organizer Steve Bailey, head of a plumbers' union, noticed how a dye used to detect river pollution had stained a colleague's overalls a brilliant green, according to greenchicagoriver.com.

Why not, Bailey thought, turn the river green on St. Patrick's Day? So began the tradition.

The environmental impact of the dye is minimal compared with sources of pollution such as bacteria from sewage-treatment plants, said Margaret Frisbie, the executive director of the advocacy group Friends of the Chicago River.

Her group focuses instead on turning the Chicago River into a welcoming habitat full of fish, herons, turtles, and beavers.

If the river becomes a wildlife haven, the thinking goes, Chicagoans won't want to dye their river green.

"Our hope is that, as the river continues to improve, ultimately people can get excited about celebrating St. Patrick's Day different ways," she said.

via news.nationalgeographic.com

So that's the modern impact. But what about the ecological impact of snake genocide (is there a scientific word for that?) in Ireland?

Another St. Patrick myth is the claim that he banished snakes from Ireland.

It's true no snakes exist on the island today, Freeman said. But they never did.

Ireland, after all, is surrounded by icy ocean waters—much too cold to allow snakes to migrate from Britain or anywhere else.

But since snakes often represent evil in literature, "when Patrick drives the snakes out of Ireland, it is symbolically saying he drove the old, evil, pagan ways out of Ireland [and] brought in a new age," Freeman said.

I hate symbolism.

Where I'll be tomorrow night*

From the inbox:

We have 4 shows for you this week starting Wednesday, better known as St. Patty's Day.  Bafoodus will be supplying the music for what has become Americas favorite drinking holiday.

Thursday, Upright & Breathin' will continue with the trend of local bands playing this week.  They will be featuring Jay Shogren who is quite an accomplished songwriter from Wyoming. 

...

Yes, that is the same guy.

*Alternative title: Old dog, new tricks.

Behavioral environmental economics

Phil Miller at Market Power:

Should the government somehow subsidize environmentally-friendly products such as organically grown tomatoes or free-range chicken?  Doing so, some proponents would say, would help improve environmental conditions and could possibly make people more healthy.  What could possibly go wrong?

As any economist will tell you, there are always trade-offs associated with any subsidy.  When a particular product is subsidized, this drives people to buy a product who otherwise would have purchased something else and/or who would have saved their money.  So one obvious trade-off is a decrease in current and/or future consumption of some other product.  

Another obvious trade-off is that subsidies must come from taxes, which discourage economic activity, or from the printing of money, which drives higher rates of inflation.

But according to a paper by Nina Mazar and Chen-Bo Xhong in the current issue of a top 10 psychology journal, Pyschological Science, one more subtle trade-off of green subsidies may be in the form of increased unethical behavior on the part of people who buy green products (here is a link to a currently ungated version).

Consumer choices not only reflect price and quality preferences but also social and moral values as witnessed in the remarkable growth of the global market for organic and environmentally friendly products. Building on recent research on behavioral priming and moral regulation, we find that mere exposure to green products and the purchase of them lead to markedly different behavioral consequences. In line with the halo associated with green consumerism, people act more altruistically after mere exposure to green than conventional products. However, people act less altruistically and are more likely to cheat and steal after purchasing green products as opposed to conventional products. Together, the studies show that consumption is more tightly connected to our social and ethical behaviors in directions and domains other than previously thought.

Here is a Guardian article by Kate Connolly that discusses this paper.  Ms. Connolly quotes psychologist Dieter Frey as saying that when someone obtains some kind of credential, like environmentalist cred that would come with buying green products, "you tend to allow yourself to stray elsewhere." 

So, if Mazar and Xhong are correct, a trade-off with environmental subsidies may be a less civil society, at least at the margin.  Like I said:  there are always tradeoffs.

via marketpower.typepad.com

The riddler

Why is there a totally different culture within the same occupation?  Which approach is better at achieving a university’s goal of hiring the best person?  Which makes the participants feel better about the process?  Which side of the Atlantic has it right?

via freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com

Comment of the Day

Over a GoBlueRidge.net, in response to the announcement that they'll no longer allow visitors to feed the bears at Grandfather Mountain:

well, i for one get tired of those who sit on their butts all day asking for handouts and expecting the state govt to take care of them! they are perfectly capable of fending for themselves or should understand the difference in a "want" or a "need"! plus, if they can't support themselves...why are they having so many cubs?!

Daily Env-Econ: The NCAA Pool Reminder with economic content

Reminder:  The third annual EnvEcon NCAA Tournament Pool is open for business.  Entries are free.  The winner gets bragging rights and a highly invaluable "Drive Less" bumper sticker

Just click here to access the EnvEcon group at ESPN.com.   The password is:  capntrade.   You need to create an ESPN.com account to join, but it's relatively painless and you can opt out of all the spam.

And for those of you who are tired of sports related posts:

1. Tough noogies.  It's my party and I'll cry if I want to.
2. 65 teams.  64 games.  11 days.  One champion.  The NCAA Basketball Tournament will remain the best sporting event on the planet (World Cup?....pffft) until the NCAA gets its collective head out of its collective rear and realizes the attraction of a DI NCAA Football Tournament.
3. At least we can relate it to economics:

Where I'll be tonight

March 15:

The world famous Harlem Globetrotters will be coming to Boone tomorrow night to perform at the Holmes Convocation Center.

via www.goblueridge.net