Environmental Economics

Picture of the day

From the ASU weather cam:

Last year my kids missed something like 26 school days because of snow. This year it has been something like 3.

CSWEP tackles economics blogs

From the Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession webpage:

The Winter 2012 CSWEP Newsletter is now available online.  Jennifer Imazeki has organized terrific articles around the theme of Using Social Media in Economics.

The articles an introduction by Imazeki, "the impact of economics blogs" (McKenzie and Ozler), "teaching with economics blogs" (Whitehead) and "using social media for self-promotion" (Connelly).

I eagerly anticipate learning about how I can more effectively self-promote (snarky comments welcome)!

Update, from Jennifer's intro (via her blog):

In “The Impact of Economics Blogs,” World Bank economists and bloggers Berk Özler and David McKenzie discuss the role of economics blogs in the dissemination of research. They point out that blogs provide both private benefits, in the form of increased recognition and prestige for bloggers themselves, and external benefits, in the form of increased recognition for the authors of papers that are mentioned on (at least the top) economics blogs, as well as increased knowledge and changed perceptions among readers. John Whitehead (who also blogs himself) turns from research to teaching in “Teaching with Economics Blogs.” His summary of a recent survey of bloggers and blog readers suggests that blogs can be an excellent way to have students begin engaging with economic material and learning the way that economists think. Finally, Rachel Connelly explores the idea of using technology to facilitate self-promotion, providing some concrete suggestions for how to get started in “Using Social Media for Self-Promotion.”

After all, I am, first and foremost, a dedicated teacher (snarky comments welcome).

See if you can spot the inconsistency in this story

In a news release, the [Public Utility Commission of Ohio] said it has ordered AEP to return its rates to levels similar to those in place in December 2011, where they will stay until a new rate plan is approved.

“Our decision effectively hits the reset button on AEP’s electric security plan, allows us to start over from the beginning, ensure that we have a complete picture of any proposal, and balance the interests of all customers and the utility,” Chairman Todd A. Snitchler said in a statement. “ Ohio remains committed to continuing down the path towards fully competitive markets.”

via www.dispatch.com

The goodest of the bad

The study, undertaken by Andrew Weaver of the University of Victoria – a former lead author with the IPCC and probably Canada’s most prominent climate scientist – and his student, Neil Swart, crunched the numbers on future greenhouse gas emissions from various fuel sources. The researchers arrived at some sums that surprised them, particularly regarding the climate impact of Alberta’s oil sands, which have lately been characterized by NASA’s James Hansen and other opponents of the Keystone XL pipeline as a “carbon bomb” whose full development would spell “game over” for the biosphere.

 

Weaver and Swart found that even if every drop of sludgy bitumen beneath Alberta’s boreal forest were mined, upgraded, piped and pumped, it would only add at most 0.6 degrees F to global warming. Since even the most ambitious scenarios for the growth of Alberta’s oil industry would see just a fraction of that total mined over the next 20 years, the study concluded that the actual impact of the oil sands is more likely to be less than 0.1 degree F. The real carbon bombs, they found, were coal and unconventional natural gas (the stuff “fracked” out of solid rock in places like the Marcellus Shale deposit in Pennsylvania and upstate New York).

 

“Our overarching conclusion,” Weaver wrote in a clarification at the Huffington Post, “is that as a society, we will live or die by our future consumption of coal.”

via www.mnn.com

That can't be good for Ohio.

Politicians and gas prices

NY Times:

White House officials are preparing for Republicans to use consumer angst about the cost of oil and gas to condemn his energy programs and buttress their argument that his economic policies are not working. ...

“They want higher energy prices. They want to push their radical agenda on the public,” Rick Santorum said at a campaign event last week, accusing Democrats of pushing alternatives to oil. “We need a president who is on the side of affordable energy.”

Newt Gingrich wrote on Twitter on Friday that “gasoline prices are unacceptable. We can do better!” He urged his supporters to sign a petition on his Web site calling for a return to $2.50-a-gallon gas. “Drill here. Drill now. Pay less,” the petition says. ...

In speeches this spring, aides said, the president will increasingly focus on his administration’s actions to raise the fuel efficiency of cars and to open new areas to oil and natural gas development. They said they hoped the moves would counter the accusation that he has stifled oil production. On Friday, the Interior Department announced an expansion of oil exploration in Arctic waters.

Just a reminder to Republicans (and Democrats) that increasing domestric production of energy will have little effect on energy and gas prices. And, if anything, subsidies to renewable energy producers should exert downward pressure on energy prices.

That said, we're on the record as favoring higher taxes on energy. It was only the most recent presidential campaign when both candidates were favoring cap-and-trade (sigh).

But, I got here first!

Here's an interesting (at least to me) property rights dispute taking place in a Columbus suburb that raises some questions about the timing of development and the externalities it may cause.  The short version, to what extent are downstream developers/homebuyers expected to be able to predict the effects of future upstream development on their property in the future?  Or maybe better: Is 'I got here first' a legal claim to compensation?

The main draw of a Gahanna subdivision — a scenic creek — has become its greatest danger, threatening trees, fences and backyards.

The banks of Souder Ditch are eroding as its flow increases, and city officials want to fix it before it causes any more damage. That could cost local taxpayers $250,000 if the city doesn’t get a state grant.

Residents “are finding what they thought was a gentle, meandering brook through their backyards is suddenly a raging torrent of water,” said City Engineer Karl Wetherholt.

From Christie Nickell’s deck 10 yards from the creek, the water runs so loudly that it can be heard over the telephone.

“It’s beautiful back here. It’s so nice,” Nickell said. “It’s exactly the reason why we moved here.”

But that was 12 years ago. Back then, the 3-foot-wide stream dried to a trickle during the summer. These days, it’s twice as wide and runs year-round, taking down trees and pushing debris through the subdivision during heavy rain.

The Nickells have lost four trees. They paid $30,000 to put up a retaining wall, although it has helped only on one side. The erosion has created sewer problems, exposed an underground power line and is eating away at a century-old bridge. In one of the worst instances, there’s a 20-foot drop from a home’s backyard to the creek.

In all, Wetherholt thinks the erosion area directly affects about a dozen or so homes between Ashley Court and Farm Creek Drive.

The stream, a tributary of Rocky Fork Creek, has moved faster over the years because of runoff from developments north in Jefferson Township. Also, homeowners in the subdivision mow their lawns all the way to the creek instead of allowing room for natural plant life along the banks that could slow storm runoff.

“It would’ve been very difficult for people to predict this, especially if they bought the house and moved in during drought conditions, which occurred in the early 1990s,” Wetherholt said. The city is applying for a grant from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to help pay for a detention basin in Gahanna Woods, which should cut down the stream’s flow by about 30 percent. In all, officials expect it to cost $250,000, which includes a multipond wetland and walking trails.

The city will go ahead with the plans even if it doesn’t get the state money, Wetherholt said. The city also is paying more than $52,000 for a study to determine how much erosion has occurred, how bad the damage could get and what can be done to stop it permanently.

Meanwhile, Nickell and other residents have been fighting development efforts that could add even more water to their creek. A developer who wanted to build homes upstream on Havens Corners Road recently withdrew his application after protests.

“We’re trying to find a way that everybody can be happy,” Nickell said. “They can still develop, but as long as they’re not devaluing our property.”

via www.dispatch.com

Just sayin'

Percolator blog at Chronicle.com:

Emilie Marcus, chief executive of Cell Press, in Cambridge, Mass., which has grown from four journals in 1998 to 29 peer-reviewed journals today, explained how 11 editors at Cell, the press’s flagship journal, wade through manuscripts. Of 2,300 submissions last year, 1,500 were sent out for peer review, she said. ...

Some authors, she said, could ease the burden on peer reviewers if they would stop pitching the most prominent journals with every manuscript. Authors, she said, should be “more honest with themselves about the most appropriate home for their paper.”

Daily demand and supply

The price of unleaded gasoline in the U.S. will likely hit a nationwide average of $4 by this summer, said Dan Dicker, oil trader and author of "Oil's Endless Bid." The last time prices topped $4 was 2008 and Dicker said there's a one in three chance that gas could reach $5 a gallon.

If gas prices do head to those lofty levels, that could put a crimp in the economic recovery as consumers will likely cut down on spending if they have to pay more to fill up their cars.

via money.cnn.com

Nothing like high oil prices (input prices rising due to political tensions between Iran and a bunch of countries that rely on oil) and increasing demand (it's almost spring--time to drive) to give us our annual late winter gas prices are rising story.

Curse you Perry the Platypus

If you are in the greater tri-state area and have nothing to do at 2 pm today:

Fri, 02/17/2012

Willingness-to-pay for Oyster Consumption Risk Reductions

John Whitehead, Appalachian State University

Whitehead.pdf

via economics.appstate.edu

"When an evil scientist sends fragrant letters, wrongdoing can't be far behind." In other words, this version of the paper is riddled with errors. The new, improved version will be announced here in a week or so.

"New IDEAS layout roled out"

RePEc blog:

One of the main RePEc services, IDEAS, inaugurates today a new layout. The old layout was about a dozen years old and suffered from clutter, given all the new features that were gradually added to the site (and more coming). It is also designed to facilitate navigation, especially for the newcomer who may not be familiar with all the functionalities. Finally, we hope it will direct requests for corrections to the relevant people. There have also been some improvements in the invisible part of the site to make able to accommodate even more material.

Here is the Appstate page: http://edirc.repec.org/data/deappus.html.