Environmental Economics

I hate when things end prematurely

The 2014 Env-Econ Tournament Challenge comes down to Florida (I think--unless there's some combination I missed).  If Florida wins it all, dsnoonan will take the prize.  Otherwise, ZWatULU, will take the prize (of nothing).

Oh, and John finished dead last.

Ouch.

Where's Aquaman when we need him?

The International Court of Justice ruled Monday that Japan can no longer continue its annual whale hunt, rejecting the country's argument that it was for scientific purposes.

"Japan shall revoke any extant authorization, permit or license granted in relation to JARPA II, and refrain from granting any further permits in pursuance of that program," the court said, referring to the research program.

The International Court of Justice is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations.

via www.cnn.com

The International Court of Justice?

Isn't that where Superman, Batman, The Flash, Wonderwoman and Aquaman hang out?

Thanks Tim for introducing me to Wordle, I sooo enjoyed spending way too much time on it (sarc level five)

I'm trying to put AERE sessions together for the SEA meetings. I have four loosely related papers. Typically, I call this session "Residuals." Get it? This time I decide to enter the abstracts into Wordle and see if the word cloud is any help. Here it is:

I can't really call the session "environmental," can I?

Note: Sarc levels from I am Charlotte Simmons explained at the defunct blog.

2014 Recreational Fisheries Economics Constituent Workshop

From the inbox:

Thank you again for attending the Recreational Fisheries Constituents Workshop this past January .... A website with materials from the workshop is now available at http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/economics/fisheries/recreational/2014-rec-econ-constituent-workshop/index#. You will find a detailed agenda, with a summary of key discussion points and comments, copies of the presentations (where the author granted us permission to post it), a workshop summary, two factsheets on data and models, and a list of participants.

This is from the webpage:

The Recreational Fisheries Constituents Economics Workshop (Workshop) was an activity identified by constituents in the 2010 National Recreational Fishing Action Agenda as an important step toward enhancing the relationship between the recreational saltwater fishing community and NOAA. To ensure a productive dialogue, NOAA Fisheries balanced the agenda between presentations on the Agency’s the recreational fishing economics program and participant discussion.

To facilitate the information exchange, Workshop participants were provided fact sheets on NOAA Fisheries’ Recreational Economic Data Holdings as well as the Agency’s Recreational Economic Models.

 

Based upon the lively exchange of information over the course of the 2-day Workshop, four themes emerged (highlighted in box). The presentations as well as detailed notes on the discussion associated with each presentation are captured on this website (see Agenda: Day 1 and Agenda: Day 2). The Workshop Participants List is also provided here.

 
The Workshop report summarizes this discussion and also provides next steps for addressing the four key themes identified at the Workshop.

I served as facilitator/discussant (or was it discussant/facilitator) for two stated preference talks and on a panel at the end. My panel comments are posted here. I'm currently trying to dig myself out of the deep hole I dug with those comments. 

I'm Goin' Downy F@#$'n Oshun Hun*

For all my Maryland friends:

Flushing out foul language. Maryland’s most popular beach town bans bad words. When you go to Ocean City this summer, you’ll see the signs up and down the boardwalk.

...

Watch your words the next time you head to Ocean City. Signs reading “No profanity, please” will soon be posted on every block of the Boardwalk. The measure was approved by the town council this week.

...

A recent study showed Maryland is the second most foul mouthed state in the country—but the new signs send a different message.

Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan wrote on Facebook, “Our family image is very important to us and we think people will feel that when they see our new signs.”

via baltimore.cbslocal.com

*For the Baltilliterate among us: Downy Oshun

May the force be with...Nuke LaLoosh?

You don't have to travel to a galaxy far, far away to see Star Wars characters on a baseball diamond.

[+] Enlarge

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls have the droid they're looking for with this Star Wars-themed jersey.

The Durham Bulls, the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, announced the team will wear jerseys -- meant to look like the Star Wars robot R2-D2 -- on May 4. The team will also auction off those jerseys to benefit the Autism Society of North Carolina.

May 4 has become an unofficial Star Wars holiday as the date (May the Fourth) resembles the series' iconic line, "May the force be with you."

via espn.go.com

What I'm keeping my eye on today

Crawfish, salamanders and frogs...oh my.

Federal environmental officials now estimate more than 20,000 gallons of crude oil — double the initial estimates — leaked from a pipeline into a nature preserve in southwest Ohio.

...

The 374-acre nature preserve in suburban Colerain Township is part of the Great Parks of Hamilton County system. Wildlife officials say animals including crawfish, salamanders and frogs have been affected by the oil, with a few found dead at the scene. Contaminated animals are being collected, cleaned and released, officials said, adding that colder weather, with freezing temperatures at night, has reduced the number of wildlife moving through the leak area.

via www.dispatch.com

"How to improve referee performance"

Tyler Cowen:

Via Michael Makowsky, there is a new and extremely useful paper by Chetty, Saez, and Sandor in “slides” form (pdf).  Their conclusions include these:

1. Short deadlines for referees are extremely effective at increasing speed.

2. Cash incentives can generate significant improvements with salient reminders right before a deadline.

3. Even light social incentives, such as direct prods from an editor, can bring significant benefits.

More broadly, at least in this context cash incentives work, they do not displace social incentives, and attention really matters as do “nudges.”

via marginalrevolution.com

I really like the public shaming treatment of listing referee names with turnaround times (and the feigned disgust with public shaming [and low incentives ... however, it is Elsevier so they could afford more] as an excuse to decline a review!).

Another tip might be to expand the pool of referees. It seems like everyone has a constant stack of 3-4 papers on their desk. My impression is that there are a boatload of competent referees that simply refuse to referee papers. Since refereeing is a voluntary contribution to a public good, I have no idea how to increase those contributions.

I also like the $100 Amazon Gift Card incentive. That said, the accounting policy at Appalachian State University is that no survey or incentives can be greater or equal to $100. Because all hell breaks lose if someone gets a $100 incentive (e.g., it could be one of the signs of the apocolypse), know what I mean?

But what I really want to know is, is there a written paper? I've presented several "papers" in "slides" form that never made it to being a real (written) "paper."

Now we know why Google killed Google Reader (and iGoogle)

They must have been on thier production frontier. Students of economics will know that you can't produce more Reader, iGoogle and Google "climate(?)"! Scarcity requires tradeoffs:

The White House announced that it is collaborating with Google to gather and publish data on climate change, with the goal of helping communities prepare for changes in temperatures and water levels “as easily as they use Google maps to get driving directions.” The joint effort will also feature a high-resolution mapping initiative to track climate-related changes to sea levels.

RFF’s Molly Macauley notes that “the quantity and quality of our information will play a critical role in determining the effectiveness of public and private responses [to climate change].” However, in this Resources article, she writes that such information comes at a price, and outlines four principles for deciding if the information “delivers sufficient bang for the buck.”

via common-resources.org

In related news, climate skeptics switch to Mozilla Firefox as their default browser.

How much is your unsolicited opinion worth?

On the way to school my daughter heard someone on the radio offer their 2 cents on an issue and asked what they meant. I patiently explained in a clear manner (like I always do) that it was when you offer your unsolicited opinion and, opinions being what there are, admitting that it isn't worth much. I said that the phrase has been around a long time.

I then realized that, wow, 2 cents used to be able to be able buy something but not anymore (I remember getting gumballs for $0.01). Given inflation, unsolicited opinions are worth a whole lot less today than they used to be worth.