Month: March 2011
Politicians Have Different Incentives Than Government Bureaucrats About Truth-Telling in a Catastrophe
Jonathan argues, essentially, that governments don’t lie, people do, because the incentive structure for the person responsible for the catastrophe favors taking the risk that the better outcome will occur even if it’s unlikely. This is especially true, in Jonathan’s view, because if the terrible outcome occurs, the person in charge will be ousted …
CONTINUE READINGEnvironmental Cover-ups and the Bureaucracy
Ann wants to know, “why do governments engage in obfuscation in the case of a major environmental crisis?” The assumption here is that the public is going to find out eventually, so why cover it up now and make it worse? Well, here’s a theory. Note that “governments” don’t do anything — people do. “Government” …
Continue reading “Environmental Cover-ups and the Bureaucracy”
CONTINUE READINGWill the West Coast get hit with Japanese nuclear fallout?
No, says the South Coast Air Quality Management District. For reasons unknown to me, I’m on their e-mail list, and this just came through: You have probably heard news reports about harmful radiation escaping from damaged nuclear power plants in Japan following the recent tsunami. Some have even voiced concern that this radiation could travel …
Continue reading “Will the West Coast get hit with Japanese nuclear fallout?”
CONTINUE READINGWhy Do Governments Cover Up the Truth About Environmental Disasters?
Until today, I had been impressed by what I took to be the Japanese government’s candor about the unfolding nuclear crisis. Some of the statements from officials seemed surprisingly frank, with admissions from the Prime Minister on Monday, for example, that a “very high risk” of “further leakage” of radiation was possible. Tokyo Electric Power …
Continue reading “Why Do Governments Cover Up the Truth About Environmental Disasters?”
CONTINUE READINGWhy Do People Care So Much About Nuclear Accidents?
Well, for obvious reasons. But Ann, citing Will Saletan, raises a good question: why are people so much more concerned about nuclear accidents than, say oil spills or other environmental disasters? If we accept Saletan’s figures of “direct fatalities” being 18 times more dangerous for oil production per energy unit (and there are reasons not …
Continue reading “Why Do People Care So Much About Nuclear Accidents?”
CONTINUE READINGThe Worst Supreme Court Environmental Decision?
Recently appearing in my in-box is Pepperdine Law School’s latest law porn, a glossy brochure about its upcoming symposium, “Supreme Mistakes: Exploring the Most Maligned Decisions in Supreme Court History.” Dan will speak, but unless he decides to talk about it, environmental law doesn’t figure to get on the agenda: none of the other speakers has particular …
Continue reading “The Worst Supreme Court Environmental Decision?”
CONTINUE READINGJapan: Growing Nuclear Problems
More trouble, according to the Washington Post: All but about 50 workers were evacuated from the plant, where at least three reactor cores are believed to be imperiled, and Prime Minister Naoto Kan hailed those who remained, saying they “are putting themselves in a very dangerous situation.” Explosions destroyed the tops of two buildings housing …
Continue reading “Japan: Growing Nuclear Problems”
CONTINUE READINGJapan Nuclear Crisis — Another Worry
As at many plants in the U.S. and around the world, the Japanese plants have on-site storage for spent fuel rods. The reason is that no one has come up with a working permanent storage solution. These spent fuel rods are now beginning to pose a serious risk at the Japanese plants, according to the …
Continue reading “Japan Nuclear Crisis — Another Worry”
CONTINUE READINGMelting the Ice
Real Climate has an informative post on melting in Greenland and Antarctica, which seems to be higher than projected by the last IPCC report. This could add about another 15 cm (about six inches) to sea level rise by the end of the century: [A]t the continental scale, there is a new assessment of the …
Continue reading “Melting the Ice”
CONTINUE READINGNuclear Fears v. Fears From Other Environmental Catastrophes
As Japan struggles to contain radiation from the nuclear reactors damaged in the double whammy of a massive earthquake followed by an even more devastating tsunami, the political consequences of the accident are already being felt around the globe. Germany has apparently put on hold, at least for now, plans to extend the operating lives of its nuclear power plants. …
Continue reading “Nuclear Fears v. Fears From Other Environmental Catastrophes”
CONTINUE READING