Month: October 2012

Is Hurricane Sandy the Face of Climate Change?

It’s a question at the forefront of many of our minds, as we witness the aftermath of Sandy’s fierce destruction.  In the days following the superstorm, we’ve seen surreal images — an illuminated carousel appearing to float in high water, drowning taxi cabs in perfect rows — things we believed would not happen for decades, as …

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Draining Hetch Hetchy — Some History for San Francisco’s “Measure F”

San Franciscans will be voting next week on Measure F to study the draining of Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park. Hetch Hetchy, for those who don’t know, is a spectacular, glacier-formed valley of equal proportion to its neighbor Yosemite Valley. Congress authorized a dam in 1913 to provide public hydroelectric power and a …

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Redeeming FEMA: How the Agency has Been Strengthened Since Katrina

Today’s FEMA is a lot different from the organization that flubbed the Katrina response.  There have been a number of positive changes, mostly during the past four years. First, as the Washington Post explains, FEMA’s authority has expanded: Congress has broadened FEMA’s authority so that the agency can respond in advance of major storms, instead …

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Saving Public Transit: Neighborhoods Matter

Public transit depends on neighborhood design to be successful. Without convenient neighborhoods that orient housing and jobs around transit, buses and trains will waste scarce public dollars by failing to attract sufficient riders and offering poorer quality service to those who do ride. Mott Smith, a Los Angeles-based real estate developer and advocate who focuses …

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From Green Governor to Conservative Candidate: The Amazing Transformation of Mitt Romney

“EPA New England applauds Governor Romney for his strong environmental leadership.” That quote from EPA’s regional director in 2004 shows the extent of Romney’s transformation in the past eight years. It’s no secret that Mitt Romney’s current views on many issues differ from his actions as Governor of Massachusetts.  Still, it’s a bit shocking to …

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A Resource on Disaster Law Issues

As the storm slowly passes through, there will inevitably be questions about a host of issues: the scope of FEMA’s role, the requirements of the Stafford Act, the operation of flood insurance, how private insurance might or might not apply, and so forth.  The Berkeley Law School Library has established a great website with copies …

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How Did Alaska Avoid the Resource Curse? Can Anyone Else Do So?

Dan made a useful point the other day about the possibility that increased energy production could yield a resource curse, i.e. an increase in unproductive and oligarchical rent-seeking when an economy becomes based upon resource extraction.  One might add that this rent-seeking also tends to underdevelop a country’s human capital, as it has in Saudi …

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Romney Versus Disaster Assistance

In assessing Romney’s argument that disaster response should be a state or private responsibility, we should consider his record in Massachusetts. In his last year as governor, Romney refused to provide state assistance when major floods hit western Massachusetts., even though the state government had ample funds.  Romney had already begun to run for President, …

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Keynesian Mother Nature: The Case of Hurricane Sandy

My parents, my brother and his family are all getting ready to face Hurricane Sandy.  Warned about the Storm’s likely path, they have taken a series of precautions.  My parents have stocked up on supplies and won’t be leaving their 11th floor apartment for a day or two.  They expect to lose electric power soon. …

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Romney’s Opposition to Federal Emergency Assistance in Disasters

The federal role in disaster response dates back to the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, when General  Funston sent troops from the Presidio to deal with the city’s desperate emergency. Governor Romney seems dubious about this century-old federal role. During one of the GOP primary debates, Governor Romney was asked what he thought about the idea …

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