Why Microeconomics is Important
Read this Yahoo News article stating the shocking "fact" that $60 trillion dollars of damage will be caused if the Artic ice melts and releases methane then read the "technical" documentation published today in Nature that explains where this huge number came from. For those who are real nerds, then go on and read the real technical documentation for this high profile Nature article. Please note that a "black box" economic model spits out an enormous damage cost esti...
CONTINUE READINGJames Hansen Goes Nuclear
The Dot Earth Blog has published an interesting piece making the case for increased nuclear power generation. Read the comments. Dr. Hansen faces some resistance from the select set of people who comment on the NY Times....
CONTINUE READINGThe Bush Ozone Standards and the D.C. Circuit
In an unsigned opinion released today, the D.C. Circuit largely upheld the Bush Administration's revision of the air quality standard for ozone. The opinion can safely be described as dull reading, but it provides some guidance to EPA about the current round of standards revision that is now underway. The law requires EPA to set air quality standards for major air pollutants "which in the judgment of the Administrator, . . . allowing an adequate margin of safety, are ...
CONTINUE READINGNinth Circuit Rejects Water Agency’s “Area of Origin” Water Rights Claim
Responding to the current drought conditions confronting California, state and federal water project officials have announced cutbacks in anticipated water deliveries this summer and fall from both the Central Valley Project (CVP) and State Water Project. It's with that sobering backdrop that a recent decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is particularly noteworthy. In an important ruling involving California water rights, the Ninth Circuit has...
CONTINUE READINGClearing Up the Standing Mystery in the Biomass Case
In a post last week, I expressed puzzlement about the D.C. Circuit's failure to discuss standing in Center on Biological Diversity v. EPA, which involved EPA's decision to delay greenhouse gas regulations for facilities burning biomass. The question of standing in climate change cases has been controversial, so this mystery sparked extensive discussion among environmental law professors. Kevin Bundy at CBD was kind enough to contact me and send the briefs in the case, wh...
CONTINUE READINGMy New Book: Fundamentals of Environmental Economics is Published
On Amazon, I've published a $2 environmental economics book. I priced it low to try to disrupt the environmental economics textbook business and to try to lure people to read it. This book can easier just be read as a "normal book" or can be used as a funky textbook for a class related to environmental economics. For law professors who teach environmental law, my book would add plenty of economic logic to your course and would expose your students to how Chicago...
CONTINUE READINGCelebrity Lobbying as an Impediment to Increasing Center City Density
The NY Post reports that "Top Chef" Padma Lakshmi opposes NYU's plan to "densify" The Village. I have already reported that Matthew Broderick opposes the plan. Permit me to quote the authoritative NY Post: "The famed cookbook author and onetime Indian supermodel wore a white summer dress as she slipped into one the last available seats in a Manhattan courtroom packed with about 100 activists who claim the iconic school's blueprints will illegally eliminate vital gre...
CONTINUE READINGThe D.C. Circuit’s Sleeper Decision in CBD v. EPA
Before I even get to the majority opinion in Center for Biological Diversity v. EPA, a quick word about the concurring opinion by Judge Brett Kavanaugh. Kavanaugh may be the most outspoken conservative on a court composed almost entirely of Republican appointees. So what he has to say about climate change is really noteworthy: In saying that [EPA's action in the case was invalid], I do not want to diminish EPA's vital public objectives in addressing global warming....
CONTINUE READINGWhy Hide the Congressional Research Service’s Reports from the Public?
Q: Is there anything connected with Congress that actually works these days? A: Yes, the Congressional Research Service and the General Accounting Office. A key difference between these adjuncts to Congress, however, relates to public accessibility. The Congressional Research Service can be a really valuable resource, but their reports can be difficult to locate. Unlike the GAO, CRS reports aren't made available directly to the public. Access is hit-or-miss -- th...
CONTINUE READINGEPA and the Social Cost of Carbon: Part II
This is Part II of a two-part series of posts discussing Eric Posner’s critiques of the role of cost-benefit analysis in climate regulation. In Part I of this post series, Rhead described the social cost of carbon concept, discussed the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) recently updated social cost of carbon estimate of $38 per metric ton of carbon dioxide emissions, and analyzed Eric Posner’s recent Slate piece critiquing OMB’s estimate. Here, I dig d...
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