The Overly Facile Comparison Between Regulations and Taxes
Romney's argument for a regulatory cap equates regulations with taxes. My initial reaction was that this was an absurd comparison - taxes are payments to the government, whereas regulations reduce externalities. But after further thought, I decided that my initial reaction was a little too facile. Regulatory costs do have some of the same economic effects as taxes, but the effects are more complex and attenuated. It's a mistake to equate regulations and taxes, as R...
CONTINUE READINGThe significance of SB 1201 for the Los Angeles River
In late August, Governor Brown signed SB 1201 (de León), which promotes public access to the Los Angeles River. Los Angeles County Flood Control District is now required to provide for public use of the River for recreational and educational purposes, when such uses are not inconsistent with flood control and water conservation. As Sean Hecht mentioned in a previous post, students in the UCLA Frank G. Wells Environmental Law Clinic assisted Friends of the LA Rive...
CONTINUE READINGThe Illegality of a Regulatory Cap
A key part of Romney's attack on "over-regulation" is his proposed regulatory cap. If an agency wanted to issue a new regulation, a cap would require an agency to repeal a regulation (or package of regulations) with equal cost. To make this work, Romney would need new legislation from Congress, not just an executive order. So long as the Democrats have at least 40 votes in the Senate, such new legislation is unlikely. Libertarian law professor Jonathan Adler has poi...
CONTINUE READINGEnvironmental and Urban Economics in Six Minute Videos
This is an infomercial. On youtube, I will be posting 70 short videos focused on key ideas in environmental and urban economics. I'm hoping to reach a wide audience. All of the videos in order are posted here....
CONTINUE READINGA business opportunity for climate skeptics
There are still a lot of people who believe that climate change is not occurring: Something like between 10 and 20% of Americans fall into this category (depending on when the polling occurs). For those of our readership who do not believe it is occurring, I have a business proposition. Over the last several years, a number of national insurance companies have drastically increased the rates they charge for property insurance in communities near the coastline, particu...
CONTINUE READINGWhat Happens After Election Day?
We’re only two weeks away from the election. What will happen in terms of the environment if Obama wins? What happens if Romney wins? The difference is dramatic. If Obama wins. . . The results of an Obama victory are fairly predictable. There are a number of new regulations that are now wending their way through the process. If you’re interested, the Congressional Research Service summarizes the important pending regulations here. Given the slow pace of ...
CONTINUE READINGOne Reason the Election Matters for the Environment: The Supreme Court
Supreme Court appointments are among the most durable of Presidential actions. A fifty-year-old appointee could well be on the Supreme Court until 2040 or longer. As an AP story this morning points out, the election could dramatically change the balance on the Supreme Court: With four justices in their seventies, odds are good that whoever is elected president in November will have a chance to fill at least one Supreme Court seat. The next justice could dramatically a...
CONTINUE READINGSaving Public Transit: Finding the Money
We all know that public dollars are scarce, especially for public transit. As the federal government scales back its investments in the nation's buses and trains, local governments are stepping up. Los Angeles in particular has innovated a way to leverage their existing sales tax revenue for transit to start building more projects sooner. Gloria Ohland of the advocacy group Move LA tells the story in this video. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwqqpgMpqYk&...
CONTINUE READINGIs geoengineering inevitable?
There’s been a lot of attention paid to a geoengineering “experiment” conducted recently in the North Pacific. A team distributed iron into the ocean: This is a form of geoengineering because, in many parts of oceans around the world, iron is the main nutrient that limits the growth and productivity of phytoplankton. If you add more iron in these areas, then there will be substantial blooms of plankton. The photosynthetic activity from those plankton wou...
CONTINUE READINGThe trouble with resource shuffling
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Chairman Jon Wellinghoff recently voiced concern that California's cap-and-trade program could lead to unforeseen consequences that would upset energy markets. He was speaking about resource shuffling, and echoing a letter his fellow Commissioner sent to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) in August. What is resource shuffling? According to CARB, they will know it when they see it: “Resource Shuffling” means any pl...
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