A Run of Bad Luck
A Brookings report, The Year that Shook the Rich: A Review of Natural Disasters in 2011, points out that 2011 was the worst year in history in terms of costly natural disasters: 2011 was the most expensive year in terms of disaster losses in history, mostly because of a spate of disasters affecting developed countries. Globally, the economic cost of disasters in 2011 was $380 billion, of which $210 billion were the result of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. This was ...
CONTINUE READINGThe filibuster and environmental law
The filibuster in the U.S. Senate has been (rightfully) in the news quite a bit over the past few years. The use of the filibuster has dramatically increased in those years, to the point where there is currently a de facto 60-vote supermajority requirement to pass legislation in the Congress. That has led to a number of commentators (not all of them on the left) arguing that the filibuster has led to dysfunctionality in Washington, and that filibuster reform is one o...
CONTINUE READINGIt’s All Greek to Me
Via E&E News, here's a leading climate skeptic's explanation of his qualifications to pass judgment on climate science: While he acknowledged he had no scientific credentials that would allow him to speak with authority on climate science, Monckton said he was uniquely qualified to explain the various logical fallacies that supporters of man-made climate change had engaged in to attack their critics "because I was classically trained." Yup, a knowledge of Ancient Gre...
CONTINUE READINGCarbon Auctions & Prop 13
California is planning to auction some of the carbon allowances in its new cap-and-trade system. There's an interesting question about whether the auctions should be considered a "tax" under state law, which may turn in part on what the money is used for. If the auctions are considered a tax, they would run into trouble under California's famous anti-tax initiative, Prop 13. Berkeley's Center for Law, Energy and Environment has released a new report 0n this issue....
CONTINUE READINGUsing a Carbon Tax to Decrease the Deficit
A carbon tax would provide an incentive to reduce the use of fossil fuels, fostering the growth of clean energy. But it would have another benefit as well: providing revenue to help cut the deficit. Much the same effect could be produced by auctioning allowances within a cap-and-trade system. According to Resources for the Future, a carbon tax of $10 per ton of CO2 could generate annual tax revenues of $60 billion, and a carbon tax of about $25 could raise roughly $12...
CONTINUE READINGWhat Bonneville Salt Flats can teach us about CEQA exemptions
The Bonneville Salt Flats need to be saved. The location where many of the world-records for land speed have been set is in danger. A combination of years of racing, plus the construction of Interstate 80 and alterations in salt mining techniques has meant that the hard salt surface of the flats (similar in hardness to concrete) has worn down and is not being replaced. There is a risk that in a few years high-speed racing will no longer be feasible at the flats. T...
CONTINUE READINGAdapting to Increased Flood Risk in the Midwest
Here is a blog post about adapting to increased flood risk. I wrote it after reading this news release. This is the "classic adaptation two-step". In the first step of the dance, climate scientists identify location specific climate trends. In this case, the RMCO research documents 50 year trends in increased flood risk in states such as Illinois and Ohio. In the second step of the dance, self interested households, firms and local governments respond to ...
CONTINUE READINGWhy We Need Administrative Agencies like EPA
Bureaucrats aren't very popular. But consider the alternatives when it comes to dealing with environmental problems. Basically, bureaucrats are part of the executive branch of government. For instance, the head of EPA is appointed by the President and can be removed by the President at any time. (A few agencies such as the SEC enjoy some protection from presidential removal power, but that's not true for any of the environmental agencies.) I explained in my las...
CONTINUE READINGWhy the Environment Requires Government Protection: Some Simple Economics
The key to understanding the economics of environmental protection is the concept of externalities. An externality is simply a cost that one person or firm imposes on another. In general, an externality means that an activity is causing more harm than it should. Of course, a company or individual could decide to voluntarily correct the problem to eliminate the externality. But if the cost is significant, many people will not be altruistic enough to bear a heavy cost...
CONTINUE READINGThe Climate Misinformation Nation
Scientists are more confident than ever that climate change is happening and is largely caused by human activities. Yet, according to a recent poll, the American public is less likely to believe that climate change is caused by humans than they were even last year. When it comes to climate science, are we a misinformation nation? A new report from the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication f...
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