Is Bureaucratic Leadership an Oxymoron?
Harvard political scientist Daniel Carpenter has published a very interesting book about bureaucracy. Bureaucrats don't often get much credit, but he examines how bureaucrats around the turn of the last century were responsible for important innovations: making the post office efficient (and for a time profitable!), conserving our national forests, creating the parcel post, passing the Food and Drug Act, and creating the agricultural extension service. Analyzing thes...
CONTINUE READINGCalifornia’s New Clean Car Rules: How Can They Succeed?
Yesterday, the California Air Resources Board significantly toughened the state's regulations on carbon emissions from automobiles: The package of Air Resources Board regulations would require auto manufacturers to offer more zero- or very low-emission cars such as battery electric, hydrogen fuel cell and plug-in hybrid vehicles in California starting with model year 2018. By 2025, one in seven new autos sold in California, or roughly 1.4 million, must be ultra-clean, ...
CONTINUE READINGAmbivalence Toward Environmental Scientists
Two seemingly unrelated stories on the NY Times webpage reveal the strangely conflicted place of scientists in today's society. One story reveals our respect for those who, despite difficult circumstances, dedicate themselves to the pursuit of knowledge. That story is about Samantha Garvey, a homeless teenager who has found recognition for her study of the effect of invasive crabs on native mussels in Long Island Sound. She received national attention after becoming ...
CONTINUE READINGThe Wall Street Journal Publishes Quite a Piece on Climate Change
This piece is worth reading. It doesn't have that much new content but it does take up a lot of the page. I must admit that I'm envious. It appears that the WSJ has rejected my OP-ED submission. In my piece, I discuss how the rise of charter cities in developing countries could offer individuals new coping strategies to adapt to climate change. I didn't fully realize that the WSJ page is not fully ready to acknowledge the challenge in the first place. So, ther...
CONTINUE READINGPreserving U.S. Fisheries: A Bipartisan Pipe Dream?
President Obama's call in his 2012 State of the Union address for a new spirit of bipartisanship brought to mind a recent Washington Post article on current federal efforts to preserve U.S. fisheries. In what qualifies as a rare "good news" story involving federal environmental policy, that article reports that the Obama Administration is poised to impose catch limits for 528 different fish species federal regulatory agencies are charged with managing in U.S.-controlle...
CONTINUE READINGUrban Form and Public Health
The Chronicle of Higher Education has a very nice story about UCLA's Dick Jackson. To quote this article; "In 2001, while still at the CDC, Dr. Jackson was a co-author of an article published by Sprawl Watch Clearinghouse that contended that poorly planned built environments had adverse effects on air quality, physical activity, and public safety, among other things." So, my colleague is making a strong causal statement that the same person would be much healthier i...
CONTINUE READINGEnergy and the State of the Union
There's quite a bit about energy in the State of the Union, including a discussion of the potential for natural gas and this about clean energy: We can also spur energy innovation with new incentives. The differences in this chamber may be too deep right now to pass a comprehensive plan to fight climate change. But there’s no reason why Congress shouldn’t at least set a clean energy standard that creates a market for innovation. So far, you haven’t acted. Well toni...
CONTINUE READINGRebound Redux
I've posted previously about the rebound effect. Improving energy efficiency frees up money, which can be used to purchase more of the same product or different products that use energy. This "rebound" cuts away at the energy savings and correspondingly at the carbon reduction achieved through energy efficiency. Everyone seems to agree that the rebound effect is real; the big dispute is over its size and significance. Blake Hudson pointed me toward a new study ...
CONTINUE READINGAttention K-Mart Shoppers! Get With the Program
I've blogged before about Asia Pulp & Paper, which has one of the worst records on destroying critical species habitat in its logging operations and abusing human rights in the process. (Not surprisingly, it also has a fake certification from greenwahser Programme for the Endorsement of Forestry Certification). Well, the tigers (and humans) have some good news: Kroger -- the largest seller of APP products in the US -- recently put out a public statement saying it...
CONTINUE READINGA Subtle New Paper; “How Not to Save the Planet” by Thom Brooks
Thom Brooks has written a thoughtful new paper. Here is his abstract: Abstract. Climate change presents us with a pressing challenge. A global consensus accepts that human activity is responsible for climate change and its associated dangers. However, there is disagreement on how best to address this challenge. The essay argues that leading proposals are unsatisfactory, such as the ecological footprint and polluter pays principle. The reasons include that they do not ...
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