Search Results for: feed
WARNING: Individual Research Findings and Economic Models May Not Be Fully Grounded.
A couple of weeks ago, a major paper on the economics of government deficits turned out to have huge flaws. Matt and Jonathan have already had something to say about this, but I’d like to add some thoughts about the implications for environmental issues.“Interesting,” you say, “But what does that have to do with the …
CONTINUE READINGLeave Agribusiness Lobbyists ALOOONE!!!
A few weeks ago, I posted about the Obama Administration’s effort to change outrageous and wasteful food aid rules that line the pockets of agribusiness and shipping companies. The more you look at the absurd policy preventing USAID from purchasing food locally for famine relief, the worse it looks: it wastes money, it prevents getting food to people …
Continue reading “Leave Agribusiness Lobbyists ALOOONE!!!”
CONTINUE READINGCalifornia’s Unspent Water Funds: An Instinct for the Capillary
The AP reports today that California has failed to spend $455 million of federal money for improving the state’s water infrastructure, even though many of the state’s communities suffer from unclean water. The state has received more than $1.5 billion for its Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund over the past 15 years, but has failed …
Continue reading “California’s Unspent Water Funds: An Instinct for the Capillary”
CONTINUE READINGObama Administration Releases National Ocean Policy Implementation Plan
Yesterday, the National Ocean Council released the Obama Administration’s much anticipated plan for implementing the National Ocean Policy. The newly released National Ocean Policy Implementation Plan identifies practical, efficient, and responsible actions that Federal agencies will take to support healthy, productive, and resilient ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes waters, thriving coastal communities, and a robust, …
Continue reading “Obama Administration Releases National Ocean Policy Implementation Plan”
CONTINUE READINGUS Food Aid Rules: If You’re Not Outraged, You’re Not Paying Attention
The Obama Administration announced yesterday that it wants to change US food aid rules to allow for more “local procurement” of food aid in the countries that need it. Predictably, the special interests are aghast. But the administration is right: current food aid rules are among the most egregious special interest legislation in the world …
Continue reading “US Food Aid Rules: If You’re Not Outraged, You’re Not Paying Attention”
CONTINUE READINGRemedial Education for Berkeley Law Faculty
Or at least for John Yoo, who argues: Courts award damages based on the harm to the victim and the harm to society. Suppose you thought that the Iraq war was a mistake. If so, isn’t the proper remedy to restore Saddam Hussein’s family and the Baath Party to power in Iraq? If you are …
Continue reading “Remedial Education for Berkeley Law Faculty”
CONTINUE READINGWhy I’m Boycotting Coke
Why Coke, you might wonder. Why not Pepsi? The answer is that diet coke is my soft drink of choice. It’s easy for me to boycott other soft drinks since I don’t drink them anyway. I like diet coke, so that’s the subject of my boycott. But why boycott soft drinks at all? Answer: Because …
Continue reading “Why I’m Boycotting Coke”
CONTINUE READINGWaxman/Whitehouse carbon tax draft
On Tuesday, Representative Waxman, Senator Whitehouse, Representaive Blumenauer and Senator Schatz released their proposal for a carbon tax bill. They are currently seeking feedback on the draft proposal, which is accordingly short on details. The Waxman/Whitehouse proposal is to require downstream emitters (mainly power plants and other emitters) to purchase annual “carbon pollution permits” per …
Continue reading “Waxman/Whitehouse carbon tax draft”
CONTINUE READINGClimate Change’s Bipolar Personality
Climate change is literally bipolar, impacting both the northernmost and southernmost parts of the globe. But the pace and effects of warming differ at the two poles. At the northern end of the world, impacts are already dramatic. The Economist has a special feature on the Arctic, which provides an especially clear explanation of why the …
Continue reading “Climate Change’s Bipolar Personality”
CONTINUE READINGDeadly spike in Beijing’s air pollution
This graph shows recent air quality monitoring data (PM 2.5) from the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. As the New York Times noted, this spike—seen as a thick haze in the city—has been described as “postapocalyptic.” Thanks in no small part to the Clean Air Act, we have thus far avoided the need to walk around …
Continue reading “Deadly spike in Beijing’s air pollution”
CONTINUE READING