Via Henry Payne comes this fun factoid: “the 1970 Ford Mustang pollutes more parked in a driveway than a 2010 Mustang does traveling down the road.”
Archive | Environment
The Lesson of the Lorax:
In honor of Earth Day, I thought I’d repost something I wrote in 2005 on the TV version of Dr. Seuss’ story of the Lorax. Dr. Seuss’ story of the Lorax is an environmental classic (as is the television version that I’ve just seen). The conventional interpretation is that it’s a tale of market-driven environmental […]
Debating Green Jobs
The Economist hosts an online debate on the wisdom of government efforts to promote “green jobs.” In this corner, law professor and economist Andrew Morriss. In the other corner, one-time “green jobs czzar” Van Jones. I know them both, but I’m pulling for Morriss.
Saving the Everglades, or Saving US Sugar?
The NYT reports that Florida’s ambitious Everglades restoration plan, as actually implemented, may do more to help ag-giant US Sugar than to restore and protect the Everglades. Although heralded when first announced, Florida has had a hard time following through on the plan. the governor’s ambitious plan to reclaim the river of grass, as the […]
U.S. Backs Bluefin Tuna Trade Ban
The Washington Post reports that the U.S. will support a proposal to list Atlantic bluefin tuna on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. This would have the effect of prohibiting all international trade in this valued fish. A single prized specimen has sold for as much as $175,000 in Japan. […]
The Green Police
I saw this ad during the Super Bowl–sorry, I mean “The Big Game”–yesterday, and originally thought it was some sort of political issue ad. Although it is funny, in a creepy way, it is not clear to me what the ad agency and Audi are saying here about The Green Police (besides buy an Audi […]
Kindler, Gentler Cost-Benefit Analysis
In the new issue of Regulation I review Retaking Rationality: How Cost Benefit Analysis Can Better Protect the Environment and Our Health by NYU’s Richard Revesz and Michael Livermore, a progressive defense of cost-benefit analysis, albeit reformed to make it more regulation-friendly. My review is available here (beginning on the third page of the PDF). […]
Another Biomass Blunder
The federal government’s love affair with ethanol subsidies drove up food prices, depleted plains state aquifers and subsidized the destruction of water fowl habitat. Today’s Washington Post reports that that Biomass Crop Assistance Program is having similarly untoward and unintended consequences. In a matter of months, the Biomass Crop Assistance Program — a small provision […]
Bay Area Air Rule Could Backfire
The NYT reports on a potential environmental backlash against proposed greenhouse gas regulations designed to reduce the carbon footprint of buildings in the San Francisco Bay area. some environmentalists and city planners fear that the new set of guidelines being considered by the region’s air quality regulators could have an unintended consequence, making it more […]
Tradeoffs in Airport Security
In the immediate aftermath of a terrorist attack on an airplane, there are always calls for increased airport security measures. Some of the proposed new measures may be justified, though others are likely to be “security theater.” But even security measures that do increase safety create difficult tradeoffs that we don’t think enough about. Law […]
Mining for Green Power
The NYT reports on how the push for environmentally friendly power soruces has driven up demand for rare-earth elements, which can have environmentally unfriendly consequences. There are 17 rare-earth elements — some of which, despite the name, are not particularly rare — but two heavy rare earths, dysprosium and terbium, are in especially short supply, […]
Revkin from NYT to Pace
Pace University announced this morning that New York Times science and environment correspondent Andrew Revkin will be leaving the paper to become a “Senior Fellow for Environmental Understanding” at the University’s Academy for Applied Environmental Studies.
An Oasis Reborn
Today’s NYT has an interesting story on the ecological restoration of Nevada’s infamous Mustang Ranch.
Michael Mann Should Not Be Investigated by Penn State
By Jim Lindgren on December 15, 2009 12:25 am in Academia, Climate Change, Environment, Politicizing Science
According to press reports, Penn State University is conducting an inquiry to determine whether it should institute a formal ethical investigation of Michael Mann, the Penn State professor who was the lead author of the paper that invented the “Hockey Stick.” At issue are CRU emails and his role in ClimateGate. Frankly, I am not […]
“And I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords”: A Planetary One-Child Policy?
Diane Francis, the Editor at Large of the Financial Post (Canada), argues for taking away basic human reproductive rights: The “inconvenient truth” overhanging the UN’s Copenhagen conference is not that the climate is warming or cooling, but that humans are overpopulating the world. A planetary law, such as China’s one-child policy, is the only way […]