Michael Giberson In the process of explaining why Steve Jobs, though talented, is no Thomas Edison, Vaclav Smil name-drops a “brief list of the pioneering creators of electric systems”: This fundamental innovation [the electric power system] was created during a remarkably short period of time—most of it between the late 1870s and the beginning of …
Smil’s Brief List of the Pioneering Creators of Electric Systems Read More »
Michael Giberson The story in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal on the link between gasoline prices and crude oil prices was a bit frustrating. The article does a reasonable job explaining key pieces of the puzzle, but then fails to assemble the puzzle into something resembling reality. The story is headlined, “Gas Stays High as Oil …
The Wsj’s Confused Story on Gasoline Prices and Crude Oil Prices Read More »
Michael Giberson In a post at the Master Resource blog I point out another problem with anti-price gouging laws: during actual emergency conditions both state governments and consumers likely have much more important things to do that worry about whether particular price increases are unconscionable under the state’s understanding of that term. Among other points, …
Price Gouging Laws Wasted Resources During the Hurricane Irene Emergency Read More »
Michael Giberson A working paper from the UC-Berkeley Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics says that the demand for gasoline is more price-inelastic than typically thought. Here is the abstract, which points to publication selection bias as the culprit: One of the most frequently examined statistical relationships in energy economics has been the price elasticity …
Demand for Gasoline is More Price-inelastic Than Commonly Thought Read More »
Michael Giberson A few weeks back Lynne drew attention to an interesting property dispute between neighboring farmers in Minnesota, currently the subject of legal action (see news summary here, related court decision here). In brief, the issue is pesticide drift from conventionally farmed crops onto a neighboring organic farm, and whether the organic farm can …
Michael Giberson Perhaps you’ve seen the video of Elizabeth Warren, hoping to be elected to the U.S. Senate from Massachusetts, in which she declaims that since roads and police and fire protection are funded through taxes, people have no real claim to their income or wealth against a government that wants to take it. After …
On the Obligations of Income-Earners and Property-Owners to Pay Taxes Read More »
Michael Giberson A few items of interest in the news today: Associated Press, Oil Pipeline Opponents Pin Hopes on Nebraska – Fears of contaminating the Ogallala Aquifer have led agriculture-dependent Nebraska to be way of the pipeline and the potential for spills. No matter that any break in the pipe would only result in very …
Will Nebraska Hold Up Keystone Xl Pipeline? and Other Energy Stories in the News Read More »
Michael Giberson Daniel Yergin’s peak oil commentary in last Saturday’s Wall Street Journal has set the econoblogosphere to chattering, or at least those of us in the energy corner. In addition to the clash of the titans, i.e. James Hamilton’s “More thoughts on peak oil” rejoinder to Yergin, the mere mortals are going at it, …
Michael Giberson Clash of the titans: one of the world’s most prominent academic energy economists reacts to the peak oil commentary of one of the world’s preeminent establishment consulting energy economists. Self recommending, worth additional thought. James Hamilton on Daniel Yergin on peak oil.
Michael Giberson At ProPublica, Ariel Wittenburg assesses the meaning of the early September blackout affecting parts of Arizona, Southern California, and Northern Mexico. The proximate cause was substation maintenance in Yuma, Arizona and an apparent fault in protective systems that should have kept surrounding lines running during maintenance. As these systems failed, the disturbance reached …
Copyright © 2022 Knowledge Problem Archive