environment

Social Costs of Oil and Gas Leasing on Federal Lands, Carefully Considered

2 Comments / Economics, Environmental policy, Regulation / By

OVERVIEW: A report filed with the US Department of the Interior recommended that terms governing the leasing of federal land for oil and gas development be updated to reflect social costs associated with such development. While such costs may be policy relevant, I suggest social costs are smaller than the report indicates and the recommended policy …

Social Costs of Oil and Gas Leasing on Federal Lands, Carefully Considered Read More »

Energy Poverty and Clean Technology

2 Comments / Electricity, Energy markets, Technology / By

For the past three years, I’ve team-taught a class that’s part of our Institute for Energy and Sustainability at Northwestern (ISEN) curriculum. It’s an introductory class, primarily focused on ethics and philosophy. One of my earth science colleagues kicks us off with the carbon cycle, the evidence for anthropogenic global warming, and interpretations of that …

Energy Poverty and Clean Technology Read More »

Esther Dyson on the Future of 3d Printing

Economics, How cool is this?, Technology / By

3D printing is incredible. Take, for example, recent Northwestern mechanical engineering graduate and softball player Lauren Tyndall, who designed and printed her own more ergonomic and comfortable cast for her broken pinkie finger. Or consider the cost and energy use benefits of 3D printing of metal airplane parts in titanium, rather than machining them out …

Esther Dyson on the Future of 3d Printing Read More »

Mike Munger in Cato Unbound on Recycling

1 Comment / Economics, Environmental policy / By

Lynne Kiesling As is his wont, Mike Munger speaks vast amounts of sense in this month’s Cato Unbound, focusing on the political economy of recycling. I’ve never seen a better articulation of the various energy and economic tradeoffs associated with recycling than Mike’s presented here. For example, Mike does a great job of pointing out …

Mike Munger in Cato Unbound on Recycling Read More »

Gayer & Viscusi: Energy Efficiency Regulations, the Environment, and Consumer Sovereignty

3 Comments / Economics, Environmental policy, Regulation / By

Lynne Kiesling Ted Gayer of the Brookings Institution and Kip Viscusi of Vanderbilt University have a new Mercatus working paper that is a careful and thoughtful critique of the rationale, the methodology, and the outcomes of federal energy efficiency regulations. Using standard Pigouvian externality theory, most environmental regulations are based on the “market failure” rationale …

Gayer & Viscusi: Energy Efficiency Regulations, the Environment, and Consumer Sovereignty Read More »

Green Urban Infrastructure Can Save Green(backs)

1 Comment / Chicago, Economics, Environmental policy / By

Lynne Kiesling Some of the best environmental projects also save money. This post at The Atlantic’s Cities blog highlights urban green infrastructure such as permeable pavement projects, including a recent study finding that they can also be economical: Looking at 479 case studies of green infrastructure projects around the U.S., the report finds that the …

Green Urban Infrastructure Can Save Green(backs) Read More »

Copyright © 2022 Knowledge Problem Archive