The Unbroken Window

Begin with the current inventory of carbon dioxide emissions - CO2 being the principal greenhouse gas generated almost entirely by energy use. According to the Department of Energy’s most recent data on greenhouse gas emissions, in 2006 the U.S. emitted 5.8 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide, or just under 20 tons per capita. An […]

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On this Earth Day, I reproduce in its entirety a letter by the late Julian Simon:
EARTH DAY:  SPIRITUALLY UPLIFTING, INTELLECTUALLY DEBASED
April 22 marks the 25th anniversary of Earth Day. Now as then its message is spiritually uplifting. But all reasonable persons who look at the statistical evidence now available must agree that Earth Day’s scientific premises […]

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The first chapter of a leading environmental economics textbook is on global warming. Nothing about the big picture, or efficiency, or market imperfections, or normative v. positive questions, etc. Nope, just global warming. I suppose it is useful as a motivating tool for the textbook - such as how economics can help us think about […]

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Many claim that environmentalism is good business. This paper suggests that this is not the case. I am sure it will be accused of focusing on short-term effects only and all sorts of other sordid things. But its findings need to be considered seriously.

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My employer recently held a conference on Global Climate Change. A blow-by-blow account will be forthcoming. In the meantime I was struck by a several themes than ran through the conference, particularly among the presenters. We had world renowned climate scientists, economists and theologians here addressing this important issue.

To a man, almost every person here […]

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“Public Policies Against Global Warming,” by Hans-Werner Sinn, CESifo Working Paper #2087, August 2007
Harold Hotelling in 1931 demonstrated how owners of non-renewable natural resources would extract that resource to maximize profits. Take the case of an oil field. Owners would optimally extract oil today if the expected return on the proceeds from the sale of […]

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This ran in the August 20th edition of our local paper.
To the Editor
The Berkshire Eagle
75 South Church Street
Pittsfield, MA 01201 
 
Dear Editor:
I’d hate to blow out the candles of the celebration recognizing the powering up of the new Jiminy Peak wind turbine (”Jiminy Turbine Powered Up“, 8-16-07), but wind power is not green.  Leaving aside the […]

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The conclusion of Jesse Ausubel’s excellent paper should be mandatory reading for grade and high school science students, who are sure to be getting sold a different bill of goods.

Because hydrogen is much better stuff for burning than carbon, the hydrocarbons form a clear hierarchy. Methane (mjr: natural gas) tops the ranking …
 
The energy density […]

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After an early forecast of a major hurricane season hitting the US (which DID get lots of news coverage … see here for example), that same researcher has now lowered his estimates for this upcoming hurricane season. Of course, it is still expected to be “severe” by historical standards.
This has nothing to do with global […]

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More from Jesse Ausubel’s excellent, Nuclear and Renewable Heresies:

Over 500 years, in a fully nuclear world the high level readioactive wastes might amount to … less than the … coal Americans burn in one year to produce half of USA electricity … all of the reactors needed to produce 100% of the world’s energy over […]

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