Environmental and Urban Economics

President Hugo Chávez may not name Greg Mankiw to be his Secretary of the Treasury. If you are a fan of cross-country comparisons, then President Chavez's "low" (i.e negative) gas taxes are helping to sketch out a demand curve. While environmentalists want higher gas taxes to help "green" the vehicle sector and reduce aggregate greenhouse gases, President Chavez may need to reduce his subsidies to reduce a budget deficit. This article claims that both Iran and Venezuela face the challenge of a populist "freakout" if the entitlement of cheap gas is taken away from the people.

October 30, 2007

Venezuela’s Gas Prices Remain Low, but the Political Costs May Be Rising

By SIMON ROMERO

CARACAS, Venezuela, Oct.

How costly is it for a "green" consumer to vote with her wallet? As this article reveals, the tax subsidy for buying a hybrid is being phased out for vehicles made by Toyota and Honda.

As a 1984 graduate of Scarsdale High School in Westchester, New York -- I am willing to skim articles about that town. This New York Times article celebrates the rise of a more environmentally conscious culture at schools. Here the "environment" has several dimensions. The article highlights a number of dimensions that schools want to be "green" on. Permit me to ask a "treatment effects" question.

The New York Times has a great special section today on cars. I didn't know that hybrid technology was an old idea.

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/automobiles/autospecial/

"Then in 1994, nearly a century after Porsche’s hybrid arrived on the scene, Akihiro Wada, executive vice president of Toyota, posed a challenge before a special team of company engineers: build a car with double the fuel efficiency of contemporary vehicles.

The Malibu fires raise a bunch of questions regarding self-protection.

Today's New York Times Magazine asks a good water policy question. Climate change may reduce the supply of available water in the U.S West (i.e Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix) at the same time that regional migration and income growth is increasing the demand to live and work in such areas. Is a water shortage crisis on the horizon?

You would think that economists would be useful people to talk to for such a piece but Dr. Gertner chose not to talk to any.

Accountability matters so below I give you the weblink so you can grade my television perfomance today. No listeners called in to ask questions. Does that mean that nobody was listening?

If you missed it the first time, let me offer you a second chance.

My Los Angeles cable TV debut on channel 36

You'll hear some witty banter on a number of environmental topics including my deep thoughts on whether Governor Arnold S. would be an effective tacher at UCLA.

Can quality offset quantity of consumption such that we achieve "green growth"? Mr. Helfer does not think so. This pithy letter unintentionally summarizes a recent literature in environmental economics pretty neatly.

Opinion

To Be Green Means To Constrain Consumption

Published On 10/18/2007 11:57:25 PM

By STEPHEN HELFER

Jonathan B.

As a young man, I watched the movie "Wayne's World" and wondered what it would be like to be on Cable TV. Saturday, I will find out. I appreciate the opportunity to appear on Beth Evans' show. We'll be discussing the role of environmental issues ins the 2008 election. My hunch is that this election will not focus on such issues but it is interesting that the Republicans sound "greener" than past cohorts of republican candidates.

If you live in the greater Los Angeles area and you have a deep urge to hear me speak about hybrid vehicles for ten minutes, then maybe you should attend the AltCar Expo this friday in Santa Monica. I promise to sign any Readers Digest or Green City book copy that I'm handed. The prediction markets put a zero probability on either of these events taking place but I learned in game theory the importance of having a strategy ready for any unlikely state of the world.