Environmental and Urban Economics

I want to congratulate my father for his being recognized tonight by NYU for his 50 years of contributions to their great Medical School. My father has spent his whole career there.  He is a loyal guy. I'm more of a free agent but I see the benefits of building lasting bonds with one institution rather than continually switching universities.  With that drum roll, permit me to change topics. 

Climate change policy to be focus of Oct. 4 conference

September 29, 2010

Leading economists, analysts, and executives from academia, the state government and industry will discuss the impacts of climate change and Assembly Bill 32 on California’s economy and the environment during an Oct.

REPEC offers monthly rankings of which economists are on the rise versus which are slipping down the vertical quality ladder.  While it doesn't count my 3 books, I'm mildly comfortable with my REPEC ranking

here .  But, Amazon offers an hourly update of who is "hot" and who is "not".  The market is saying that there are thousands of more popular books than Climatopolis.  Market's don't lie.

It is hovering over 100 degrees here in Los Angeles.  I have not been invited to Malibu to any beach parties to stay cool.   How are people coping with the heat?   My son's school doesn't have air conditioning but the school is being pro-active to beat the heat.

Dear Parents,

It's going to be a hot week! We want to reassure you that the XX School is taking several steps to accommodate the high temperatures  and to ensure the health and comfort of our students:

1.

Wired Magazine   and AARP's Magazine  report on Climatopolis.

The future of cities in the face of climate change is a midly interesting topic.  Climate scientists should share the microphone with micro-economists on this subject.  We (the economists) have some interesting things to say on this subject and we certainly like to talk.

Today was my first day of classes for the fall 2010 term.  I was actually happy to be teaching again but it was hot outside.   110 Degrees in Los Angeles!  People were suffering in the heat.

Some quotes from the BBC News concerning the August 2010 Moscow Heat Wave.

"Those who remain in the city of 10.5m people were being urged to wear face masks if they ventured outdoors, and to hang wet towels indoors to attract dust and cool the airflow.

Global greenhouse gas emissions keep rising.  Yes, the world's poor would enjoy an improvement in their standard of living if climate change does not unfold.  Climate change's blows will be less severe if we can restrain our GHG emissions.  But, the free rider problem lurks and I predict that GHG emissions will continue to rise.

Here is a list of history's deadliest natural disasters.  The world's population is growing and climate change is likely to increase the quantity and severity of these events.   Given these realities, how could the death count actually decline?  In my 2005 paper, the  Death Toll from Natural Disasters, I document the negative correlation between deaths from disasters and national per-capita income.

Climate change will be a world public bad.  Paul Samuelson has taught us that our aggregate willingness to pay for a public good is the sum of individual willingness to pay.  So, how much are each of us willing to pay to avoid climate change?  This depends on your circumstances (endowments, information, preferences) and the severity of climate change (is atmospheric CO2 levels at 400 ppm or 750 ppm or 1000 ppm).