Derek Jeter's Carbon Footprint
Here is a photo of the 30,000 square foot mansion that he doesn't want to talk about in Florida. As a role model, he should make public his annual electricity bill, and the number of miles he flies each year. He could use the UC Berkeley Carbon Calculator to precisely estimate his footprint.
Rational Expectations? The Case of Aging
Susan Jacoby's new book Never Say Die is reviewed in the NY Times today. She does not believe in "wishful thinking". For Baby Boomers who hope that their best days are yet to come, she offers some cold water.
Green Links for Today
1. Mike Tidwell has written a piece on how he is personally adapting to climate change. I prefer the first part of the article where sketches his "small ball" investments he is making to protect himself against anticipated climate change.
Rising Gas Prices and Induced Innovation
Yesterday, two different cab drivers started talking to me about how high gas prices are cutting into their slim profit margins and also mentioned that gas is $8 a gallon in Europe.
How Will Venice Adapt to Climate Change?
Who knew that United Airlines' Hemispheres Magazine had so much wisdom? But, here is the proof. My loyal readers will see some Climatopolis optimism. Now, the article doesn't discuss how much sea level rise would mean that this engineering fix wouldn't work.
A Cross-Post About Berkeley Welcoming Goats Into Its Community
Glaeser's Triumph of the City celebrates cities as a place where we can achieve our dreams but who are we to limit "we" to mere people? Don't forget the goats. Goats are migrating to the cities (or at least to Berkeley and Portland). Want proof? Read my blog post here.
Optimism About Our Sustainable Future from a Former Greenpeace Leader
Going "Cold Turkey" will help us to adapt to climate change. That's Paul Gilding claim in his forthcoming book titled "The Great Disruption". Do you remember John Lennon's version of cold turkey? I can't tell yet if I prefer Lennon's or Gilding's version.
Optimism Despite the Looming Challenge of Climate Change
Will our quality of life continue to improve? Will life expectancy, literacy and overall well being increase for more and more people over the course of the 21st century? My optimism for why I believe the answer is "yes" is due to urban capitalist growth.
The Elasticity of Demand for Climatopolis
This Amazon Link is telling me that my Climatopolis book is now a "bargain book". This is a bargain book and quantities are limited. Bargain books are new but could include a small mark from the publisher and an Amazon.com price sticker identifying them as such.
A Remedy for "Under-Water" Home Owners in Florida
This long piece sketches the challenges that Florida's housing market faces with thousands of owners sitting on negative equity and playing a game of chicken with the banks who hold their mortgage. We need a "magic bullet" here for propping up housing demand.
Which NYC Celebrities Are Carrying Guns?
Don't mess with Donald Trump!
Switching subjects, how would a free market economist determine the optimal use for the Columbia River? There are at least three uses for this river; 1. letting salmon do their thing, 2. shipping cargo, 3. producing hydro power.
Introducing China's Next U.S Export: The Cheap Electric Car
I have not heard of "BYD" but this article convinces me that the U.S trade deficit will continue to grow as we will import large numbers of this new vehicle.
What to Do in Downtown Los Angeles
This article provides some tips for how to have some fun in downtown Los Angeles. Today, I was at Los Angeles City Hall from 11am to 2pm.
Two Climate Change Items
Peter Henderson has written a subtle piece about California's nascent Carbon & Trade market.
Magali Delmas pointed me to this NPR Story on Adapting to Climate Change in Australia.
Financing Residential Solar Installation
Have you thought about installing solar panels on your home's roof? The typical story here is that to do so requires a large upfront investment (perhaps $25,000 if there are no Federal and state subsidies) and then after paying this irreversible upfront investment you receive a flow of lower electr
Good News for Bald Economists
Today is my birthday so this email below arrived at the right time. UCLA researchers are making progress and if they can patent this stuff maybe my great university will buy some faculty and build a new hotel on campus.
Can Farmers Beat the Heat?
Michael Roberts and Wolfram Schlenker have been conducting some important research on how U.S extreme heat affects agricultural yields. Their work has at least two implications.
My Brookings Institution Presentation on February 25th
There will be an exciting conference taking place on Feb 25th at the Brookings Institution. Here are the details. Michael Greenstone leads the Hamilton Project. I have greatly enjoyed working with his team to write a paper for this conference.
The Discovery Process: Balancing Patent Protection vs. Basic Information
What independent research can be conducted on GM foods and crops? If this editorial piece is telling the truth, then this is scary stuff.
"Multibillion-dollar agricultural corporations, including Monsanto and Syngenta, have restricted independent research on their genetically engineered crops.
A Serious New York Times Sunday Book Review Section
The Sunday New York Times usually is a big waste of trees. There are long sections that don't say anything. I skim them so that I can still feel like a "New Yorker" as I sit in the 70 degree Los Angeles morning sunshine. But, today --- the Sunday Book Review delivers.
A New Paul Ehrlich Interview
Paul Ehrlich says some witty stuff in this Patt Morrison interview.
People are uncomfortable talking about population -- it brings up such intimate choices and the specter of government control over who procreates -- but they will talk about consumption.
Anticipating Unintended Consequences
We want corn for at least two reasons. We want junk food and we want corn based ethanol. This article highlights a tension inherent in a recent ruling by the USDA that allows for a new corn to be grown for commercial use.
Has Suburban Sprawl Improved the Quality of Life of Urban Black Households?
Boustan and Margo document a "silver lining" of white flight from the center cities in the 1950s and 1960s. Housing is highly durable.
Balancing California's Budget
San Quentin Prison sits next to the San Francisco Bay in between Berkeley and Novato. It is rusting away and it sits on some of the most valuable land on the west coast. The state has debated before whether it would be wise to allow real estate development on such a property.
Ed Glaeser's "Triumph of the City" is Published!
Congratulations Ed! His book is now available on Amazon. As usual, I learned that I'm not a VIP. I haven't been sent a free copy by the publisher and nobody asked me to write a blurb for the back cover. So, I will rent this space to comment on a book that I haven't yet read.
Climate Change and World Trade in Agricultural Products
International trade will be a leading example of adaptation to climate change.
Steve Jobs and Font Experimentation as a Parable for Learning and Innovation
In his 2005 Stanford Graduation Address , Steve Jobs immodestly claimed that he changed the course of human history because he randomly wondered into a calligraphy class at Reed College and learned some funky fonts that he introduced at Apple and then Microsoft stole his ideas and thus the "funky fo
Green Building Conference in Holland in March 2011
I will return to Holland for this Green Building Conference in March 2011. I have not been in Holland for 25 years and I'm eager to see if it has changed. Everyone I know from Holland is tall, blond, male and has a Ph.D. Is this a random sample of Dutch people? I don't know if that is possible.
ClimaOATalis: The Price of Oatmeal in Our Hotter World
In this recent post , I sketch out the microeconomics of adapting to increased agricultural price volatility. Paul Krugman conjectures that climate change is driving this volatility. He could be right. As usual, I believe that capitalism has our back.
Super Bowl Rejects and a Test of the WTP/WTA Endowment Hypothesis
I doubt that experimental economists read this mighty blog but permit me to propose a "Super" test of the endowment hypothesis. Yahoo Sports is reporting that 400 fans who had tickets to the Super Bowl have been kicked out from the Stadium because of ice and safety issues.
A Review of a Book Review: The Case of Mark Herstsgaard's "Hot"
This will be an envious, petty (but informative) blog post. My Climatopolis was not reviewed in the NY Times when it was published last fall. Today, Herstsgaard's "Hot" is reviewed. Our books cover very similar material but he is a journalist and I am academic economist.
Glaeser's New York Post Piece
Ed Glaeser has consistently written important economics papers on a variety of subjects but today he has done something even more impressive. He has published in the NY Post. For, people not from New York City and people who only read the NY Times, permit me to explain.
Predictable Trends and Capitalist Investment
There are no "$20 dollar bills on the ground"? If we anticipate that the Baby Boomers are a large aging cohort, does capitalism get ready to innovate to provide products they will demand to help them achieve their daily goals? This newspaper article says "yes".
A "Green" City?
Does the Upper East Side of Manhattan look very glamorous on this February morning?
I see garbage and snow and lots of each.
Tomorrow, I return to Los Angeles. I will be speaking on monday at lunch about my Climatopolis book at the UCLA Institute of the Environment. I hope to see you there.
UCLA Graduates Launching Field Experiments
What is the right technique to use for testing social science hypotheses? In the recent past, we celebrated "natural experiment" or using lags as instrumental variables to be able to make strong causal statements about X causing Y. But now, we live in the age of "field experiments".