Environmental and Urban Economics

Our hotel is a half block from the "Hard Rock Cafe" and a Starbucks.  No matter how far you travel, you are still at home!   As we walked the hot streets of Center City Munich, we spent some quality time at the Englischer Garten.  I can vouch that there are still nudists in this park but everyone that my son and I spotted was a dude!   These guys had good tans in places that usually don't see much sunlight.   The cool thing about the Englischer Garten is the rapid river in the middle of the park.  There were several surfers actively surfacing in this center city park.  You won't find such surfers on a river in any U.S city that I know of.

While there are many reasons that I'm excited about going to Singapore on Monday, I must admit that high on my list is the absence of nude dudes.

I am in the center of Munich drinking beer and eating more sausage.   The City Center is walkable and the people look happy.   I am proud of myself that the thought that Germany should drop out of the Euro crossed my mind before I read the OP-ED by Griffin and Kashyap.   Switching subjects, if you are interested in research on "green buildings"  take a look at this recent post by my friend and co-author Nils Kok.

The NY Times is devoting a fair bit of its real estate to the life of Nora Ephron.  I understand that the Times is tired of writing about Europe and Syria and a number of its readers must identify with Ms. Ephron.   Gail Collins reports an interesting quote of Ephron's "Once, years ago, we made a list of things to worry about. Her No. 1 was George W. Bush. I mentioned global warming. “Not a middle-aged issue,” she said."

This quote raises a research issue.

In the ever important  battle for "journal impact factor", the European Economic Review will surely take a step forward now that it has published two of my papers in its July 2012 Special Issue titled Green Building, the Economy, and Public Policy Edited by Piet Eichholtz and John Quigley.  In case your subscription to the EER has lapsed, here are my titles and abstracts:

Understanding the Solar Home price premium: Electricity generation and “Green” social status ☆

Samuel R.

I offer a few thoughts here.

I am in Salzburg, Austria.  I have seen Mozart's home and listened to many German tourists.  Today, we took a bus across the border and went to Berchtesgaden, Germany.  We took a long boat ride the beautiful Lake Königssee.  On the German side of the border, I saw solar panels on roughly 1/2 of the homes.  That's market penetration!    Soon we go to Munich where I will sample beer, pretzels and sausages.  My only complaint is the coffee.  I haven't seen a Starbucks outside of Vienna.

Over the next couple of decades,  California will try to use national tax payer money to construct a high speed north/south train that will connect San Fran to LA to San Diego.  I would guess that the train will stop every 10 miles and won't actually be a quick train but merely a fast train when it is moving.  The LA Times discusses an interesting initial conditions issue.

If you are looking for me,  you can soon find me in Salzburg, Austria as I slowly make my way to Singapore.   If I hear some good Mozart, I promise to blog about it but now permit me to discuss this recent blog post at environmental economics.

The extent of Sea Level Rise in North Carolina is a random variable and people disagree about the timing and the extent to which it will occur.

Floyd Norris (a cousin of Chuck?) presents a "chicken and egg" story in today's NY Times about the slow growth of natural gas vehicles.  According to Norris, capitalism breaks down in this case and the gains to trade are not exhausted and thus government intervention is needed.  Here is the story.  Given low natural gas prices, drivers would buy and drive natural gas cars if they knew that gas stations would sell them natural gas just like they now sell gasoline.

Alex Hall's recent work  has triggered some wild LA Times comments.  To counter some of this zany discussion, I have found a few low cost pointers for how to adapt to 100+ degree days.

How To Survive Hot Weather (source)

Foods generate metabolic heat when the body breaks it down. So, to beat the heat, avoid larger meals. Instead, have small meals more often. Also, avoid foods that are rich in protein.