ECON 255

Testing for Winter 2018

Welcome to Economics 255

Good morning everyone and welcome back to Lexington. We will be using this blog to conduct a conversation outside of class. Once or twice a week I will post an article (typically from the popular press) and you will be required to read and comment on the article. The best posts are usually critical of something in the article, draw on something discussed in class, or build on a previous comment by one of your classmates.

Your first assignment is to open an account (if you don't already have one), then introduce yourself to the class. Tell us a little about yourself, if you have any relevant experience in the area of resource economics/policy/management, and what you hope to learn throughout the semester.

Stay tuned.....

Drill Baby Drill!!!

Whale and dolphin death toll during Deepwater disaster may have been greatly underestimated

So much for having solved the ozone hole problem

Record-Low Arctic Ozone Leads to High UV Radiation in Finland

Are Humans Now Overwhelming the Great Forces of Nature?

Please comment by Thursday morning - The Anthropocene

FOR THURSDAY

Please comment before 8am Thursday morning. Try to focus on a particular policy or aspect you find most intriguing.

Toward a New National Energy Policy: Assessing the Options

Climate Economics

Please leave your comments by 8AM Thursday morning.

The marginal damage costs of carbon dioxide emissions:an
assessment of the uncertainties

Get Serious

If we want to get serious about Budget deficits then we need to look at energy subsidies.

Pleas read this short piece and comment by 8 am. See you tomorrow.

JC

People you should get to know

Dan Schrag at Harvard

Mark Jacobson at Stanford

Dan Kammen at UC

The Energy Group at MIT

Remember, you don't have to read everything and understand everything these folks are working on - but I think its important to try.

JC

Gas Prices???

If you think gas is expensive today, you would have hated 1918.

Inflation adjusted gas prices

Here are two articles from resources for the future looking at the link between certification and environmental outcomes. We will not discuss them in class, as I would like to use tomorrow's class time to review for the midterm. However, if you would like to talk about these outside of class I am happy to do so anytime.

Enjoy.


Allen Blackman and Maria A. Naranjo 1


Allen Blackman and Maria A. Naranjo 2

Show Me the Money

Please comment before 8 am (5am pst)Thursday morning - Article for thursday

What happens when a Socialist with a degree in Economics becomes President?

The Answer: Rafael Correa.

Is it bad business to engage in environmentally poor practices?

Here is an interesting article - Forests

A couple of CEOs on Energy

Yesterday, in class, I mentioned Jeff Immelt. Here is a piece from a few years ago - Immelt.

Here is another one from today's Fortune online. This time it is Fred Smith of FedEx.


So what are we waiting for???????

Interesting FishTale

This article is a great read for anyone interested in fisheries management.

Here's a loaded question (Just for fun)

What kind of a Republican do you want to be?

Greg Mankiw

or

Sarah Palin

Absolute Must Reads

There is no way anyone should teach a course on environmental economics and not assign these papers by Garrett Hardin and John Krutilla.

Enjoy!

The Problem of Social Cost

There are lots of interpretations of Coase out there - including, but not limited to, Kahn (your textbook author) chapter 3, Haab, and Friedman.

I figure, let's read it ourselves - The Problem of Social Cost.

What do you think he was trying to say?

Stavins for Thursday

Please read and comment by 8am Thursday.

The Myth of the Universal Market

The Myth of Simple Market Solutions

One last Myth