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Seeing the Light on Energy Efficiency

by Pete Geddes The excellent Roger Pielke Jr. asks: Advances in efficiency might presage greater energy consumption?! Yep. Here’s how it works:   Common sense tells us that increasing energy efficiency reduces energy use. But this is not so. William Stanley Jevons first identified this paradox in his 1865 book, The Coal Question. Jevons observed thatContinue reading “Seeing the Light on Energy Efficiency”

Turning Water Into a Crop: Lessons from Cheney Lake

by Brandon Scarborough Increasing water scarcity and decreasing water quality have become two of the leading environmental and economic challenges we now face.  In a recent nationwide survey of water quality, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reported that roughly 42 percent of stream miles and 23 percent of lakes are in poor condition and noContinue reading “Turning Water Into a Crop: Lessons from Cheney Lake”

Greener Than Thou: Recycling Edition

by Shawn Regan In today’s Boston Globe, columnist Jeff Jacoby says he’s not too excited about a recent household recycling campaign in Brookline, MA. But, he writes, “things could be worse.” Clevelanders will soon have to use recycling carts equipped with radio-frequency ID chips, the Plain Dealer reported last month. These will enable the city to remotelyContinue reading “Greener Than Thou: Recycling Edition”

An Unlikely Thumbs Down for Proposition 21

by Laura Huggins One could argue that California’s leading newspapers are one vast left-wing conspiracy. But as a friend of mine, Bill Whalen with the Hoover Institution pointed out today, “not all papers think alike—and certainly not their editorial boards.” Case in point: Proposition 21, which if approved would impose an $18 vehicle-license surcharge to helpContinue reading “An Unlikely Thumbs Down for Proposition 21”

The Fiscal Effect of Stimulus: Evidence from “Cash for Clunkers”

by Pete Geddes If I ever get a tatoo, it will read: “The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.” (F.A. Hayek) From a new paper by Atif Mian and Amir Sufi: We examine the ability of the government to increaseContinue reading “The Fiscal Effect of Stimulus: Evidence from “Cash for Clunkers””