Steve Levitt‘s and Stephen Dubner’s Freaknomics was a great read. Interesting and provoking writing, underlining the value of taking commonly understood items, shaking the data, and seeing whether the common understandings could hold up to the light of day. Worth the read, especially because it is the sort of work where if you finish it not thinking and questioning things you obviously were snoozing in your speed read rather than paying attention. While there has been continued debate and analysis on many of Levitt’s conclusions (and approaches), this was a thought-provoking work that fostered intellectual engagement. In other words, you didn’t need to agree with it to gain from reading and thinking about it.
As an ‘analyst’ who values that sort of provocative challenge and who values windows to thinking in different ways, it came as welcome news that a follow-on book would come out this fall.
Sadly, however, this is one of those cases where the sequel isn’t just a disappointment but does a serious disservice to its predecessor.
As Levitt summarized his and Stephen Dubner’s book, “SuperFreakonomics, available this October, includes brand new research on topics from terrorism to prostitution to global warming.”
Superfreakonomics came out today and we’d all be better off if it just hadn’t …
Albatross Chick, Midway Island, Oct 2009, Chris Jordan
Courtesy of the camera and work of Chris Jordan, decaying Albatross chicks are sending a message from the Pacific gyre about the plastic footprint that humanity is leaving across the planet. Chris’ introduction to this searing set of photos:
These photographs of albatross chicks were made just a few weeks ago on Midway Atoll, a tiny stretch of sand and coral near the middle of the North Pacific. The nesting babies are fed bellies-full of plastic by their parents, who soar out over the vast polluted ocean collecting what looks to them like food to bring back to their young. On this diet of human trash, every year tens of thousands of albatross chicks die on Midway from starvation, toxicity, and choking.
To document this phenomenon as faithfully as possible, not a single piece of plastic in any of these photographs was moved, placed, manipulated, arranged, or altered in any way. These images depict the actual stomach contents of baby birds in one of the world’s most remote marine sanctuaries, more than 2000 miles from the nearest continent.
This morning, U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom J. Donahue will make a statement regarding the Chamber’s stance on pending climate legislation in Congress. Mr. Donahue will be available to answer questions regarding the Chamber’s position on the bill, as well as the recent departure of several prominent members of the Chamber.
So started the press release that came in to my email this morning.
The full statement, as prepared for presentation at the National Press Club, in Washington DC can be found here.
Pressure is mounting, from many sides, on the US Chamber of Commerce, which has been actively fighting moving forward with sensible climate legislation. The Chamber’s position is so severe that, in fact, multiple businesses (such as PG&E) have left the chamber, others have stepped down the board with public statements distancing themselves from the Chamber’s activities, and there is increasing criticism of the Chamber from voices across the United States. There have been quite strong articles appearing in the traditional media, such as this great Washington Post piece. And, there are campaigns being mounted calling on companies to leave the Chamber, such as Credo/Drinking Liberally’s calling out of Anheuser-Busch (see That Bud’s Not for Me …), against other companies.
MoveOn’s call re Toyota is a great social pressure effort that all Toyota owners (or prospective owners) are encouraged to consider joining.
The Chamber is spending millions fighting clean energy, and a long list of companies including Apple and Nike have backed away in protest.1
Toyota responded to our calls by shutting off their voice mail.
If Toyota’s really as green as they say, they should stop funding the Chamber’s anti-climate lobbying. But it’s clear that Toyota needs to hear it from their own customers.
Hundreds of Toyota owners have already printed out the sign, taken their photos, and uploaded them to the campaign.
Toyota’s US Chamber of Commerce members is at odds with their fluffy ads, sprouting flowers, promoting the Prius and their environmental claims
Green. That’s how we’d like the world to be. As an environmental leader, Toyota does more than meet industry standards – we seek to raise them.
Well, in terms of lobbying and relationship with the US government, the US Chamber of Commerce has focused on a quite dirty green (fossil-foolish profits based on pollution) rather than the sort of “Green” Toyota wishes to claim. As long as they’re members, Toyota’s US Chamber of Commerce membership dirties their “Green” credentials.
This guest post is from RLMiller [Subscribe]who is becoming a strong and impassioned blogosphere voice on climate issues, serving the organizing role in the “Adopt a Senator” effort to track positions taken by Senators on climate issues and pressure them to adopt reality-based policy approaches.
The key take-way from this post: Do not lose sight of the importance of 350.
Earlier today, the government of Maldives held a cabinet meeting. The meeting was remarkable not for who attended — the President, cabinet ministers, and assorted staff — nor for what was said at the meeting, but where it was held.
The meeting was set up underwater not to highlight the clear waters and snorkeling opportunities of the Maldives, but instead a lighter way to emphasize a very serious point: “We will die.”
It’s remarkable how often economists ignore physical reality. Whether they’re suggesting that economies can act as perpetual motion machines or suggesting that resource availability is meaningless to economic growth, I’m always prompted to think they should make science classes a mandatory part of the economics curriculum.
Brad Johnson of the Wonkroom sparked Natasha to return to this subject with his calling out of Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Director Doug Elmendorf for his testimony which placed economic implications of 6+ degree warming in the range of just a few percent of the overall GDP. As Natasha put it,
Elmendorf, testified that the US economy would barely notice changing environmental conditions such that we should be more worried about potential economic damages and job losses caused by climate mitigation.
The already desertifying American Southwest has cost the agricultural sector billions of dollars every year, just in California, and wildfires are expected to increase as a result. Increased floods in the Midwest have cost farmers and municipalities dearly, as well as costing the federal government aid dollars sent to clean up disaster areas. Those are just two projected impacts of climate disruption, drought and flooding, that have been happening at a minor scale compared with what will occur during projected changes.
In fact, the Midwest is also expected to get heat waves within our lifetimes that would prevent corn crops from setting seed. Does Elmendorf live in a cave that this prospect means nothing to him?
Elmendorf really doesn’t see the US economy being much affected by such events increasing in magnitude, spread across the entire globe? The killer heat waves, coastal inundation, environmental refugees, reduced water supplies, none of that will put a dent in the smoothly purring economic engine we’ve got going here?
Preposterous.
Indeed, “preposterus”.
What is astounding is that other than a few blog posts like Brad’s, Natasha’s, and here at GESN, Elmendorf’s (and CBO’s) utter disconnect with any common sense (and scientifically sound) understanding of the risks of catastrophic climate change seems to have been missed in public discussion and, well, entirely glossed over by traditional media: science, environmental, energy, or any traditional media journalists.
The CBO analysis utterly misses massively important system-of-system benefits from moving toward a carbon-free economy (such as reduced cancers due to ending fossil fuel pollution). And, while CBO has been explicit about not including the values of mitigating climate change in their analysis, what has not been highlighted before Brad’s work is how their utter disconnect from any sensible valuing of the benefits of reducing catastrophic climate change justified their decision to exclude that ‘insurance policy’ and risk reduction from their work.
Too many people have celebrated the CBO’s work as showing that ‘it will only cost a postage stamp a day’ to mitigate climate change, the reality is that a real calculation of the value of that mitigation combined with a valuing of positive benefits (such as improved educational performance) would show that CBO’s economists have the sign wrong in front of the number: aggressive action to mitigate climate change won’t carry a minus sign (cost) but a plus sign (benefit).
As Natasha concludes
If the CBO and the media are incapable of looking at the facts and recognizing the truth of the situation, they need to go back to school.
This guest post from Think2004 provides one homeowner’s story about moving a home from energy glutton to net zero re electricity.
This discussion provides a clear window on the many things that can be done, rapidly, to reduce existing building infrastructure energy use.
And, it shows that existing homes can be made ‘net zero’.
And, while it is possible to make the tremendous achievements and homes of The Solar Decathlon a reality, this discussion shows that the vision of low carbon pollution homes is very possible to achieve even starting with existing, inefficient homes.
The legitimate policy question becomes: at what cost that last 10 percent? In other words, how high a share of solar electric capital cost is sensible to be funding via tax (and other) dollars? Early adopters merit additional support as a path to help build up demand and to build up capacity (installers, dealers, code inspectors, …). But, at what point is that imperative fulfilled … and at what cost?
Yet, remember, the journey starts with ‘negawatts’ before arriving at ‘clean watts’ production.
In any event, take a look at one homeowner’s journey from polluter to clean energy producer.
I bought my first house, in the heart of Dallas, Texas, back in 1994, when I was single and had just adopted a dog. It was a cute 1100 sq. ft. bungalow, with hardwood floors, original kitchen and bath, and plenty of space for me and the dog. I got lucky; I found the neighborhood before it became “hot,” so I paid less than the price of a new loaded Cadillac Escalade for my little piece of the American dream.
Fifteen year later, I’m still in that 1100 sq. ft. house, only now, I have been joined by a husband, a child, another dog, and assorted porch cats.
And 25 solar panels on the roof to power the whole thing.
Today, many companies are “going green.” But at Anheuser-Busch, we’re proud to say our tradition of environmental stewardship dates back to our founder, Adolphus Busch. In the late 1800s, he began recycling leftover grain from the brewing process, using it for cattle feed, a practice that continues today. …
We’re always looking for ways to operate more efficiently, while maintaining our quality standards, and be better stewards of the environment. It’s the right thing for the environment and our company.
Anheuser-Busch’s actual engagement with policy-making doesn’t necessarily live up to these stated ideals.
With the last moments of competition, with the last event, the
German Decathletes Celebrate
German team of Decathletes surged forward to seize the lead, seize the victory of the fourth Solar Decathlon, topping second-place Illinois (The Gable House) by less than 11 points out of 1000 possible (908.27 to 897.3).
The margin of victory came from just one event, an event that Germany was almost certainly slated to win from the first word go: “net metering” or the house’s ability to generate electrical power, support the house’s requirements, and send the power back to the grid. Germany earned 150 points out a possible 150 while the UIUC team earned an incredibly impressive 137.236 (the second place in the event) with far less solar PV on the structure than Germany . The first 100 points came from producing enough power for the house, which was done by both Illinois and Germany (and which, if I understand correctly, 14 of the 20 homes did). The next 50 points was based on the amount of surplus energy the houses sent back to the grid, where the German house seems to have surged ahead significantly.
October 15th, 2009 · Comments Off on Something old, Something New: A Gable on the Mall
The University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), entry into the Solar Decathlon could be called understated from the outside, a form and boarding reminiscent of 19th century barns with a stunning interior, all built to Passiv Haus standards. The Gable House is a well-conceived residence, combining 100 year old wood boards on outside with leading edge hot water systems in a way that is easy to see becoming someone’s home. (Let’s be clear, an amazing thing about the 2009 Solar Decathlon is that everyone of the 20 solar powered homes has something to say for itself. If we took a good group of people to the Mall, it seems clear that each home would be on the top of someone’s list …)
At this time, The Gable House is standing on the top of The Solar Decathlon’s leader board, with just 10 points separating the top four teams (Illinois, Germany, California, Ontario/BC). The last two competitions: net metering (electrical generation) and engineering. Illinois is a difficult situation in the first, as Team Germany has the largest solar system on The Mall but The Gable House might be drawing less power to operate its systems, perhaps closing that gap. (Gable House has 9+ kw of solar on the roof, about double their estimated requirement to run the house.) And, it is clear that the Illinois team has done a good job at engineering solutions, with innovation but also simplicity and viability. In truth, any of these four are viable candidates for top of the leaders board (with the 30+ point gap to the fifth-place Minnesota and 65 points to sixth-place Alberta make them less likely).
Chamber of Commerce President Tom J. Donahue will make a statement regarding the Chamber’s stance on pending climate legislation in Congress. Mr. Donahue will be available to answer questions regarding the Chamber’s position on the bill, as well as the recent departure of several prominent members of the Chamber.
a great social pressure effort that all Toyota owners (or prospective owners) are encouraged to consider joining. 
into the Solar Decathlon could be called understated from the outside, a form and boarding reminiscent of 19th century barns with a stunning interior, all built to Passiv Haus standards.