In February, Maine’s Governor LePage proposed implementing a fee on the owners of electric and hybrid vehicles.[1] He is not alone – 17 other states have already implemented similar fees[2]). It may seem, at first glance, to be yet another slap in the faces of “liberal-minded environmentalists.” But giving the Governor the benefit of the …
A recent article in the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management (JEEM) coined a new (albeit clunky) phrase: the macroeconomic environmental rebound/backfire effect. This effect occurs when a “green improvement,” such as an energy efficiency program, results in less of an environmental improvement than expected. This is not due to unrealistic expectations, but due …
In August of 2017, Energy Secretary and former governor Rick Perry proposed to strengthen subsidies to coal- and nuclear-fueled electricity plants. Why? According to his proposal, coal and nuclear power plants are indispensable to our national security by virtue of the fact that they can store energy on-site. And, since the past few years have …
The hurricane season of 2017 has been a severely damaging one. Hurricane Harvey devastated parts of Texas, Maria savaged Puerto Rico, and Hurricane Irma dealt a punishing blow to an already-reeling Florida (not to mention Nate and Jose). As I write this, Hurricane Ophelia – the tenth named storm in a season that was predicted …
Dates: 9/21, 10/19, 11/16 & 12/14 – 12:00PM – 1:30PM Cost: $25 session/$80 full series Registration: HERE Join economist Rachel Bouvier for a four-part webinar series entitled, “The Price of Everything and the Value of Nothing: What Environmental Professionals Should Know About Economics.” A firm grasp of economic principles is necessary to be able to articulate the …
On June 27, 2017, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed a rule that would change the definition of the Waters of the United States (WOTUS). On whose advice did they do this? Why, economists’, of course! Huh? Let me back up. In 2015, then-President Obama issued a document redefining which rivers, streams, lakes and marshes fell …
Climate change is expected to have a number of effects in Maine, including coastal flooding, sea level rise, and changing precipitation patterns, among others. Many efforts are already underway to help protect communities from those effects, including zoning changes, new building requirements, armoring or elevating critical infrastructure, and the like. These efforts all fall under …
With Maine’s forested lands and iconic rocky shoreline, the notion that forestry and fishing were once the mainstays of Maine’s economy should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with the state. But mining? Well, yes – although you wouldn’t know it from looking at today’s employment figures. But in addition to the geological phenomena …
My most recent blog post, “The Social Cost of Carbon: Implications for Maine (Part I),” went into some of the details behind calculating the social cost of carbon – a number that is used to illustrate the economic damages anticipated by climate change and therefore linked to carbon dioxide emissions. This blog post will be …
(This will be the first in a series of blog posts on carbon emissions, their costs and implications for Maine, and existing and proposed policy prescriptions.) Last week, an article made the rounds entitled “the social cost of carbon“. This is of special interest to me right now, because I recently began teaching Environmental Economics …