Southwick Associates for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation http://bit.ly/16mieAO [America's Voice for Conservation, Recreation and Preservation] An April 2013 study by Southwick Associates, “The Conservation Economy in America: Direct investments and economic contributions” reports that conservation has measurable economic impacts. The study was produced for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to identify the … Continue reading »
Tagged with Cost Benefit Analysis …
Evaluating the Efficacy of Shared-use Vehicles for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions: A U.S. Case Study of Grocery Delivery
Journal of the Transportation Research Forum (Summer 2012) v51 n2 p111-126 / by Erica Wygonik and Anne Goodchild http://bit.ly/11zPlLl [Brad Plumer in the Washington Post] …A new study from the University of Washington finds that grocery delivery can be greener than driving from home to the supermarket and back. How can that be? The basic intuition here is … Continue reading »
The Next Frontier in United States Unconventional Shale Gas and Tight Oil Extraction: Strategic Reduction of Environmental Impact
Belfer Center, Kennedy School, Harvard Univ / by Meagan Mauter, Vanessa R. Palmer, Yiqiao Tang, A. Patrick Behrer http://hvrd.me/11xwcMi The unconventional fossil fuel extraction industry—in the U.S., primarily shale gas and tight oil—is expected to continue expanding dramatically in coming decades as conventionally recoverable reserves wane. At the global scale, a long-term domestic supply of … Continue reading »
Estimation of Regional Air-quality Damages from Marcellus Shale Natural Gas Extraction in Pennsylvania
Environmental Research Letters (2013, v8 p014017; doi:10.1088/1748-9326/8/1/014017) / by Aviva Litovitz, Aimee Curtright, Shmuel Abramzon, Nicholas Burger and Constantine Samaras http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/8/1/014017/pdf/1748-9326_8_1_014017.pdf [Abstract] This letter provides a first-order estimate of conventional air pollutant emissions, and the monetary value of the associated environmental and health damages, from the extraction of unconventional shale gas in Pennsylvania. Region-wide estimated … Continue reading »
Economic Impacts of National Monument Designation: Chimney Rock, Colorado
BBC Research and Consulting for the National Trust for Historic Preservation http://bit.ly/P31zZf [From Sen. Michael Bennet's website] A new report released today determines that national monument designation for the Chimney Rock Archaeological Area would double the economic impact Chimney Rock has on the region, bringing an additional $1.2 million to the area… “The National Trust … Continue reading »
Water Quality Index Aggregation and Cost Benefit Analysis
US EPA, National Center for Environmental Economics / by Patrick J. Walsh and William Wheeler http://yosemite.epa.gov/EE/epa/eed.nsf/WPNumber/2012-05 The water quality index (WQI) has emerged as a central way to convey water quality information to policy makers and the general public and is regularly used in US EPA regulatory impact analysis. It is a compound indicator that … Continue reading »
Relieving Pain at the Pump: Thanks to Stronger Standards, Consumers Have More Fuel-Efficient Choices
Natural Resources Defense Council http://www.nrdc.org/energy/relievingpainatthepump.asp [From Report] …Compared to the first round of efficiency improvements to 35.5 mpg, the proposed 54.5 mpg standards will result in billions of additional gallons saved annually across the states. Aggregate U.S. savings will be more than $68 billion when accounting for both the incremental cost of more fuel-efficient vehicles … Continue reading »
The Regulatory Red Herring: The Role of Job Impact Analyses in Environmental Policy Debates
New York University, School of Law, Institute for Policy Integrity / by Michael A. Livermore, Elizabeth Piennar, and Jason A Schwartz http://policyintegrity.org/files/publications/Regulatory_Red_Herring.pdf [From the Executive Summary] …This report examines the use of job impact analysis by the federal government and advocacy groups, discussing how cost-benefit analysis can incorporate regulatory effects on layoffs and hiring, and … Continue reading »
Answering 10 Fundamental Questions about the Mississippi River Delta
The Mississippi River Delta Science and Engineering Special Team (National Audubon Society | the Environmental Defense Fund | the National Wildlife Federation) http://bit.ly/HyVv9o [From an article in the Sacramento Bee] Building a series of engineered structures called diversions along the lower Mississippi River will yield tens of billions of dollars in net annual benefits to … Continue reading »
Mortality Risk Valuation in Environment, Health and Transport Policies
OECD (This report is fee-based, but RFFers can access it through OECD iLibrary — username/password are on the library’s landing page.) http://bit.ly/zHGvzU [Abstract] The book presents a major meta-analysis of ‘value of a statistical life’ (VSL) estimates derived from surveys where people around the world have been asked about their willingness to pay for small … Continue reading »
