David Appell notes more evidence for Appell’s Theorem:
As Oil Prices Rise, Nations Revive Coal Mining
By MARTIN FACKLER
BIBAI, Japan — These rugged green mountains, once home to one of Asia’s most productive coal regions, are littered with abandoned mines and decaying towns — backwaters of an economy of bullet trains and hybrid cars.
CBO’s Peter Orszag on the economics of putting a safety valve in a cap-and-trade bill:
One option for allowing firms flexibility in determining when to reduce emissions while also achieving compliance with a cumulative emissions target would be through setting both a ceiling—typically referred to as a safety valve—and a floor on the allowance prices each year. The price ceiling would allow firms to exceed the annual target when the cost of cutting emissions was high, while the price floor would induce firms to cut emissions more than the annual target in low-cost years. The price ceiling and floor could be adjusted periodically to ensure that emission reductions were on track for achieving the long-run target; such a dynamic price system could substantially reduce the cost of a cumulative emissions target.
David Appell (who got me hooked on climate blogging in the first place) has some wise words regarding the latest bit of back-and-forth on climate change and hurricanes:
Clearly more study is needed. Give the scientists time to do their jobs before you plan out your propaganda.
Judy Pasternak on the battle for mindshare surrounding uranium mining around the Grand Canyon:
In recent months, the uranium rush has spawned a clash as epic as the canyon’s 18-mile chasm, with both sides claiming to be working for the good of the planet.
Environmental organizations have appealed to federal courts and Congress to halt any drilling, arguing that mining so close to such a rare piece of the nation’s patrimony could prove ruinous for the canyon’s visitors and wildlife.
Mining companies say the raw material they seek is important to the environment, too: The uranium would feed nuclear reactors that could – unlike coal and natural gas – produce electricity without contributing to global warming.
This refers to a recent unfortunate incident, and not the solution to a paleo-Indian mystery
This morning at work, I threw out an idle question on the newspaper web site about how rising gas prices are affecting people. The response was rich and thoughtful.
Coming of age when I did, and having had the art of that age be like the water in which I, the fish, swam, I felt like I had to say something meaningful about the death of the fabulously influential Robert Rauschenberg, who died last week.
So here’s the story.
When I was growing up, there was a doctor who lived up the street who had a Rauschenberg painting. The story is that the doctor cared for Rauschenberg when he was a young man, and Rauschenberg gave him the painting.
The doctor’s wife always hated the painting. When the two divorced, the wife got the painting and sold it for a lot of money.
I don’t know if this is true, but that’s the story I heard.
