The Key Role of Conservatives in Taxing Carbon By N. Gregory Mankiw, The New York Times, September 4, 2015. [On the weird politics of the carbon tax.]
The Coase Theorem is widely cited in economics. Ronald Coase hated it. By Timothy B. Lee, Wonkblog (blog), The Washington Post, September 4, 2013. [The Coase theorem assumes a world in which people can negotiate with each other without any of the usual difficulties of negotiation. But it is meant to show how the allocation of property rights matters in the real world where negotiating is not costless.]
A Carbon Tax That America Could Live With By N. GREGORY MANKIW, The New York Times, Published: August 31, 2013. [A carbon fee would be a less invasive way than regulation to change people’s behavior and reduce carbon emissions. And it could be designed in a politically palatable way, an economist says.]
What economists say about carbon pricing By David Wogan, Plugged In (blog), Scientific American, June 3, 2013. [Economists largely agree that assigning a price to carbon is one of the least intrusive means for reducing carbon emissions. The resistance is largely lack of political will/public understanding. There are views in favor of pricing carbon across the political spectrum. It’s not simply a liberal/conservative or Democrat/Republican issue.]
An obscure new rule on microwaves can tell us a lot about Obama’s climate policies By Brad Plumer, Wonkblog (blog), The Washington Post, Published: June 5, 2013. [Interesting discussion of the U.S. government's measure of the social cost of carbon dioxide emissions. This measure could be used to judge the rationale for spending a certain amount of money to reduce CO2 emissions by a certain amount.]
The Other Government Motors Editorial, The Wall Street Journal, May 24, 2013. [How taxpayers made an electric car company.]
Carbon Credits Gone Awry Raise Output of Harmful Gas By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL and ANDREW W. LEHREN, The New York Times, Published: August 8, 2012. [Manufacturers have ramped up production of a common air-conditioning coolant, counting on a windfall for destroying a byproduct under a United Nations program.]
Around the world, cap-and-trade is still alive and kicking Posted by Brad Plumer, Wonkblog, The Washington Post, 06/05/2012.
Fighting Sign Pollution in Florida With Robocalls By ROBBIE BROWN, The New York Times, Published: June 2, 2012. [Plastic signs on public property are illegal in Florida, so some communities are calling the numbers on the signs 20 times a day until the culprits pull them down. This is an example of a non-governmental solution to a negative externality. But there is no reason to expect the socially optimal outcome would be achieved in this case. For example, the robocallers may succeed in their campaign even if the benefits to the advertisers exceed the costs of sign pollution.]
Economix (blog): Born to Lose: Health Inequality at Birth By By NANCY FOLBRE, www.nytimes.com, June 27, 2011. [Low birth weight, long recognized as an indicator of vulnerability to health problems, is also an indicator of poor economic prospects, an economist writes. Poor people live in pollution-prone areas, and this pollution is suspected to lead to low birth weight babies. In this way, thanks to pollution, poverty is handed down from generation to generation.]
Lead Poisoning in China: The Hidden Scourge By SHARON LaFRANIER, The New York Times, June 15, 2011. [Over the past two and a half years, thousands of workers, villagers and children have been found to be suffering from toxic levels of lead exposure, mostly caused by pollution from battery factories. While textbooks may suggest Pigovian taxes as a way of addressing negative externalities such as lead emissions, note that this article only discusses government regulation. This indicates that in most cases Pigovian taxation is simply impractical. The article also shows the numerous weaknesses of a regulatory solution. The government regulators simply do not seem to care about the victims of the lead poisoning. They seem to be concerned only about the economic viability of the battery companies. The regulators seem to be discouraging even testing for lead poisoning, in some cases. Regulators are supposed to fight for the victims. But this article shows that regulators in some cases protect the polluters and swat away the victims.]
In the Debate on S.U.V.'s, There's a New Casualty Count By DANNY HAKIM, The New York Times, March 2, 2003.
U.S. Left Out of Emissions Trading By OTTO POHL, The New York Times, April 10, 2003.
Treading lightly The Economist, September 19, 2002.
Creative Cities and Their New Elite By EMILY EAKIN, The New York Times, June 1, 2002.
Warming Climate Pushes Plants To Bloom Earlier, Study Shows Associated Press, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, May 30, 2002.
Good (or Unwitting) Neighbors Make for Good Internet Access By AMY HARMON, The New York Times, March 4, 2002.
The Corner Internet Network vs. the Cellular Giants By JOHN MARKOFF, The New York Times, March 4, 2002.
Polluters Should Have to Pay By CAROL M. BROWNER, The New York Times, March 1, 2002.
Report Faults Emissions Trades For Dirty Air in Some U.S. Areas By JOHN J. FIALKA, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, November 20, 2002.
Emission-Credit Trading Rises, Anticipating Kyoto Protocol By JOHN J. FIALKA, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, October 18, 2002.
Just How Far Can Trading of Emissions Be Extended? By DANIEL ALTMAN, The New York Times, May 31, 2002.
No Smoking as a Way of Life By BRUCE McCALL, The New York Times, May 5, 2002.
Helping Citizens Conserve Their Own Land — and America's By GALE A. NORTON, The New York Times, April 20, 2002.
Tax or trade The Economist, February 14, 2002.
Never the twain shall meet The Economist, January 31, 2002.
Turn of the Century by James Surowiecki, Wired, January 2002.
A Mittenless Autumn, for Better and Worse By PAM BELLUCK and ANDREW C. REVKIN, The New York Times, December 23, 2001.
Drastic Shifts in Climate Are Likely, Experts Warn By KENNETH CHANG, The New York Times, December 12, 2001.
Videoconferencing May Get Much-Needed Critical Mass By HAL R. VARIAN, The New York Times, October 4, 2001.
Economic man, cleaner planet The Economist, September 27, 2001. [Related Articles on the Bjorn Lomborg controversy]
Energetic visionaries The Economist, August 30, 2001.
How Much Is the Right To Pollute Worth? By Susan Lee, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, August 1, 2001.
CO2 Controls Are a Bad Idea 'Voluntary' or Not By Robert Crandall and Fred L. Smith, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, July 31, 2001.
Iceland Says It Wants to Be First To Develop Carbon-Free Economy By JOHN FIALKA, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, July 25, 2001.
Thriving Guatemala Shrimp Farm Sets Off a Conflict By DAVID GONZALEZ, The New York Times, JULY 21, 2001.
China Said to Sharply Reduce Carbon Dioxide Emissions By ERIK ECKHOLM, The New York Times, June 15, 2001.
The Alternative to Kyoto By R. Glenn Hubbard, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, June 12, 2001.
As Biotech Crops Multiply, Consumers Get Little Choice By DAVID BARBOZA, The New York Times, June 10, 2001.
A Stern Warning on Warming Editorial, The New York Times, June 8, 2001.
Panel of Scientists Advises White House That Global Warming Is, in Fact, 'Real' By CHRIS ADAMS, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, June 7, 2001.