The New York Times on Climate Adaptation
There are three very good articles in The New York Times focused on climate change adaptation. First, there is an article on how to use solar power as a backup electricity provision technology when...
View ArticleUrban Encroachment in the Amazon
Simon Romero’s story about urban encroachment in the Brazilian Amazon raises lots of interesting questions. The torrid expansion of rain forest cities is visible in places like Parauapebas, which has...
View ArticleThe Silver Lining of Rust Belt Decline: The Case of Taranto, Italy
Until I read this NY Times article about Taranto, Italy, I wasn’t aware that manufacturing activity still took place there. I’m a fan of the manufacturing to services transition. As I argued in my...
View ArticleThe Rise of the Low Carbon Consumer City
In a couple of weeks, Matthew Holian and I will release a new NBER Working Paper titled The Rise of the Low Carbon Consumer City. An article in today’s New York Times manages to summarize the key...
View ArticleA Research Agenda for Climate Change Adaptation
In this post, I will pose some questions that I know that I don’t know the answers to. If you can answer these questions, then you will become an important environmental economist. I want more nerds...
View ArticleFighting Smog in New Delhi, India
The New York Times reports about extremely highly levels of ambient air pollution in the growing city of New Delhi, India. What is to be done? My co-authored Asian Development Bank paper, “Green...
View ArticleEnergy Use in New Commercial Buildings: Rebound Effect?
The commercial real estate sector is a major consumer of electricity and thus is a major contributor to creating greenhouse gas emissions. My working paper with Nils Kok and the late John Quigley...
View ArticleElectricity Consumption Dynamics in Commercial Buildings
The next time you drive to a suburban mall or stare at an office building ask yourself the following question; how much electricity consumption do these buildings consume? Given the unpriced...
View ArticleThe Political Economy of Urban Pollution Abatement in China
Brad Plumer has an interesting post about Deutsche Bank’s new report on air pollution in China. Without reform, Deutsche Bank estimates that China’s already high levels of PM2.5 could worsen by another...
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Are Personal Mobility & Green Transport Compatible?
Toyota recently announced the i-ROAD—a prototype of an electric three-wheeled Personal Mobility Vehicle (PMV) that rivals the width and maneuverability of a scooter or a motorcycle, without the...
View ArticleExploring Green Cities in China
In this blog post, I want to give an overview of my China research during the last 7 years. For folks who find this interesting, I have a piece forthcoming in the September issue of the Journal of...
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