Archive for May, 2009
Standards
It seems that the Obama administration will be introducing some tough (ish) new mileage standards for cars and light trucks — 42 mpg for cars and 26.2 mpg for light trucks by 2016. Kevin Drum is happy: This is really important stuff. Cap-and-trade is the centerpiece of the Waxman-Markey energy bill, and it’s a critical [...]
An Interesting Idea
Robert Frank is trying to defuse the political opposition to congestion pricing in Manhattan: Essentially the same strategy could salvage the proposed congestion fee for Manhattan and other cities. Most people who commute regularly by car into Manhattan are not poor, and most low-income workers in Manhattan already use public transportation for their daily commute. [...]
Do Roads Pay For Themselves?
No.
Migratory Stimulus, Revisited
Remember this post? A few months ago, I was wondering whether heavy migration might not have a stimulative effect sufficient to boost a metropolitan area, and perhaps a regional or national economy, out of recession. The argument was pretty straightforward — people need to be accommodated. Even if everyone is cutting back on spending, introducing [...]
Legislation Gnomes
So, Waxman-Markey drops today and Greenpeace is ready: Despite the best efforts of Chairman Waxman, this bill has been seriously undermined by the lobbying of industries more concerned with profits than the plight of our planet. While science clearly tells us that only dramatic action can prevent global warming and its catastrophic impacts, this bill [...]
Free Market Sports
Malcolm Gladwell came in for a lot of surprisingly intense criticism after his most recent story went to press. The premise — that underdogs should opt for more extreme strategies — was illustrated in part by a tale about a girls youth basketball team that beat more talented squads by ruthlessly deploying a full court [...]
Ladies and Gentlemen
The American Clean Energy and Security Act. Just a shade under 1000 pages. Godspeed, little doodle.
Less Driving
Over at Streetsblog, Elana Schor discusses some principles Jay Rockefeller and Frank Lautenberg have set out for new transportation legislation: Reduce national per-capita motor vehicle miles traveled on an annual basis; Cut national motor vehicle-related fatalities in half by 2030; Cut national surface transportation-generated carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2030; Reduce surface transportation delays [...]
The Tax Effect
Conor Clarke has a look today at Marty Feldstein’s recent Journal piece on how tax increases might derail the economic recovery. Conor notes that the increases aren’t due to start until 2011, but Feldstein is ready for that line of argument: Even if the proposed tax increases are not scheduled to take effect until 2011, [...]
The Chinese Problem
In today’s column, Krugman writes: As the United States and other advanced countries finally move to confront climate change, they will also be morally empowered to confront those nations that refuse to act. Sooner than most people think, countries that refuse to limit their greenhouse gas emissions will face sanctions, probably in the form of [...]