Wind energy is considered a promising alternative to fossil fuels that cause air pollution and contribute to global warming. Since 2000 wind energy has become one of the fastest-growing sources of renewable energy in the United States (U.S. DOE). In 2018, wind power generated about 7% of total electricity and about 39% of renewable electricity […]
Archive | Environment
The hidden costs of California’s wildfires: Lessons from the developing world
The wildfires in California have consumed more than 1.6 million acres of land this year – nearly half of a million acres more than last year (Kasler, November 16 2018). The immediate devastation caused by the fires is evident – thousands of homes burned, hundreds of deaths, and many more still missing. But the burning […]
Conferencing Conservation: Reviewing Title II of the House and Senate Farm Bills
By Jonathan Coppess, Benjamin Gramig, Gary Schnitkey, Nicholas Paulson and Carl Zulauf on July 20, 2018 in Agriculture, Environment, Policy
With passage of their respective farm bills, the House and Senate are taking the formal steps to form the conference committee and begin negotiations to complete the legislative process. Among the many differences that the conference committee will need to resolve are those involving the conservation programs in Title II of each bill. The conservation […]
The risks that U.S. fuel Industry is facing under the background of climate change: in the form of a slump in fuel price
Introduction Climate change, exhibited as global warming and frequent extreme weather events, has a great impact on our world, including the U.S. fuel Industry. Recently, there has been a debate between the energy industry and public about whether or not we should price the risk from climate change in the energy production industry. According to […]
Flood insurance – who needs it?
Hurricane Harvey is a tragedy. One college friend of mine lost his house completely, and another the roof, floors, and drywall. Both are wonderful men, Texas Tech graduates. The thought on my mind tonight is flood insurance. I hope they both had policies in force, but am afraid to ask. Most homeowners carry a form […]
How much can the Sodsaver Provision in the 2014 Farm Bill save sod? It depends on crop prices.
Established in the 2008 Farm Bill and re-authorized in the 2014 Farm Bill, the Sodsaver Provision aims to dis-incentivize converting native grassland to cropland by restricting crop insurance coverage or premium subsidy to cropland that is newly converted from native sod. We recently published a study in the Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics that […]
Linkage between Federal Crop Insurance Program and the Conservation Reserve Program: Implications for Budgetary Outlays and Environmental Efficiency
We recently published a study in Land Economics that reveals a potentially significant overlooked budgetary cost savings by linking the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) with the Federal Crop Insurance Program (FCIP). To explain, we will first briefly describe the two programs. Established in 1985, the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) involves federal government contracts with farmers […]
The Volkswagen Scandal: A Case of Vanishing Utility
The 2015 Volkswagen emissions measurement scandal has so far caused the resignation of VW’s CEO, a long list of lawsuits and the creation of an $18 billion damages fund, placing it in the dubious company of FIFA, Takata airbags, and Turing Pharmaceuticals as one of the most-maligned corporations of 2015. When news broke last fall […]
To Harvest Stover or Not: Is it Worth it?
By Nicholas Paulson and Madhu Khanna on March 3, 2016 in Agriculture, Economics, Energy, Environment
Corn stover is a readily available source of biomass for the production of biofuels. Three U.S. refineries – Poet, Abengoa and Dupont – are converting it at commercial scale to biofuel. These biofuel facilities partner and contract with farmers to procure the stover feedstock used in processing. Farmers face a choice of whether or not […]
Questioning the Final RFS Rule, Part 3: Reasonableness of the Interpretation
Today’s article completes the discussion of EPA’s final rule for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Parts one and two in this series provided background on the RFS, a general review of the final rule and questioned EPA’s definition of the word ‘supply.’ This article delves into whether EPA’s interpretation in general can be considered reasonable […]