Climate Change

Archive for Climate Change

Cass Sunstein on Social Cost of Carbon

My latest at IER. How do you guys feel about my demonstration below? I think it’s pretty decisive, but then again, I’m presumably biased to like my own argument. To avoid confusion, I’m not going to use indenting etc. The italicized block quote below is from Cass Sunstein, and then the rest is my reaction. […]

The Climate Change Policy Bait and Switch

My latest at IER. The reason I like this one is that I merely quote from climate change experts who support a carbon tax, in order to show just how dubious the case for it is. An excerpt: Now I hope the reader starts to see how the bait-and-switch works. Advocates of intervention throw out […]

Vox Climate Wonk Tells Us There Will Be No Carbon Tax Deal

My latest at IER. An excerpt: And thus we see that David Roberts, with the enthusiasm of someone living in a Disney movie, wants the U.S. federal government to create “a whole new world.” Anyone who thinks a supply-side carbon tax deal will work with guys like this is delusional. Just read what the progressives […]

The Problems With Carbon Tax “Border Adjustments”

This is counterintuitive for even academic economists, so if you’re into this stuff, don’t miss it. Here’s a key part: The RFF [Resources for the Future] study does not so much come down against the use of border adjustments to mitigate the problem of “leakage,” but rather the authors are pointing out that economists have […]

Murphy Twin Spin

==> In the latest Contra Krugman where we were supposed to discuss income mobility, Tom goes rogue and starts complaining about public–I mean government–schools. I almost told the producer to cut to a commercial break, I was so taken aback. ==> At IER I discuss Oren Cass’ cool article that goes off on the new […]

Richard Tol Trolls Sir Nicholas Stern

The author of the controversial and famous “Stern Review” on climate change (in 2006) has recently come out with a piece in Nature arguing that economists need to change their models of climate change because “the consequences being assessed should include the damages to human well-being and loss of life beyond simply reduced economic output.” […]

Rob Bradley Points Out Awkward Jerry Taylor Quote

In a recent MasterResource post: “Let’s switch out for a better [climate] policy…. Then conservative activists who continue to be in the denialist camp on climate change will find themselves completely isolated.” – Jerry Taylor, quoted in “Libertarian Group Takes on Conservatives on Carbon Tax.” Energy & Environmental News (sub. req.), March 3, 2016. “Alarmists … clearly […]

Checking in on the Climate Models

I summarize the recent Working Paper from Cato climate scientists Pat Michaels and Chip Knappenberger. An excerpt: The reason for constructing the chart in this fashion is that nobody can accuse Michaels and Knappenberger of cherry-picking starting years and (thus) trend durations. This chart contains information pertaining to the trend warming—both in the computer models […]