Green-eyed monster
Brian Mayer, Katrina Running & Kelly Bergstrand
Sociological Forum, June 2015, Pages 369–390
Abstract:
After disasters, victim compensation programs are typically associated with individual healing and community rebuilding. But postdisaster compensation systems also have the potential to introduce confusion and competition, further fraying the social fabric of communities affected by trauma. To assess the perceived effects of disaster compensation processes on community social relations, as well as the mechanisms that underlie such effects, we turn to the case of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, after which BP implemented one of the largest compensation systems in U.S. history. Using data from interviews of residents of four Gulf Coast communities, we examine the extent to which this claims process hindered efforts to recover from this disaster. Our data suggest that while BP money helped some residents in the Gulf during a difficult economic time, many interviewees perceived uncertainty, randomness, and unevenness in the compensation process, which led to negative social comparisons and competition among community members. Because of this animosity, we argue that BP's compensation system was a disruptive mechanism that contributed to community corrosion and introduced another source of psychological stress into already-traumatized areas.
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Meredith Fowlie, Michael Greenstone & Catherine Wolfram
American Economic Review, May 2015, Pages 201-204
Abstract:
We document very low take-up of an energy efficiency program that is widely believed to be privately beneficial. Program participants receive a substantial home "weatherization" retrofit; all installation and equipment costs are covered by the program. Less than 1 percent of presumptively eligible households take up the program in the control group. This rate increased only modestly after we took extraordinary efforts to inform households — via multiple channels — about the sizable benefits and zero monetary costs. These findings are consistent with high non-monetary costs associated with program participation and/or energy efficiency investments.
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Do Energy Efficiency Investments Deliver? Evidence from the Weatherization Assistance Program
Meredith Fowlie, Michael Greenstone & Catherine Wolfram
University of Chicago Working Paper, June 2015
Abstract:
Conventional wisdom suggests that energy efficiency (EE) policies are beneficial because they induce investments that pay for themselves and lead to emissions reductions. However, this belief is primarily based on projections from engineering models. This paper reports on the results of an experimental evaluation of the nation’s largest residential EE program conducted on a sample of more than 30,000 households. The findings suggest that the upfront investment costs are about twice the actual energy savings. Further, the model-projected savings are roughly 2.5 times the actual savings. While this might be attributed to the “rebound” effect – when demand for energy end uses increases as a result of greater efficiency – the paper fails to find evidence of significantly higher indoor temperatures at weatherized homes. Even when accounting for the broader societal benefits of energy efficiency investments, the costs still substantially outweigh the benefits; the average rate of return is approximately -9.5% annually.
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Environmental Benefits from Driving Electric Vehicles?
Stephen Holland et al.
NBER Working Paper, June 2015
Abstract:
Electric vehicles offer the promise of reduced environmental externalities relative to their gasoline counterparts. We combine a theoretical discrete-choice model of new vehicle purchases, an econometric analysis of the marginal emissions from electricity, and the AP2 air pollution model to estimate the environmental benefit of electric vehicles. First, we find considerable variation in the environmental benefit, implying a range of second-best electric vehicle purchase subsidies from $3025 in California to -$4773 in North Dakota, with a mean of -$742. Second, over ninety percent of local environmental externalities from driving an electric vehicle in one state are exported to others, implying that electric vehicles may be subsidized locally, even though they may lead to negative environmental benefits overall. Third, geographically differentiated subsidies can reduce deadweight loss, but only modestly. Fourth, the current federal purchase subsidy of $7500 has greater deadweight loss than a no-subsidy policy.
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Green spaces and cognitive development in primary schoolchildren
Payam Dadvand et al.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 30 June 2015, Pages 7937–7942
Abstract:
Exposure to green space has been associated with better physical and mental health. Although this exposure could also influence cognitive development in children, available epidemiological evidence on such an impact is scarce. This study aimed to assess the association between exposure to green space and measures of cognitive development in primary schoolchildren. This study was based on 2,593 schoolchildren in the second to fourth grades (7–10 y) of 36 primary schools in Barcelona, Spain (2012–2013). Cognitive development was assessed as 12-mo change in developmental trajectory of working memory, superior working memory, and inattentiveness by using four repeated (every 3 mo) computerized cognitive tests for each outcome. We assessed exposure to green space by characterizing outdoor surrounding greenness at home and school and during commuting by using high-resolution (5 m × 5 m) satellite data on greenness (normalized difference vegetation index). Multilevel modeling was used to estimate the associations between green spaces and cognitive development. We observed an enhanced 12-mo progress in working memory and superior working memory and a greater 12-mo reduction in inattentiveness associated with greenness within and surrounding school boundaries and with total surrounding greenness index (including greenness surrounding home, commuting route, and school). Adding a traffic-related air pollutant (elemental carbon) to models explained 20–65% of our estimated associations between school greenness and 12-mo cognitive development. Our study showed a beneficial association between exposure to green space and cognitive development among schoolchildren that was partly mediated by reduction in exposure to air pollution.
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Katherine Kortenkamp & Bianca Basten
Science Communication, June 2015, Pages 287-313
Abstract:
Media reports of environmental science often give equal weight to opposing viewpoints, which can make the science seem more controversial than it actually is. The current study extended the research in this area by examining whether discrediting one expert viewpoint would minimize false perceptions of controversy. Participants (N = 247) read articles about environmental risks containing one viewpoint, two balanced viewpoints, or two viewpoints with one discredited. Results showed that a discredited opposing viewpoint often influenced risk and uncertainty perceptions in similar ways to a balanced opposing viewpoint, implying that this tactic may not necessarily minimize false perceptions of controversy.
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Y.H. Chiu et al.
Human Reproduction, June 2015, Pages 1342-1351
Study question: Is consumption of fruits and vegetables with high levels of pesticide residues associated with lower semen quality?
Study design, size, duration: Men enrolled in the Environment and Reproductive Health (EARTH) Study, an ongoing prospective cohort at an academic medical fertility center. Male partners (n = 155) in subfertile couples provided 338 semen samples during 2007–2012.
Participants/materials, setting, methods: Semen samples were collected over an 18-month period following diet assessment. Sperm concentration and motility were evaluated by computer-aided semen analysis (CASA). Fruits and vegetables were categorized as containing high or low-to-moderate pesticide residues based on data from the annual United States Department of Agriculture Pesticide Data Program. Linear mixed models were used to analyze the association of fruit and vegetable intake with sperm parameters accounting for within-person correlations across repeat samples while adjusting for potential confounders.
Main results and the role of chance: Total fruit and vegetable intake was unrelated to semen quality parameters. High pesticide residue fruit and vegetable intake, however, was associated with poorer semen quality. On average, men in highest quartile of high pesticide residue fruit and vegetable intake (≥1.5 servings/day) had 49% (95% confidence interval (CI): 31%, 63%) lower total sperm count and 32% (95% CI: 7%, 58%) lower percentage of morphologically normal sperm than men in the lowest quartile of intake (<0.5 servings/day) (P, trend = 0.003 and 0.02, respectively). Low-to-moderate pesticide residue fruit and vegetable intake was associated with a higher percentage of morphologically normal sperm (P, trend = 0.04).
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Fine particulate matter and the risk of autism spectrum disorder
Evelyn Talbott et al.
Environmental Research, July 2015, Pages 414–420
Abstract:
The causes of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are not well known. Recent investigations have suggested that air pollution, including PM2.5, may play a role in the onset of this condition. The objective of the present work was to investigate the association between prenatal and early childhood exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and risk for childhood ASD. A population-based case-control study was conducted in children born between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2009 in six counties in Southwestern Pennsylvania. ASD cases were recruited from specialty autism clinics, local pediatric practices, and school-based special needs services. ASD cases were children who scored 15 or above on the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) and had written documentation of an ASD diagnosis. Controls were children without ASD recruited from a random sample of births from the Pennsylvania state birth registry and frequency matched to cases on birth year, gender, and race. A total of 217 cases and 226 controls were interviewed. A land use regression (LUR) model was used to create person- and time-specific PM2.5 estimates for individual (pre-pregnancy, trimesters one through three, pregnancy, years one and two of life) and cumulative (starting from pre-pregnancy) key developmental time periods. Logistic regression was used to investigate the association between estimated exposure to PM2.5 during key developmental time periods and risk of ASD, adjusting for mother's age, education, race, and smoking. Adjusted odds ratios (AOR) were elevated for specific pregnancy and postnatal intervals (pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, and year one), and postnatal year two was significant, (AOR=1.45, 95% CI=1.01–2.08). We also examined the effect of cumulative pregnancy periods; noting that starting with pre-pregnancy through pregnancy, the adjusted odds ratios are in the 1.46–1.51 range and significant for pre-pregnancy through year 2 (OR=1.51, 95% CI=1.01–2.26). Our data indicate that both prenatal and postnatal exposures to PM2.5 are associated with increased risk of ASD. Future research should include multiple pollutant models and the elucidation of the biological mechanism for PM2.5 and ASD.
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Liuhua Shi et al.
Environmental Health Perspectives, forthcoming
Background: Both short- and long-term exposures to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) are associated with mortality. However, whether the associations exist below the new EPA standards (12 μg/m3 of annual average PM2.5, 35 μg/m3 daily) is unclear. In addition, it is not clear whether results of previous time series studies (fit in larger cities) and cohort studies (fit in convenience samples) are generalizable to the general population.
Methods: High resolution (1 × 1 km) daily PM2.5 predictions, derived from satellite aerosol optical depth retrievals, were employed. Poisson regressions were applied to the Medicare population (age>=65) in New England to simultaneously estimate the acute and chronic effects, with mutual adjustment for short- and long-term exposure, as well as area-based confounders. Models were also restricted to annual concentrations below 10 µg/m3 or daily concentrations below 30 µg/m3.
Results: PM2.5 was associated with increased mortality. In the cohort, 2.14% (95% CI: 1.38, 2.89%) and 7.52% (95% CI: 1.95, 13.40%) increases were estimated for each 10 µg/m3 increase in short- (2 day) and long-term (1 year) exposures, respectively. The associations still held for analyses restricted to low-concentration PM2.5 exposures. The corresponding estimates were 2.14% (95% CI: 1.34, 2.95%) and 9.28% (95% CI: 0.76, 18.52%). Penalized spline models of long-term exposure indicated a higher slope for mortality in association with exposures above versus below 6 µg/m3. In contrast, the association between short-term exposure and mortality appeared to be linear across the entire exposure distribution.
Conclusions: Using a mutually adjusted model, we estimated significant acute and chronic effects of PM2.5 exposures below current EPA standards. These findings suggest that improving air quality below current standards may benefit public health.
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Impact of Natural Gas Extraction on PAH Levels in Ambient Air
Blair Paulik et al.
Environmental Science & Technology, 21 April 2015, Pages 5203–5210
Abstract:
Natural gas extraction, often referred to as “fracking,” has increased rapidly in the U.S. in recent years. To address potential health impacts, passive air samplers were deployed in a rural community heavily affected by the natural gas boom. Samplers were analyzed for 62 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Results were grouped based on distance from each sampler to the nearest active well. PAH levels were highest when samplers were closest to active wells. Additionally, PAH levels closest to natural gas activity were an order of magnitude higher than levels previously reported in rural areas. Sourcing ratios indicate that PAHs were predominantly petrogenic, suggesting that elevated PAH levels were influenced by direct releases from the earth. Quantitative human health risk assessment estimated the excess lifetime cancer risks associated with exposure to the measured PAHs. Closest to active wells, the risk estimated for maximum residential exposure was 2.9 in 10 000, which is above the U.S. EPA’s acceptable risk level. Overall, risk estimates decreased 30% when comparing results from samplers closest to active wells to those farthest. This work suggests that natural gas extraction may be contributing significantly to PAHs in air, at levels that are relevant to human health.
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High-rate injection is associated with the increase in U.S. mid-continent seismicity
Matthew Weingarten et al.
Science, 19 June 2015, Pages 1336-1340
Abstract:
An unprecedented increase in earthquakes in the U.S. mid-continent began in 2009. Many of these earthquakes have been documented as induced by wastewater injection. We examine the relationship between wastewater injection and U.S. mid-continent seismicity using a newly assembled injection well database for the central and eastern United States. We find that the entire increase in earthquake rate is associated with fluid injection wells. High-rate injection wells (>300,000 barrels per month) are much more likely to be associated with earthquakes than lower-rate wells. At the scale of our study, a well’s cumulative injected volume, monthly wellhead pressure, depth, and proximity to crystalline basement do not strongly correlate with earthquake association. Managing injection rates may be a useful tool to minimize the likelihood of induced earthquakes.
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John Zelenski, Raelyne Dopko & Colin Capaldi
Journal of Environmental Psychology, June 2015, Pages 24–31
Abstract:
Theory and correlational research suggest that connecting with nature may facilitate prosocial and environmentally sustainable behaviors. In three studies we test causal direction with experimental manipulations of nature exposure and laboratory analogs of cooperative and sustainable behavior. Participants who watched a nature video harvested more cooperatively and sustainably in a fishing-themed commons dilemma, compared to participants who watched an architectural video (Study 1 and 2) or geometric shapes with an audio podcast about writing (Study 2). The effects were not due to mood, and this was corroborated in Study 3 where pleasantness and nature content were manipulated independently in a 2 × 2 design. Participants exposed to nature videos responded more cooperatively on a measure of social value orientation and indicated greater willingness to engage in environmentally sustainable behaviors. Collectively, results suggest that exposure to nature may increase cooperation, and, when considering environmental problems as social dilemmas, sustainable intentions and behavior.
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Irena Milstein & Asher Tishler
Resource and Energy Economics, August 2015, Pages 70–90
Abstract:
This paper develops a two-stage model with endogenous capacity and operations to assess the practicality of photovoltaic technology (PV) in competitive electricity markets. Applying our model to stylized data of California's electricity market we demonstrate that electricity price spikes are higher and more frequent the higher the PV capacity. Consequently, the average electricity price rises when construction costs of PV capacity decline due, for example, to technology improvements, bestowing market power and excessive profits on producers employing fossil-using technologies. We also show that an increase in the number of PV-using firms and higher CO2 tax reduce consumer surplus.
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Vehicle Miles (Not) Traveled: Why Fuel Economy Requirements Don't Increase Household Driving
Jeremy West et al.
NBER Working Paper, May 2015
Abstract:
A major concern with addressing the negative externalities of gasoline consumption by regulating fuel economy, rather than increasing fuel taxes, is that households respond by driving more. This paper exploits a discrete threshold in the eligibility for Cash for Clunkers to show that fuel economy restrictions lead households to purchase vehicles that have lower cost-per-mile, but are also smaller and lower-performance. Whereas the former effect can increase driving, the latter effect can reduce it. Results indicate these households do not drive more, suggesting that behavioral responses do not necessarily undermine the effectiveness of fuel economy restrictions at reducing gasoline consumption.
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Mekbib Haile, Matthias Kalkuhl & Joachim von Braun
American Journal of Agricultural Economics, forthcoming
Abstract:
This article estimates a worldwide aggregate supply response for key agricultural commodities — wheat, rice, corn, and soybeans — by employing a newly-developed multi-country, crop-calendar-specific, seasonally disaggregated model with price changes and price volatility applied accordingly. The findings reveal that, although higher output prices serve as an incentive to improve global crop supply as expected, output price volatility acts as a disincentive. Depending on the crop, the results show that own-price supply elasticities range from about 0.05 to 0.40. Output price volatility, however, has negative correlations with crop supply, implying that farmers shift land, other inputs, and yield-improving investments to crops with less volatile prices. Simulating the impact of price dynamics since 2006, we find that price risk has reduced the production response of wheat in particular — and to a lesser extent, rice — thus dampening price incentive effects. The simulation analysis shows that the increase in own-crop price volatility from 2006–2010 dampened yield by about 1–2% for the crops under consideration.