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ECO 3620. Environmental Economics

Last Update: 11/07/2005

Instructor: John Whitehead
e-mail: [email protected]

Env-Econ Blog

You are taking an environmental economics course! Surely you have many thoughts about green things that are interesting, strange, or different. The environmental economics blog project involves teams of student bloggers writing about environmental economics and their experiences in this course.

One of the best ways to improve your writing skills is to write. By writing you will have an easy way to remember your env-econ experiences, as well as an excellent way to improve your writing. You can tell your family, your friends at home, and your new friends in ECO 3620 about your blog, so they can read about your experiences, too. In addition, you can read other people�s blogs and learn from them.

You can write about anything you want. You definitely should write about your experiences and thoughts about environmental economics. You could also write about yourself, your favorite music, books you are reading, or anything else that seems interesting to you (but this won't count towards your grade). Remember, this blog is on the internet, and your family, friends, and teachers can read it. Try to make it as interesting as you can. Try to avoid profanity. Definitely avoid anything that is offensive in a university setting (i.e., no links to pornography).

You should write at least 2 paragraph (5 sentences minimum) each time. Of course, if you write more, that is even better. This blog is to help you improve your writing, so the more you write, the better your writing will be. Try to write as clearly as you can, so your audience will understand what you are trying to say. Remember, writing is not like having a conversation. You have to provide your reader with all the details he or she needs to understand you.

Your blog team will have weekly assignments, except when exams and other things are going on.

# Assignment Due
1 Join the blogosphere. Use the free blogging service from Google: Blogger. One team member must take primary responsibility for setting up the blog. Your professor is happy to provide technical help. Your blog and an introductory post (e.g., the purpose of the blog, team members (majors), etc) should be visible on the internet.

Update: all team members should provide a profile (e.g., http://www.blogger.com/profile/12406365)

 9/2
2 Provide an example of the environmental economic problem. Find a news article and comment on how it illustrates some of the things that the environmental economics course is supposed to be all about. 9/9
3 Announce your demand estimation case study. What will the policy change (i.e., quality increase or decrease) be? What other plans do you plan? Some things to think about: (1) the case study must be local, at a spot where you can interview people or pass out questionnaires; it must be fairly busy during early October (e.g., recreation areas work best: Blue Ridge Parkway, local parks, rivers, hiking trails) 9/23
4 Post your draft questionnaire 9/30
5 Comment on the latest happenings in the light, sweet crude oil futures market at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Why has price fallen (risen)? etc. Describe the relevant demand and supply forces. [Hint: read the Wall Street Journal's commodities markets column or CNN/Money]

Alternatively, comment on the retail price of solar energy that is on display at: http://solarbuzz.com/. Click on the graph for the numbers. Why do you think the price fell, why do you think the price is rising? Use economic analysis.

10/7
6 Post your final questionnaire 10/14
7 Investigate the use of nonmarket valuation methods by an environmental institution. Here are some issues to consider:  (1) describe the institution, (2) describe why the agency/think tank thinks it is important to practice valuation (how is it related to their mission?), (3) provide a specific example (i.e., case study) of the use of environmental benefits, (4) describe the specific methods used in the case study, (5) describe the type of benefits estimated in the case study (e.g., use values [health, recreation], nonuse values).

Institutions: Environmental Protection Agency, Resources for the Future, Environmental Defense, NOAA Fisheries, more are forthcoming. Anything else? I'm open to suggestion but run it past me first. First come, first served: post your choice to your blog ASAP.

 10/21
8 Finish assignments 6 and 7 (3, 4, and 5)! 10/28
9 Post your data entry coding guide. 11/4
10 Read the WSJ article (Backlash spreads ...) and provide a one paragraph summary. Answer two of the following three questions:

QUESTIONS:
1.) Evaluate Sen. Bill Frist's statement, "If there are those who abuse the free enterprise system to advantage themselves and their businesses at the expense of all Americans, they ought to be exposed, and they ought to be ashamed." What does Sen. Frist mean by "abuse the free enterprise system"?

2.) The quantity demanded of gasoline today depends only on the price of gasoline today, but also the price of gasoline next week. Do Exxon Mobil and Shell benefit today from consumer expectations that gasoline prices are going to increase? Do they benefit in the distant future from the consumer expectation that gasoline prices are going to increase permanently?

3.) Should the federal government pass regulations to make it more difficult for gasoline retailers to increase their prices? Consider the short-term effects of shortages and the long-term incentives to drive more fuel-efficient cars.

Source: WSJ Micro Weekly Review
 

 11/11

Check out the existing environmental economics blogs: