Friday, July 20, 2007
Indulgances
In an effort to stave off Global Warming, the Vatican has become "Carbon Neutral" by growing trees in Hungry.
Whooops!
Oh the irony.
[and they don't even address the problem that most trees don't pull much CO2 out of the air, they put most of it back, and ultimately they release all the carbon back into the atmosphere, much of it as methane and other more powerful GHGs. I wonder if they're deciduous trees, which basically convert a good chunk of CO2 into methane every year.
Oh, for those who don't want to do the reading, the paper says due to albedo and water transport/feedback effects, unless they covering very dark soil AND in the tropics, trees cause warming.]
Whooops!
Oh the irony.
[and they don't even address the problem that most trees don't pull much CO2 out of the air, they put most of it back, and ultimately they release all the carbon back into the atmosphere, much of it as methane and other more powerful GHGs. I wonder if they're deciduous trees, which basically convert a good chunk of CO2 into methane every year.
Oh, for those who don't want to do the reading, the paper says due to albedo and water transport/feedback effects, unless they covering very dark soil AND in the tropics, trees cause warming.]
Is Gasoline a Giffen Good?
The Economist asks.
I think I know the answer.
Update: What I describe isn't Giffen behavior, Giffen behavior is substituting a superior good with more of an inferior because the increase in price makes the superior good impractical to buy in sufficient quantity. It's a rational behavior, where what I describe is irrational. The Economist has a good clarification.
There no real superior good similar to gasoline, higher gas might cause people to use more to do more work to have gas for their leizure and personal business, but this is highly unlikely and wouldn't have much impact. It's not the same.
[related: What's the Big Deal About Gas Prices]
I think I know the answer.
Update: What I describe isn't Giffen behavior, Giffen behavior is substituting a superior good with more of an inferior because the increase in price makes the superior good impractical to buy in sufficient quantity. It's a rational behavior, where what I describe is irrational. The Economist has a good clarification.
There no real superior good similar to gasoline, higher gas might cause people to use more to do more work to have gas for their leizure and personal business, but this is highly unlikely and wouldn't have much impact. It's not the same.
[related: What's the Big Deal About Gas Prices]
