Common Resources

The Natural Gas Boom and Energy Independence

My colleague Joel Darmstader makes good points on politicians’ fixation on “energy independence” and it’s emptiness as a policy goal due to the global interconnectedness of energy markets. Energy economists have been making these points for years but they’re worth reiterating. But even setting aside Joel’s criticisms, no policy is likely to achieve energy independence […]

Energy Independence and the Presidential Campaign: Illusions, Realities

Consistency may have its virtues – but only up to a point. Take the matter of energy independence—a target reflexively embraced, and claimed to be achievable (but, unsurprisingly, never achieved) by American political leaders decade after decade. This year’s presidential election is no exception, with both candidates pledging to hit the bull’s-eye. In his New […]

Falling Emissions and Falling Prices: Expectations for the Domestic Natural Gas Boom

Current expectations for an increased supply of domestic natural gas have sparked debate about how the changing electricity sector will affect electricity consumers and the environment. The latest round of commentary by Michael Levi focuses on gas’s ability to displace coal generation, and as a result, decrease emissions of greenhouse gases. But Levi suggests that […]

RFF Feature: Gasoline Taxes: Implications for Public Transit and Rural Areas

Two new RFF discussion papers highlight the effects of gasoline taxes in metropolitan and rural areas, examining outcomes for public transit and welfare impacts. Click here to read the full paper.

The Economist on Shale Gas

The Economist published a special report on natural gas earlier this month. Johnathan Zasloff is critical of the report’s article on shale gas development in Europe. His first gripe is that the report only spent a single paragraph discussing methane emissions from shale gas operations, and that even in this space the authors came to no […]

Shale Gas, Federalism, and First Principles

Who should regulate shale gas development? Today, almost all regulation is at the state level. In a July 6th New York Times op-ed, Harvard law professor Jody Freeman called for a larger federal role in the form of national minimum standards. In a letter to the NYT, the American Petroleum Institute’s Erik Milito argued the […]

From Resources Magazine: Why Fuel Taxes aren’t Always Regressive

The current issue of Resources magazine focuses on balancing environmental protection with economic growth in developing countries. Obviously, distributional issues are extremely important, especially where the goal of poverty alleviation starts to conflict with environmental policy. It turns out that fuel taxes, a potentially important method of achieving environmental goals, don’t disproprotionately hurth the poor - […]

Fracking and Aquifers: One Study, Dueling Headlines

Recently, a study by Nathaniel Warner and others (most at Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment) addressed the natural flow of briny water deep underground to shallow aquifers far overhead. Some commenters saw this study as evidence that shale gas development can damage drinking water aquifers. Salon.com reported “Confirmed: Fracking can Pollute“. But others saw […]

Mapping Shale Gas Regulation

The big decisions about how to regulate explosive growth in shale gas development (fracking) aren’t being made in Washington, but in state capitals. As has long been true for most onshore oil, gas, and mineral development, states run the regulatory show. There are likely advantages and disadvantages of this. But to try to answer that […]

How Coal is Like Bacon

Imagine you get up extra-early to make a nice homemade lunch for yourself, including a extra-tasty BLT with fresh-cooked bacon. However, while on the bus, you experience an existential crisis for which, you conclude, the only plausible resolution was to become a vegetarian. Come lunchtime, you open your brown bag, only to discover a sandwich […]