Common Resources

Fracking in Focus: A Look at Voluntary Environmental Information Disclosure and Firm Size

The potential environmental risks posed by fracturing fluids—usually some mixture of chemicals and water—make hydraulic fracturing a highly controversial industrial process. These risks have prompted many stakeholders to request chemical disclosure reports on the fluids used by well operators. The oil and gas industry has responded by creating a fracturing chemical registry website—www.FracFocus.org—that allows operators […]

Belt and Suspenders and More: A Look at the Incremental Impact of Energy Efficiency Subsidies

Lawmakers employ a number of policy instruments to promote energy efficiency, including regulatory mandates, information campaigns, and technology subsidies. For energy-consuming durable goods, consumers often purchase products ultimately eligible for a subsidy because of their design under an energy efficiency standard and marketing subject to government-required information disclosure policies. Appliances such as refrigerators, dishwashers, and clothes […]

Industry Fracking Messages Need Improving

Last week, Department of the Interior Secretary Sally Jewell called upon industry to provide better information to the public about the fracking process. She said the public debate is “confused” and “not well-informed,” stating that industry is responsible for making sure “that the public understand what it is, how it’s done, and why it’s safe.” […]

How Energy Efficiency Features are Reflected in Home Prices

In a recent analysis of real estate data from Portland, OR; Austin, TX; and the Research Triangle region of North Carolina, we find, with colleague Todd Gerarden, that local “green” certifications appear to have a larger impact on sales prices for homes than the national Energy Star certification. We also find that Energy Star certification […]

The Economics of Shame: A New RFF Press Book

Here’s a shameless plug for a new RFF Press book about naming and shaming polluters. OK, the title, “Environmental Regulation and Public Disclosure: The Case of PROPER in Indonesia” is admittedly a bit owlish. But I think many will be quite interested in the contents—an in-depth case study of an innovative pollution control program in a […]

RFF Policy Commentary: The National Environmental Policy Act: Enhancing Collaboration and Partnerships

This week, Lynn Scarlett writes on how NEPA review has evolved: The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) was perhaps the most significant and far-reaching of numerous statutes enacted during the 1970s, a period that some have called the “Environmental Revolution” in American politics and legislation. Most importantly, NEPA required the preparation of an […]