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Climate Change and the Non-Sensical Precautionary Principle

TOTM In his New York Times column, Thomas Friedman advocates “doing the Cheney-thing on climate — preparing for 1%.” He’s referring to Vice-President Cheney’s reported remark: . . .

In his New York Times column, Thomas Friedman advocates “doing the Cheney-thing on climate — preparing for 1%.” He’s referring to Vice-President Cheney’s reported remark: “If there’s a 1% chance that Pakistani scientists are helping Al Qaeda build or develop a nuclear weapon, we have to treat it as a certainty in terms of our response.”

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Innovation & the New Economy

Informational Cascades, Reputational Cascades, Group Polarization, and the Climate Emails

TOTM It’s been interesting to observe the responses to the hacked emails from the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia. The emails seem . . .

It’s been interesting to observe the responses to the hacked emails from the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia. The emails seem to show leading global warming scientists massaging data to generate the result they prefer (i.e., “I’ve just completed Mike’s Nature trick of adding in the real temps to each series for the last 20 years … to hide the decline”), scheming to squelch opposing evidence (i.e., “I can’t see either of these papers being in the next I.P.C.C. report. Kevin and I will keep them out somehow—even if we have to redefine what the peer-review literature is!”), admitting to a need to hide certain data from critics (“If they ever hear there is a Freedom of Information Act now in the UK, I think I’ll delete the file rather than send to anyone”), and even confessing that they were “tempted to beat” up researchers with opposing viewpoints.

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Innovation & the New Economy

EPA’s Legislative End-run Strategy

TOTM Apparently the Obama administration is not very confident about getting its environmental climate change agenda passed through Congress. Given a legislative “solution” is off the . . .

Apparently the Obama administration is not very confident about getting its environmental climate change agenda passed through Congress. Given a legislative “solution” is off the table, at least for the foreseeable future, perhaps it is not surprising that today the EPA announced it’s ruling that greenhouse gases are “a danger to public health and welfare“.

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Innovation & the New Economy

Command and Control in California. Shocking.

TOTM In a move stupider even than Chicago’s foie gras and trans fat bans (on which see Thom here), California appears to be set to ban . . .

In a move stupider even than Chicago’s foie gras and trans fat bans (on which see Thom here), California appears to be set to ban . . . wait for it . . . big TVs.  Environmentalists, those growing enemies of freedom and common sense everywhere, are pushing the ban because large-screen TVs use a lot of power.  And by large screen we’re talking 40 inches–not just the giant honkers bigger than most Multiplex screens.  And former-libertarian-leaning Arnold is on board.

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Innovation & the New Economy

Brad DeLong’s head must have already exploded before he wrote this

TOTM I have no intention of wading into the debate over the climate change chapter in Superfreakonomics.  I’m sure you all know the controversy:  Levitt and . . .

I have no intention of wading into the debate over the climate change chapter in Superfreakonomics.  I’m sure you all know the controversy:  Levitt and Dubner had the temerity to suggest that global warming was a huge problem, that we should look hard for really expensive solutions, and we need to do something.  And the outcry was from . . . the global warming alarmists. Curious.

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Innovation & the New Economy

Electric Intelligence

Popular Media How much thought have you given to your electricity consumption? If it hasn’t gone beyond “I flip the switch and the light comes on,” you’re . . .

How much thought have you given to your electricity consumption? If it hasn’t gone beyond “I flip the switch and the light comes on,” you’re not alone, which is one of many reasons electricity usage in the United States is inefficient. But that’s beginning to change.

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Telecommunications & Regulated Utilities

Price Gouging: The Latest Victims

Popular Media Please join me in support for poor, beleaguered gas station owners, the victims of unconscionable price gouging by ruthless consumers who are taking advantage of . . .

Please join me in support for poor, beleaguered gas station owners, the victims of unconscionable price gouging by ruthless consumers who are taking advantage of market conditions to reduce their demand for gasoline, driving down the price by nearly $2 per gallon over the last four months.

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Telecommunications & Regulated Utilities

The Future of Law and Economics Part 4: Potential Solutions

TOTM In a series of posts (Part I, Part II and Part III), I’ve sketched out how the trend toward increasing detachment in L&E scholarship might . . .

In a series of posts (Part I, Part II and Part III), I’ve sketched out how the trend toward increasing detachment in L&E scholarship might reduce the influence of the L&E movement at the retail level and become its ultimate undoing. I must say, writing this series has been a lot of fun but has also been a bit depressing as somebody with more than a theoretical stake in the future of L&E in law schools, and more importantly, somebody who views the “retail” success of L&E as critical to its growth.

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Innovation & the New Economy

Score One for Obama

TOTM I’ve been waiting for my old con law prof to take a political stand I could really get behind, and he finally has. Barack Obama . . .

I’ve been waiting for my old con law prof to take a political stand I could really get behind, and he finally has. Barack Obama is the only one of the presidential candidates to take a firm stand against this shamefully populist gas tax holiday. Good for you, Prof!

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