Estimates from a consumer demand system: implications for the incidence of environmental taxes

Most studies suggest that environmental taxes are regressive, making them less attractive policy options. We consider the distributional effects of a gasoline tax increase using four incidence measures and under three scenarios for gas tax revenue use. To incorporate behavioral responses we use Consumer Expenditure Survey data to estimate a consumer demand system that includes gasoline, other goods, and leisure. Our estimates confirm that when revenues are not recycled, a gasoline tax is regressive. Use of incidence measures that ignore demand responses, however, will substantially overstate this regressivity. In contrast, the differences between the equivalent variation and easier-to-implement consumer surplus measures are relatively small. In addition, our results suggest that using the additional gas tax revenue to fund labor tax cuts makes the policy substantially less regressive while using the revenue to fund lump-sum transfers actually makes it progressive.     

Larval development rate predicts range expansion of an introduced crab

Introduced populations can cause ecological and economic damage and are difficult to eradicate once they have established. It is therefore important to be able to predict both where species may become established and their capacity to spread within recipient regions. Here, we use a new method to assess potential for intraregional spread of a marine crab introduced to North America, Carcinus maenas. We determined survivorship and development rates throughout a range of temperatures in the laboratory for C. maenas larvae from non-native populations on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North America. The larvae exhibited narrower physiological tolerances than adults, and no lab-cultured larvae completed larval development below 10.0°C or above 22.5°C. Survivorship peaked at intermediate water temperatures of 12.5–20.0°C, and development time decreased with increasing temperatures within this range. Based upon these laboratory development rates, we used nearshore sea-surface temperature data from both coasts of North America to predict development times required for larvae at different months and sites. Taken together, survivorship and development data indicate that C. maenas has the capacity to continue its northward spread and establish populations at numerous additional sites in North America. Moreover, decadal temperature data at two Alaskan sites predicted little variability in development duration across years, suggesting that development duration predictions are robust to interannual water temperature differences.     

Greening the Congressional record: environmental social movements and expertise-based access to the policy process

ABSTRACT

A new dataset of organizational testimony at U.S. Congressional hearings on environmental protection is used to examine how social movement organizations use issue expertise to gain access to the policy process. Environmental movement organizations (EMOs) are shown to testify in greater numbers at hearings that consider proposed legislation, compared to hearings that are exploratory or investigatory in nature. The increased representation at legislative hearings is unique to EMOs; other kinds of organizations do not obtain similar increases in legislative access. These findings suggest that, due to their scientific expertise and perceived legitimacy, EMOs receive privileged access to the policy process relative to other organizations affected by environmental policy and at a later stage than has been proposed by prior work examining social movement access to the policy process.     

Lake sediments record sensitivity of two hydrologically closed upland lakes in Mexico to human impact

We provide evidence of rapid, recent environmental change in two lakes in the highlands of central Mexico. Multiple sediment cores were obtained from Lago de Zirahuén (Michoacán) and Laguna de Juanacatlán (Jalisco). Analysis of diatom assemblages, magnetic susceptibility, and metal concentrations was carried out, with the chronology provided by 210Pb dating, 14C dating, and tephrochronology. There is evidence of catchment disturbance during the colonial period in both basins, but the most striking feature at both sites is the rapid change in diatom assemblages during the last 20 y, indicating the onset of eutrophication. Limnological data from Lago de Zirahuén support this interpretation, although none are available from Laguna de Juanacatlán. Paleolimnology is a powerful tool in tracking recent change, particularly in the absence of regular limnological monitoring programs. These lakes appear to be highly sensitive to changes in catchment exploitation, which must be considered in future drainage basin management.     

Environmental auditing at the crossroads: The environmental auditing roundtable's response to ISO 14000

The Environmental Auditing Roundtable (EAR) is the single largest professional organization in the world, representing over 900 members. Built on a tradition of promoting environmental auditing through openly sharing experiences in the field of safety, health, and environmental auditing, the organization in recent years has significantly expanded its influence on auditing practices both nationally and internationally by monitoring audit activities and participating in the development of audit policy, regulation, standardization, and the certification of environmental auditors. This article describes the origin and evolution of the organization from meeting the needs of the membership to addressing the needs of external national and international stakeholders.     

Comments on selecting a geographic information system for environmental management

Many organizations in environmental fields stand to benefit from the use of a geographic information system (GIS). Selecting a GIS to implement within an organization can be a difficult task that is often required of people with little experience using a GIS. A framework for evaluating competing GIS considers cost, functionality, ease of use, future stability, development potential, support availability, and maintenance costs. Initial cost involves more than the actual purchase price of hardware and software; it includes the cost of building the data base and training users within the organization. Functionality refers to the depth and breadth of capabilities of a GIS. Issues involved in evaluating functionality include the appropriateness of raster vs vector processing and the ability to add your own software. Ease of use is important, but there is generally a trade-off with functionality. The degree of centralization of use of the GIS within the organization affects requirements for ease of use. GIS are rapidly evolving, and as a result it is important to select a system with high potential for future development. With the proliferation of companies offering GIS it is important to select one that is likely to survive and prosper. Similarly, the ability to find support in the forms of technical help, advice, and possibly even skilled employees can be significant.     

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NILE HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL FORECAST SYSTEM1

ABSTRACT: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is developing a river forecast system for the Nile River in Egypt. The river forecast system operates on scientific work stations using hydrometeorological models and software to predict inflows into the high Aswan Dam and forecast flow hydrographs at selected gaging locations above the dam The Nile Forecasting System (NFS) utilizes satellite imagery from the METEOSAT satellite as the input to the forecast system. Satellite imagery is used to estimate precipitation over the Blue Nile Basin using five different techniques. Observed precipitation data and climatic statistics are used to improve precipitation estimation. Precipitation data for grid locations are input to a distributed water balance model, a hill slope routing model, and a channel routing model. A customized Geographic Information System (GIS) was developed to show political boundaries, rivers, terrain elevation, and gaging network. The GIS was used to develop hydrologic parameters for the basin and is used for multiple display features.