missions Class Notes: Selective College Admissions, Early Life Mortality, and More By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 25 Mar 2020 18:36:42 +0000 This week in Class Notes: The Texas Top Ten Percent rule increased equity and economic efficiency. There are big gaps in U.S. early-life mortality rates by family structure. Locally-concentrated income shocks can persistently change the distribution of poverty within a city. Our top chart shows how income inequality changed in the United States between 2007 and 2016. Tammy Kim describes the effect of the… Full Article
missions Class Notes: Elite college admissions, data on SNAP, and more By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 27 Nov 2019 14:48:42 +0000 This week in Class Notes: Harvard encourages applications from many students who have very little chance of being admitted, particularly African Americans Wages for low-skilled men have not been influenced by changes in the occupational composition of workers. Retention rates for the social insurance program SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) are low, even among those who remain eligible.… Full Article
missions Webinar: Great levelers or great stratifiers? College access, admissions, and the American middle class By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Fri, 01 May 2020 13:23:37 +0000 One year after Operation Varsity Blues, and in the midst of one of the greatest crises higher education has ever seen, college admissions and access have never been more important. A college degree has long been seen as a ticket into the middle class, but it is increasingly clear that not all institutions lead to… Full Article
missions Class Notes: Selective College Admissions, Early Life Mortality, and More By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 25 Mar 2020 18:36:42 +0000 This week in Class Notes: The Texas Top Ten Percent rule increased equity and economic efficiency. There are big gaps in U.S. early-life mortality rates by family structure. Locally-concentrated income shocks can persistently change the distribution of poverty within a city. Our top chart shows how income inequality changed in the United States between 2007 and 2016. Tammy Kim describes the effect of the… Full Article
missions Why I like the Volkswagen emissions settlement By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 29 Jun 2016 12:45:00 -0400 When the Volkswagen emissions control scandal broke into the headlines in September, I wrote here how I felt like my lifelong love affair with VW had been violated. As an environmentalist, owning a Jetta that zipped along for 42 miles on a gallon of diesel was the best of both worlds. And it was a lie. My wife, Holly Flood, said she felt like she’d been “duped,” and since then she’s vowed never to buy another VW. I’m not so sure. But I was pleased this week to see the agreed terms for the nearly half million of us who own the smaller diesel engine cars in the U.S. This was the largest car settlement in U.S. history. What I like is the combination of individual and collective compensation for this crime. Making it right with the customers On the individual side, if this deal is approved by the judge in early October, my family will get our 2009 Jetta TDI sedan fixed for free (if the Environmental Protection Agency approves the fix), and we’ll get a check for $5,100. Holly says that’s perfect timing for a down payment on a new car (which will not be a VW). I’m pushing for a plug-in electric hybrid, which we can charge with renewable energy we get off the grid from our local provider, People’s Power & Light. In our case, for every electron we use, they pay to have one electron put in from wind power somewhere right here in New England. Hopefully we’ll have variable pricing of electricity by then, allowing us to charge the car when the juice is cheapest, like when the wind blows at night but few people are using much electricity. The unknown for us is whether the VW fix will noticeably harm the performance of the car. I’m guessing it will, perhaps in its remarkable torque, in its gas mileage, or both. But at this point the car has tons of my wife’s commuting miles on it, so we’re hanging on to it as the in-town backup car. Under the settlement we could get an extra $7k and give up the car entirely. That may be tempting, as it’s at that point where it’s getting substantially more expensive to maintain, and the Kelley Blue Book value is around $6k. They apparently aren’t lowballing us. Making it right with the public The collective part of this agreement is actually more interesting. VW agreed to pay $4.7 billion into environmental programs, which in my estimation will eliminate more harm than they created. One estimate guessed that scores of premature deaths occurred in the U.S. from VW’s “defeat devices” that shut off emissions controls when they were not being tested. Most of the deaths were probably in California, where there were many more sales of diesels than elsewhere in the country. (Of course in Europe the concentration of diesels is much greater and the Guardian put the number of deaths at thousands in the U.K. alone.) One part of this fund will go to replace diesel buses with electric ones. This will measurably improve air quality in inner cities, the precise places where extra sooty VWs were causing ill health and premature deaths with their NOx emissions. Another part will go to install electric vehicle charging stations in California. This helps overcome the “chicken and egg” problem of people not being willing to switch to electric vehicles for fear of running out of juice. The settlement says that “Volkswagen must spend $2 billion to promote non-polluting cars (“zero emissions vehicles” or “ZEV”), over and above any amount Volkswagen previously planned to spend on such technology.” That counterfactual will probably be impossible to prove, but the idea here is fairness. A case of how America deals with environmentally criminal corporations Sociologically, this is a fascinating case, because it reveals how our society resolves scandals that killed people through knowing contamination of the environment. As Deputy U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates harshly put it, "By duping regulators, Volkswagen turned nearly half a million American drivers into unwitting accomplices in an unprecedented assault on our environment." There are individuals inside this company who deserve criminal prosecution, but apparently most of the thousands of other employees did not know what was going on. The corporate response has been interesting, and seems to vary sharply from how most U.S. auto firms have dealt with similar lawsuits and scandals in the past. VW did not drag out the battle, but set aside $16 billion immediately as a loss, and then settled rather generously with us. (This spring they had already given us a $500 gift card and $500 in repairs in what was essentially hush money.) VW’s response to this crisis was creative, forward-looking, and ultimately pro-social. Just a week or so ago they announced that their new business model was to be in electrics: They announced they’d be rolling out 31 electric vehicles in the coming years. This is a remarkable turn for a company that pushed diesels for decades as the solution to climate change. This is what it looks like when a massive corporation whose reputation was built on trust and belief in the integrity of a brand seeks to battle its way back into a changing market. Spending billions on charging stations and replacing diesel buses may make immediate sense—can we say if this is helping avoid premature deaths or it is merely crass self-interest? Does it matter? Of course it does. But my first impression of what VW did this week was of a fair deal that was not just lining my pocket. It was helping us get off fossil fuels as a society and benefiting human health and the environment in a substantial way. And by rebuilding a major employer in Germany, the U.S., and around the world into one that might be a part of the solution to climate change, this is a significant and fairly brilliant business move to position the company for the next half century. Or am I merely a sucker for my old flame? Authors Timmons Roberts Full Article
missions Controlling carbon emissions from U.S. power plants: How a tradable performance standard compares to a carbon tax By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Mon, 03 Aug 2015 04:00:00 +0000 Different pollution control policies, even if they achieve the same emissions goal, could have importantly different effects on the composition of the energy sector and economic outcomes. In this paper, we use the G-Cubed1 model of the global economy to compare two basic policy approaches for controlling carbon emissions from power plants: (1) a tradable… Full Article
missions Finnish passenger ferry retrofits rotary sail to reduce emissions By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Thu, 12 Apr 2018 06:58:52 -0400 The Viking Grace was already low emission. Now it's going further. Full Article Transportation
missions UK carbon emissions down 38% since 1990 By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Tue, 05 Feb 2019 06:42:09 -0500 Even if you factor in offshoring of jobs and industry, emissions are way, way down. Full Article Energy
missions All of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions in one awesome interactive pie chart By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Wed, 08 Jul 2015 15:30:01 -0400 A visual breakdown of emissions by country and industry. Full Article Science
missions Gas station benzene emissions 10 times as bad as previously thought By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Wed, 07 Nov 2018 14:25:40 -0500 Another very good reason to get fossil fuel powered cars out of our cities. Full Article Transportation
missions GM Volt Versus Toyota Prius: Which Design Type Will Be More Effective At Reducing Stack & Tailpipe Emissions, And Energy Consumption? By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Sat, 28 Feb 2009 14:05:34 -0500 This is one of those comparison posts that that could draw many angry comments: like Could Hype Sell An Inferior Hybrid? - Ford Fusion versus Toyota Camry did. Please carefully read the caveats. Full Article Transportation
missions EPA proposes new rules to cut methane emissions By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Tue, 18 Aug 2015 14:55:07 -0400 The proposed rules are expected to cut U.S. methane emission by 20 to 30 percent. Full Article Energy
missions Finland to cut CO2 emissions 80% by 2050, legally binding By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Mon, 09 Jun 2014 09:39:16 -0400 There's finally momentum on the international stage. And this is one of the most ambitious announcements yet. Full Article Business
missions It's time for an upfront carbon emissions tax on building By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Tue, 23 Apr 2019 10:28:29 -0400 These sliver towers are incredibly inefficient and even have fake mechanical spaces to make them even taller. We all pay the price in carbon. Full Article Design
missions Emissions From Hydropower in Brazil Grossly Underestimated By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Tue, 29 May 2012 15:19:00 -0400 Emissions from tropical hydropower dams in Brazil are up to four times higher than often assumed, new research shows. Full Article Energy
missions As emissions spike, VW announces an end to oil-powered cars By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Fri, 07 Dec 2018 06:02:58 -0500 The timeline needs some work. But this is a start... Full Article Transportation
missions Oil company claims "net zero' emissions goal By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Tue, 19 Mar 2019 06:56:46 -0400 And yet it still plans to sell more oil... Full Article Business
missions George Monbiot: "We Need 100% Cut in Carbon Emissions" By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 07:55:58 -0500 George Monbiot, everyone's favourite controversial climate commentator, launched the Be The Change conference with a bang here in London yesterday. He leaped off the starting blocks with the statement that not only is it imperative that we reduce Co2 Full Article Business
missions Supermarket cuts emissions 53%, offsets rest By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Fri, 25 Jan 2019 07:00:00 -0500 This is how to do climate action the right way. Full Article Business
missions Palm Oil Biodiesel, Now With 2000% the Emissions of Fossil Fuels By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:20:00 -0400 Can we just all put palm oil biodiesel produced on deforested peatlands to rest already: A new report from the United Nations Environment Programme shows that biodiesel production under these Full Article Energy
missions What are "locked-in emissions" and why do they matter? By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Tue, 29 Oct 2019 09:48:01 -0400 Also called "carbon lock-in," it's about time. Full Article Design
missions As low-hanging fruit is plucked, UK emissions reductions slow By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Wed, 06 Mar 2019 08:13:34 -0500 What's next after the coal purge? Full Article Business
missions Fiat Chrysler offsetting emissions with credits from Tesla By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Thu, 11 Apr 2019 08:18:03 -0400 This doesn't seem right. Full Article Transportation
missions Energy Star now rates clothes dryers. This could reduce U.S. CO2 emissions by 22bn lbs per year! By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Wed, 28 May 2014 15:17:47 -0400 Drying clothes uses an incredible amount of energy, it's clearly a low-hanging fruit for conservation and energy efficiency efforts. Full Article Energy
missions What's wrong with modern buildings? Everything, including Upfront Carbon Emissions By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Mon, 24 Jun 2019 11:43:26 -0400 Finally, people are beginning to take this issue seriously. Full Article Design
missions Are negative emissions technologies about to go mainstream? By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Mon, 19 Nov 2018 08:26:54 -0500 Technological advancements, combined with an escalating climate crisis, suggest its time to revisit some once fanciful ideas. Full Article Technology
missions 7 high-impact lifestyle changes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Fri, 03 Jan 2020 16:34:47 -0500 If 10 percent of Americans adopted these 7 changes, we could cut total domestic emissions by 8 percent in 6 years. Full Article Science
missions Forget 2030 or targets; we need to reduce our carbon emissions right now By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Thu, 30 Jan 2020 10:57:55 -0500 George Monbiot says you don't set targets in an emergency, you act. Full Article Science
missions 2050 carbon goals are great, but we must cut emissions now By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Tue, 21 Jul 2015 07:13:33 -0400 End goals for CO2 emissions are just one part of the picture. How fast we start moving toward them is just as important. Full Article Business
missions Report: Scotland could reach 'net zero' emissions by 2045 By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Wed, 30 Jan 2019 06:10:17 -0500 The goal could be reached even earlier, if Scots changed what they eat. Full Article Business
missions Ferran Adrià 's elBulli Restaurant Aims for Zero Emissions with Architect Enric Ruiz-Geli's Smartgrid By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Thu, 06 Jan 2011 02:59:26 -0500 Image credit: El País According to El País on sunday, celebraty chef Ferran Adrià is plotting a zero emission premises for his restaurant elBulli on the coast of Catalonia, Spain. The 2010 chef of the decade (nominated by The Restaurant magazine) closed Full Article Energy
missions Can we make steel without CO2 emissions using renewable hydrogen? By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Mon, 18 Nov 2019 12:05:49 -0500 Yes, in theory. Doing it in practice is a whole other story. This is another example of how the hydrogen economy is a fantasy. Full Article Energy
missions World Green Building Council calls for radical reduction in Upfront Carbon Emissions By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Mon, 23 Sep 2019 12:23:07 -0400 People are finally beginning to take this issue seriously. Full Article Design
missions Werner Sobek calls for an emissions-free "Electric City" by 2020 By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Thu, 08 Oct 2015 11:19:19 -0400 The architect/ engineer says we have the tech now to live better electrically. Full Article Design
missions Lighten up: Primary steel production is responsible for up to 9 percent of CO2 emissions By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Wed, 02 Jan 2019 10:23:16 -0500 We have to use less of the stuff in our cars, our buildings, and our infrastructure. Full Article Science
missions Heavy industry and heavy-duty transport could reach zero emissions by mid-century By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Tue, 20 Nov 2018 06:31:25 -0500 Ambitious progress is possible, even in society's hardest to abate sectors. Full Article Business
missions Car industry splits over California emissions rules. What side is your car maker on? By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Tue, 29 Oct 2019 13:40:32 -0400 I was disappointed to see that Subaru, beloved of TreeHugger types, is on the wrong side of this issue. Full Article Transportation
missions Maersk to end carbon emissions from shipping by 2050 By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Wed, 05 Dec 2018 08:11:57 -0500 They don't know how they are going to do it, but it is a bold promise. Full Article Business
missions How our thinking changed in 2019: Upfront Carbon Emissions By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Mon, 30 Dec 2019 08:24:11 -0500 Nobody cared much about this a few years ago. They do now. Full Article Design
missions Microsoft cutting emissions by 75% by 2030 By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Tue, 14 Nov 2017 11:30:46 -0500 The action will prevent 10 million metric tons of carbon emissions. Full Article Technology
missions Wal-Mart To Help 20 State Capitals Save Money And Reduce Carbon Dioxide Emissions By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Tue, 13 May 2008 09:10:44 -0400 Wal-Mart has agreed to help US taxpayers take climate action. Over the next two years, they are sending energy audit teams to 20 State Capitol complexes to help save taxpayers money and help the environment...while the Federal Government equivocates Full Article Business
missions Yale Reduced Emissions 7% While Growing by 5.5% Since 2005 By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:36:00 -0400 They've done more than just change out a few lightbulbs to meet this goal, and in fact this is only the beginning. Their ultimate goal is to reduce Yale University's greenhouse gas emissions to 43% below 2005 levels by the year 2020. Sure, you say, but Full Article Technology
missions Cutting U.S. meat consumption by half would reduce dietary emissions by 35% within decade By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Wed, 06 May 2020 07:00:00 -0400 The gains are even bigger when beef is targeted specifically. Full Article Living
missions If cities are going to curb their carbon emissions, they have to consider consumption By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Wed, 18 Dec 2019 16:52:41 -0500 It's not just about how we build and how we get around; it's also what we eat and wear and buy. Full Article Design
missions LafargeHolcim is selling CO2-sucking cement for precast, reduces emissions by 70 percent By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Thu, 15 Aug 2019 15:08:31 -0400 Solidia Technologies' chemistry could make concrete almost benign. Full Article Design
missions Does a bike rider's fuel cause as much CO2 emissions as a car rider's? By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Wed, 05 Feb 2020 15:31:32 -0500 Not by a long shot, but the answer is still interesting. Full Article Transportation
missions Why electric cars won't save us: It takes years to pay off the upfront carbon emissions By www.treehugger.com Published On :: Wed, 19 Feb 2020 09:31:43 -0500 This is not an attack on electric cars; it's a rage against all cars. Full Article Transportation
missions Tax-News.com: EU, Switzerland To Link Emissions Trading Systems By www.tax-news.com Published On :: Thu, 17 Aug 2017 00:00:00 GMT The European Commission and the Swiss Federal Council have each approved proposals to link their emissions trading systems, meaning formal signature of a new agreement could take place by the end of the year. Full Article
missions Tax-News.com: EU MEPs Back New Direction For Taxing Aviation's Emissions By www.tax-news.com Published On :: Fri, 20 Oct 2017 00:00:00 GMT Members of the European Parliament have preliminarily agreed to continue with the aviation industry's current treatment under the EU's emissions trading scheme to allow for the development of a new industry-specific carbon tax arrangement. Full Article
missions Tax-News.com: EU Approves Linking With Swiss Emissions Trading Scheme By www.tax-news.com Published On :: Tue, 14 Nov 2017 00:00:00 GMT The European Council on November 10 authorized the signing of an agreement with Switzerland to link their emissions trading systems. Full Article
