Resources Radio - Resources for the Future

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What Does NIMBYism Cost Society?, with Stephen Jarvis Oct 29, 2024

Show notes

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Stephen Jarvis, an assistant professor at the London School of Economics, about local opposition—often called “NIMBYism,” or Not In My Backyard—to renewable energy projects in the United Kingdom and the cost this opposition adds to the clean energy transition. Jarvis discusses the permitting process for renewable energy projects in the United Kingdom, how the local impacts of these projects often outweigh broader societal benefits in the permitting process, and potential solutions to better align local and societal interests for a more efficient and equitable clean energy transition. References and recommendations: “The Economic Costs of NIMBYism: Evidence from Renewable Energy Projects” by Stephen Jarvis, https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/732801 “Wilding” by Isabella Tree; https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/isabella-tree/wilding/9781509805105 “The Overstory” by Richard Powers; https://www.richardpowers.net/the-overstory/ “Playground” by Richard Powers; https://www.richardpowers.net/playground/ “Extraction/Abstraction” by Edward Burtynski; https://www.edwardburtynsky.com/bookstore-inventory/extraction-abstraction-2024

Understanding Inequities in Access to Wastewater Systems, with Maura Allaire Oct 20, 2024

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In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Maura Allaire, an assistant professor at Arizona State University, about access to wastewater infrastructure in the United States. Allaire discusses the widespread lack of access to centralized wastewater services; the high failure rates of septic systems, which often serve as substitutes for centralized wastewater systems; and the public health risks that are associated with inadequate wastewater treatment. Allaire also discusses how climate change exacerbates these issues and the importance of regional planning for addressing disparities in access to wastewater infrastructure. References and recommendations: “The Sum of Us” by Heather McGhee; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/564989/the-sum-of-us-by-heather-mcghee/ “Waste: One Woman’s Fight Against America’s Dirty Secret” by Catherine Coleman Flowers; https://thenewpress.com/books/waste

How Consumers Respond to Electricity Prices, with Jesse Buchsbaum Oct 13, 2024

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In this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with Jesse Buchsbaum, a new research fellow at Resources for the Future, about how consumers respond to changes in electricity prices. Buchsbaum discusses the responsiveness of electricity consumers to prices in the short and long term, the role of pricing in driving long-term changes in consumption habits and investments in electric appliances, the importance of pricing for effective policymaking, and differences in the sensitivity of consumers to price changes depending on income. References and recommendations: “Are consumers more responsive to prices in the long run? Evidence from electricity markets” by Jesse Buchsbaum; https://jesse-buchsbaum.com/files/job_market_paper.pdf “How Long ’Til Black Future Month?” by N. K. Jemisin; https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/n-k-jemisin/how-long-til-black-future-month/9780316491341/ “The Fifth Season” by N. K. Jemisin; https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/n-k-jemisin/the-fifth-season/9780316229296/ “Poverty, by America” by Matthew Desmond; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/675683/poverty-by-america-by-matthew-desmond/

Surveying American Public Opinion on Climate Change, with Jon Krosnick Oct 06, 2024

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In this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with Jon Krosnick, a professor at Stanford University and a university fellow at Resources for the Future, about the views held by Americans on climate change and climate policies. Krosnick discusses the latest results from the Climate Insights project, which has gauged American public opinion on climate change since 1997; the preferences of Americans for specific climate policies; the views held by Americans about environmental justice; and public demand for federal climate action. References and recommendations: “Climate Insights 2024” report by Jon Krosnick et al; Surveys of Consumers from the University of Michigan; http://www.sca.isr.umich.edu/ “Is Gen Z less supportive of Israel? We don’t know. Recent polls can’t be trusted” by Ellen Konar, Jon Krosnick, and Joe Wlos; https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/israel-american-support-poll-19484618.php

Local Attitudes Toward Energy Projects, with Holly Caggiano and Sara Constantino Sep 29, 2024

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In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Holly Caggiano, an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia, and Sara Constantino, an assistant professor at Stanford University, about the preferences of local residents and elected officials for large-scale energy projects in Pennsylvania. Caggiano and Constantino discuss factors that influence public support for renewable energy projects and the occasional misalignment between the perceived preferences and actual preferences of constituents from the perspective of their local elected officials. References and recommendations: “Community benefits can build bipartisan support for large-scale energy infrastructure” by Holly Caggiano, Sara M. Constantino, Chris Greig, and Elke U. Weber; https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-024-01585-9 “The People’s Republic of Valerie, Living Room Edition” by Kristen Kosmas; https://53rdstatepress.org/Kosmas-The-People-s-Republic-of-Valerie-Living-Room-Edition “Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor” by Rob Nixon; https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674072343 “Long Problems: Climate Change and the Challenge of Governing Across Time” by Thomas Hale Jr.; https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691238128/long-problems “The Overstory” by Richard Powers; https://www.richardpowers.net/the-overstory/ Climate & Community Institute reports; https://climateandcommunity.org/research/

Will Carbon Capture Make Local Air Pollution Worse?, with Andrew Waxman Sep 23, 2024

Show notes

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Andrew Waxman, an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin, about carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), a technology that involves the capture and storage or reuse of carbon dioxide. Waxman discusses the application of CCUS technology for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and industrial facilities; the importance of the technology for achieving emissions-reduction goals; and the potential effects of the technology on local air pollution, particularly in communities along the US Gulf Coast. References and recommendations: “What are the likely air pollution impacts of carbon capture and storage?” by Andrew Waxman, HR Huber-Rodriquez, and Sheila M. Olmstead; https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4590320 “Special Report on Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage: CCUS in Clean Energy Transitions” from the International Energy Agency; https://www.iea.org/reports/ccus-in-clean-energy-transitions “City Limits: Infrastructure, Inequality, and the Future of America’s Highways” by Megan Kimble; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/711708/city-limits-by-megan-kimble/

Adding Equity to Environmental Models, with Amanda Giang Sep 16, 2024

Show notes

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Amanda Giang, an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia, about considering equity in computational models of systems that are at the interface of people and the environment. Giang discusses the steps involved in adapting the models; weighing the benefits of granular, individualized data against considerations of personal privacy; the limitations of modeling and quantitative analysis; and the challenges of communicating with decisionmakers about the complexity and uncertainty of model results. References and recommendations: “Equity and modeling in sustainability science: Examples and opportunities throughout the process” by Amanda Giang, Morgan R. Edwards, Sarah M. Fletcher, Rivkah Gardner-Frolick, Rowenna Gryba, Jean-Denis Mathias, Camille Venier-Cambron, John M. Anderies, Emily Berglund, Sanya Carley, Jacob Shimkus Erickson, Emily Grubert, Antonia Hadjimichael, Jason Hill, Erin Mayfield, Destenie Nock, Kimberly Kivvaq Pikok, Rebecca K. Saari, Mateo Samudio Lezcano, Afreen Siddiqi, Jennifer B. Skerker, and Christopher W. Tessum; https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2215688121 “Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands” by Kate Beaton; https://drawnandquarterly.com/books/ducks/

Power Flows: Understanding the Barriers to Electricity Transmission, with Catherine Hausman Sep 10, 2024

Show notes

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Catherine Hausman, an associate professor at the University of Michigan, about the costs of not building new electricity transmission lines, particularly in the Midwestern United States. Hausman discusses the benefits of additional electricity transmission for consumer electricity prices, emissions reductions, and electrification of the economy; the companies that may gain or lose revenue if more transmission is built; and how companies that stand to lose revenue from more transmission are preventing the construction of new transmission. References and recommendations: “Power Flows: Transmission Lines, Allocative Efficiency, and Corporate Profits” by Catherine Hausman; https://www.nber.org/papers/w32091 “Transmission Impossible? Prospects for Decarbonizing the US Grid” by Lucas W. Davis, Catherine Hausman, and Nancy L. Rose; https://www.nber.org/papers/w31377 “Dog Man” books; https://pilkey.com/series/dog-man “Golden Hill: A Novel of Old New York” by Francis Spufford; https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Golden-Hill/Francis-Spufford/9781501163883 “Project Hail Mary” by Andy Weir; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/611060/project-hail-mary-by-andy-weir/

Implications of the Supreme Court Overturning the Chevron Decision, with Daniel Farber Aug 31, 2024

Show notes

In this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with Daniel Farber, a professor of law at the University of California, Berkeley, about Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, a Supreme Court case decided earlier this summer that overturned decades of precedent set under a 1984 case that itself led to a legal principle, or doctrine, that people call the Chevron deference. The Chevron deference is a long-standing legal precedent that required courts to defer to the application of laws as interpreted by government agencies if the relevant statute was ambiguous and if the interpretation made by the agency was reasonable. Farber discusses the history of the Chevron deference, the legal arguments that the current Supreme Court justices asserted in the decision that overturned Chevron, and the implications of this decision for future environmental regulation and policymaking. References and recommendations: “Après Chevron, Judges Rule” blog post by Alan Krupnick, Joshua Linn, and Nathan Richardson; https://www.resources.org/common-resources/apres-chevron-judges-rule/ “The Regulatory Review” blog; https://www.theregreview.org/ “Legal Planet” blog; https://legal-planet.org/

A History of America’s Public Lands, with John D. Leshy (Rebroadcast) Aug 26, 2024

Show notes

This week, we’re rebroadcasting an episode from the Resources Radio archive while the team is on a break through the rest of August. We’ll be back in September with new episodes; in the meantime, enjoy this throwback and poke around the archive at Resources.org for more topics you might be interested in. In this week’s episode rerun, host Margaret Walls talks with John D. Leshy, an emeritus professor at the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, about the history of public lands in the United States. Leshy discusses the legislation that enabled the creation and conservation of public lands, common myths about public lands, and how the government may open up public lands for mining or clean energy projects in the future. References and recommendations: “Our Common Ground: A History of America’s Public Lands” by John D. Leshy; https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300235784/our-common-ground/ “The Mining Law: A Study in Perpetual Motion” by John D. Leshy; https://www.routledge.com/The-Mining-Law-A-Study-in-Perpetual-Motion/Leshy/p/book/9781138951877 “End of the Megafauna: The Fate of the World’s Hugest, Fiercest, and Strangest Animals” by Ross D. E. MacPhee; https://wwnorton.com/books/End-of-the-Megafauna/

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