http://seekerblog.com Seeking reliable, objective sources on economics, foreign-policy and energy-policy issues. Fri, 04 Jul 2008 18:02:41 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I hope so. So far the RRL has been long on hype, short on participation. Here's an encouraging update at Space Prizes: Rocket Racing League primed for blast off - Network World - This is a good time to get people thinking about the RRL, which is planning a big event ... http://seekerblog.com/archives/20080704/rocket-racing-on-the-next-4th-of-july/ McKinsey continues to publish more materials from their energy policy scenario planning. This one is subtitled "Curbing climate change and sustaining economic growth" -- the emphasis is mine. Excerpt: Any successful program of action on climate change must support two objectives—stabilizing atmospheric greenhouse gases (GHGs) and maintaining economic growth. Research by ... http://seekerblog.com/archives/20080703/the-carbon-productivity-challenge-curbing-climate-change-and-sustaining-economic-growth/ I've referred previously to the Nordhaus research published last year [PDF of summary paper]. Neil Reynolds has a useful concise summary of key points in the July 2 Globe and Mail: ...In a brilliant analysis of carbon strategies - The Challenge of Global Warming: Economic Models and Environmental Policy, published last ... http://seekerblog.com/archives/20080702/nordhaus-the-challenge-of-global-warming-economic-models-and-environmental-policy/ If GM was seeking to seize the world’s attention and upstage Toyota, it had succeeded, spectacularly. But now it had to build the car. ...the battery for the Volt doesn’t yet exist, at least not at a mass-market price... "Just in time invention" -- that's GM's challenge with the fast-track Volt ... http://seekerblog.com/archives/20080702/chevy-volt-general-motors-needs-this-car/ The situation for oil is more complex, but the outcome for prices is potentially more favorable. Unlike perishable agricultural products, oil can be stored in the ground. So when will an owner of oil reduce production or increase inventories instead of selling his oil and converting the proceeds into investible cash? ... http://seekerblog.com/archives/20080701/marty-feldstein-on-food-and-oil-prices/ I'm happy to see this announcement by the U.K. industry secretary. Proving out CCS is my top priority -- utility execs need to know how much it costs -- both capital costs and operating costs. And of course we need to know if CCS works at scale - if we ... http://seekerblog.com/archives/20080701/uk-gets-serious-about-carbon-capture-and-sequestration-ccs/ TED has produced a very enjoyable highlights video of the top-ten TED presentations based on visitor downloads. The highlights video is also available in HD 480p. http://seekerblog.com/archives/20080701/ted-talks-top-ten/ Here's another example of innovation - brilliant. Want to know the contents of every US-arriving shipping container? ...The latest: importgenius.com, the brainchild of brothers Ryan and David Petersen, with Michael Kanko. They exploit customs reporting obligations and Freedom of Information requests to organize and publish — in real-time — the contents ... http://seekerblog.com/archives/20080630/import-genius-real-time-trade-data/ Just an excerpt from Tyler Cowen -- recommended and resource rich: 7. The bottom line is that when it comes to the key substantive questions about the oil market - why are prices so high -- the correct answer is the Lachmannian one: "expectations." If you push one step further ... http://seekerblog.com/archives/20080629/informed-commentary-on-oil-prices/ In the wake of the floods that have devastated Midwestern America, a recent CNN headline read "Insurance not required, FEMA told flooded town." Long story short, a number of people blame the government for their failure to insure their homes against floods because the government did not require them ... http://seekerblog.com/archives/20080629/floods-are-of-course-bushs-fault/ The Greenest Show on Earth This week the Wall Street Journal published one of the best stories ever about how inconvenient political correctness and green living can be. Both US parties will try to host "green conventions," with the Democrats going to the extreme. Some examples: Union-labour and American made organic cotton caps, ... http://seekerblog.com/archives/20080629/the-hidden-costs-of-pc/ This is a bit of a heads-up from Greg Mankiw -- describing the Manhattan liberals' dream endstate, where bureaucrats like Cahill control your life: The town I live in (Wellesley, MA) wants to build a new high school, and the State Treasurer Tim Cahill objects to the cost. The state government ... http://seekerblog.com/archives/20080629/the-cost-of-concentrated-power/ Sen. Barack Obama has a bad idea for "extending the life of Social Security." He has proposed applying the Social Security tax to incomes above $250,000, in addition to the current tax on incomes up to $102,000. It's unfair, he explained, for middle-class earners to pay Social Security tax on ... http://seekerblog.com/archives/20080629/obamanomics-time-to-move-to-ireland/ From J.T. Young. Note: These numbers, originally from CBO, include all federal taxes. http://seekerblog.com/archives/20080629/effective-tax-rates/ Former Fed vice chairman Alan S. Blinder examines proposed Fed responses to bubbles. Prof. Blinder distinguishes banking-caused bubbles from other types, such as the tech-stock bubble. Blinder concludes There are two main conclusions: First, when bubbles are not based on bank lending, the mop-up-after strategy still looks pretty good. When it ... http://seekerblog.com/archives/20080628/two-bubbles-two-paths/