Andy Brett’s Posts

• Modesty

  Gristniks hit the pages of the Globe 1

  Posted 4 years, 2 months agoIt looks like modesty has prevailed in the Grist offices again, as there hasn't been a peep about the op-ed in today's Boston Globe, entitled "A fit of (oil) peak," co-authored by Dave Roberts and Chip Giller.

  It's also the first hit on Google News for "peak oil."

• Recreation vs. preservation

  New National Park Service guidelines proposed 1

  Posted 4 years, 2 months agoDueling stories in the NY Times and LA Times today on a document that would loosen restrictions on what qualifies as recreation and is allowed in national parks. The changes, which would allow snowmobiles, cell phone towers, and low-flying tour planes, are the "brainchild" of Paul Hoffman, a "high-ranking appointee at the Interior Department" according to the Times.

  The change that's getting the most attention is the insertion of "irreversibly" into the language describing what makes a use illegal, to the effect that a use that harms the park's resources but does not do so "irreversibly" would be… Read More

• Access is free

  Oiloholics 5

  Posted 4 years, 2 months agoThe Economist has on its cover this week a not-so-flattering caricature of Uncle Sam and a dragon, both sipping down oil like there's no tomorrow. The article is "The Oiloholics."

  Why do I mention this now? Usually you have to subscribe to the magazine to read this article. But today you can promise to watch an ad and do something else for 30 seconds watch an ad and get access for free.

• I'll take "things that get libertarians really mad" for $400, Alex

  What are 'price caps' 2

  Posted 4 years, 2 months agoHawaii has responded to soaring gas prices by capping wholesale prices at $2.74/gallon including taxes, starting September 1st. This would put the retail cap at about $2.86, slightly higher than the state-wide average but significantly lower than prices in Maui, which are over $3/gallon.

• Can you hear me now?

  Africa goes cellular 9

  Posted 4 years, 2 months agoOne in eleven Africans is now ... a mobile phone subscriber.

  Africa has an average of just one land line for every 33 people, but cellphones are enabling millions of people to skip a technological generation and bound straight from letter-writing to instant messaging.

  Sound familiar?

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Andy Brett’s Recent Comments

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  Can we unpack #3 a bit more?

  How are we defining the "cost" of a carbon policy? The difference between GDP with the policy and GDP without (which I'm guessing is a bit tricky to nail down)? The reduction in carbon emissions may be easier to see, but I don't

  I also agree with Penfold that it makes more sense to look at all sectors as a whole instead of isolating one particular sector.
  On You can't achieve the three goals of climate policy at once posted 1 year, 6 months ago 17 Responses

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  Kent G.

  Kent G. if you read this your email address is bouncing...On Oiloholics posted 4 years, 2 months ago 5 Responses

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  Yep

  Hi Steffen,
  It's ususally a one-day thing, so it has probably expired already. If you'd like I can email you the article.On Oiloholics posted 4 years, 2 months ago 5 Responses

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  Excellent

  Bio-d, I really enjoyed reading this. The pictures are also wonderful. It's great that you are entertaining your daughter's farming aspirations, even though they have proved expensive. It really does sound like she is learning a lot, as you said.On Dreams of growing your own food don't look so hot in reality posted 4 years, 2 months ago 2 Responses

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  Great stuff

  Great post Dave.

  I would throw this analogy out there. In the hypothetical, completely ideal world of globalization where people and nations do only what they do best (hold a comparative advantage for), everything gets divided up and specialized.

  But in the real world, people and nations like to do some things themselves. On the national level, defense is one example. Producing a pretty fair amount of food and energy domestically is another. On the personal level, there are tasks and jobs that people just prefer to do, or at least be able to do, themselves, even if they aren't that great at them. For example, most people like to have a certain degree of culinary expertise, usually extending beyond ramen, if only slightly.

  I extend this analogy to the "thinkin'" world. There is absolutely no way for everyone to do all their thinking for themselves. They must learn which sources to trust, as you say. But there's a certain level to which you have to be able to do your own thinking, a level which is different for everybody.

  For a timely example: I am no legal expert, and probably would have never even seen the NARAL ad opposing SCOTUS nominee John Roberts had it not been for the online firestorm that resulted. Annenberg Political FactCheck is an organization that I have come to trust because of its work on other issues, so when they say something like "the ad is false," that tends to convince me. It also means that on this issue, I did not dig through the legal briefs myself in order to be convinced that the NARAL ad was misleading.

  This is also (warning: cliche ahead) the power of blogs: when there's a new blog created every second, there's going to be someone who is willing and able to blog in-depth about almost any particular topic there is, to become the expert on it. Does it really make sense for me to immerse myself and investigate fully a topic like land trusts if someone I trust, like Pat Burns, has already been doing a superb job for some time and will thus be much more efficient than me at analyzing news when it breaks?

  The irrationality of some heuristics certainly throws a monkey wrench into this whole thing. The "price implies quality" bias can be a devastating argument against free markets with the exception of commodities markets, since it scuttles the assumption that people act rationally/have good information, since the information they are inferring is incorrect if it's based solely on the "price implies quality" idea.

  The idea of "perceived consensus" is also an interesting one, and one which contains elements of framing in it. If something starts to be referred to with words implying consensus, it won't be too long before there is a perceived consensus. Of course, if the basic facts of the matter are incorrect, it won't get anywhere, mostly because of blogs and organizations like FactCheck, but simply having the facts right isn't enough.

  One potential problem then is the fact that those who are adept at getting the facts out and investigating might not the ones who are best at framing the issue and getting the message out.

  Anyway, lot to chew on. Great stuff.On Being 'right' about peak oil is only the first step posted 4 years, 2 months ago 9 Responses