Exhausted
Pandemic meets pollution: Poor air quality increases deaths by COVID-19
Ingo Isphording & Nico Pestel
Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, forthcoming
Abstract:
We study the impact of short-term exposure to ambient air pollution on the spread and severity of COVID-19 in Germany. We combine data at the county-by-day level on confirmed cases and deaths with information on local air quality and weather conditions. Following Deryugina et al. (2019), we instrument short-term variation in local concentrations of particulate matter (PM10) by region-specific daily variation in wind directions. We find significant positive effects of PM10 concentration on death numbers from four days before to ten days after the onset of symptoms. Specifically, for elderly patients (80+ years) an increase in ambient PM10 concentration by one standard deviation between two and four days after developing symptoms increases the number of deaths by 19 percent of a standard deviation. In addition, higher levels air pollution raise the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 for all age groups. The timing of effects surrounding the onset of illness suggests that air pollution affects the severity of already-realized infections. We discuss the implications of our results for immediate policy levers to reduce the exposure and level of ambient air pollution, as well as for cost-benefit considerations of policies aiming at sustainable longer-term reductions of pollution levels.
Does LEED Certification Save Energy? Evidence from Federal Buildings
Karen Clay, Edson Severnini & Xiaochen Sun
NBER Working Paper, March 2021
Abstract:
In the absence of first-best climate policy, energy efficiency has figured prominently among strategies to reduce carbon emissions. One of the most sought-after green certification in the building sector is the internationally recognized Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED). This paper examines the effects of LEED certification on energy efficiency in federally owned buildings. Using propensity score matching and difference in differences models, we find no effect of LEED certification on average energy consumption. This reflects the fact that energy use is one of a number of attributes that receives scores under the LEED program. Buildings with above average energy scores have greater energy efficiency post-certification. Some other attributes, notably higher water scores, decrease energy efficiency post-certification. Trade-offs across LEED attributes account for the absence of energy savings on average. If energy efficiency is the primary policy goal, LEED certification may not be the most effective means to reach that goal.
Lack of transgenerational effects of ionizing radiation exposure from the Chernobyl accident
Meredith Yeager et al.
Science, forthcoming
Abstract:
Effects of radiation exposure from the Chernobyl nuclear accident remain a topic of interest. We investigated whether children born to parents employed as cleanup workers or exposed to occupational and environmental ionizing radiation post-accident were born with more germline de novo mutations (DNMs). Whole-genome sequencing of 130 children (born 1987-2002) and their parents did not reveal an increase in the rates, distributions, or types of DNMs versus previous studies. We find no elevation in total DNMs regardless of cumulative preconception gonadal paternal (mean = 365 mGy, range = 0-4,080 mGy) or maternal (mean = 19 mGy, range = 0-550 mGy) exposure to ionizing radiation and conclude over this exposure range, evidence is lacking for a substantial effect on germline DNMs in humans, suggesting minimal impact on health of subsequent generations.
People have shaped most of terrestrial nature for at least 12,000 years
Erle Ellis et al.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 27 April 2021
Abstract:
Archaeological and paleoecological evidence shows that by 10,000 BCE, all human societies employed varying degrees of ecologically transformative land use practices, including burning, hunting, species propagation, domestication, cultivation, and others that have left long-term legacies across the terrestrial biosphere. Yet, a lingering paradigm among natural scientists, conservationists, and policymakers is that human transformation of terrestrial nature is mostly recent and inherently destructive. Here, we use the most up-to-date, spatially explicit global reconstruction of historical human populations and land use to show that this paradigm is likely wrong. Even 12,000 y ago, nearly three quarters of Earth’s land was inhabited and therefore shaped by human societies, including more than 95% of temperate and 90% of tropical woodlands. Lands now characterized as “natural,” “intact,” and “wild” generally exhibit long histories of use, as do protected areas and Indigenous lands, and current global patterns of vertebrate species richness and key biodiversity areas are more strongly associated with past patterns of land use than with present ones in regional landscapes now characterized as natural. The current biodiversity crisis can seldom be explained by the loss of uninhabited wildlands, resulting instead from the appropriation, colonization, and intensifying use of the biodiverse cultural landscapes long shaped and sustained by prior societies. Recognizing this deep cultural connection with biodiversity will therefore be essential to resolve the crisis.
An analysis of the impact of unconventional oil and gas activities on public health: New evidence across Oklahoma counties
Nicholas Apergis, Ghulam Mustafa & Sayantan Ghosh Dastidar
Energy Economics, forthcoming
Abstract:
The expansion of unconventional oil and gas development (UNGD) in the US has been highly controversial so far with no consensus on its health, economic, environmental, and social implications. This paper examines the effects of UNGD on the health profile of the population in the context of Oklahoma using a unique data set. To this end, the analysis assembles a panel data set including 76 counties of Oklahoma, spanning the period 1998–2017. The analysis estimates the long-run relationship between the health profile and its determinants using the Common Correlated Effects (CCE) method. The empirical setup allows for cross-sectional dependence and accounts for both observed and unobserved heterogeneity. The main findings provide strong evidence that UNGD activities have negative effects on human health-related outcomes across all counties in Oklahoma. Specifically, an increase in the number of (unconventional) wells has a positive impact on mortality rates, and incidences of cancer, cardiac, and respiratory diseases in communities in close spatial proximity, and a negative impact on life expectancy. These findings provide evidence that UNGD activities pose significant risks to the public health profile across the Oklahoma population. Such findings are expected to have substantial implications for the national debate on the regulation of UNGD.
The health consequences of excess emissions: Evidence from Texas
Alex Hollinsgworth, David Konisky & Nikolaos Zirogiannis
Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, forthcoming
Abstract:
Excess emissions are air pollution releases that exceed permitted levels and occur during facility start-ups, shutdowns, or malfunctions. While they are violations of the federal Clean Air Act, states have historically granted violating facilities automatic exemptions; limiting enforcement and weakening existing regulation. Recent efforts to harmonize state and federal rules have ignited debate surrounding optimal excess emissions regulation. Using Texas data from 2002 to 2017, we show robust evidence on the costs of excess emissions. We find that excess emissions increase harmful nearby pollution and elderly mortality, and are responsible for an average of 35 annual deaths in Texas alone. Using excess emissions as an instrument for ozone concentrations, we find that a 10% increase in monthly average ozone increases elderly mortality by 3.9%, driven by increased deaths in the oldest age groups.
The Effect of Coal-Fired Power Plant Closures on Emergency Department Visits for Asthma-Related Conditions Among 0- to 4-Year-Old Children in Chicago, 2009–2017
Sarah Komisarow & Emily Pakhtigian
American Journal of Public Health, May 2021, Pages 881-889
Methods: We used data on wind, population, PM2.5 (particulates measuring ≤ 2.5 µm in diameter), and zip code–level rates of emergency department visits for asthma-related conditions among 0- to 4-year-old children between 2009 and 2017 in Chicago. The difference-in-differences research design compared rates of emergency department visits in zip codes near 3 coal-fired power plants before and after their closures to rates in zip codes farther away during the same time period.
Results: We found that emergency department visits for asthma-related conditions among 0- to 4-year-old children decreased by 12% in zip codes near the 3 coal-fired power plants following their closures relative to rates in zip codes farther away during the same period. The crude and age-specific rates of emergency department visits decreased by 2.41 visits per ten thousand inhabitants and 35.63 visits per ten thousand children aged 0 to 4 years, respectively.
Corporate Political Connections and Favorable Environmental Regulatory Enforcement
Amanda Heitz, Youan Wang & Zigan Wang
Management Science, forthcoming
Abstract:
We examine whether the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) uniformly enforces the Clean Air Act for politically connected and unconnected firms using a close election setting. We find no difference in regulated pollutant emissions or EPA investigations between the two groups, although connected firms experience less regulatory enforcement and lower penalties. These results are more pronounced for firms connected to politicians capable of influencing regulatory bureaucrats and for connected firms that are more important to their supported politicians. Taken together, our results show that campaign contributions can indirectly benefit firms by way of reduced environmental regulatory enforcement and penalties.
Adaptation to Environmental Change: Agriculture and the Unexpected Incidence of the Acid Rain Program
Nicholas Sanders & Alan Barreca
NBER Working Paper, March 2021
Abstract:
The Acid Rain Program (ARP) cut sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions from power plants in the United States, with considerable benefits. We show this also reduced ambient sulfate levels, which lowered agriculture productivity through decreased soil sulfur. Using plant-level SO2 emissions and an atmospheric transport model, we estimate the relationship between airborne sulfate levels and yields for corn and soybean. We estimate crop revenue losses for these two crops around $1-1.5 billion per year, with accompanying decreases in land value. Back of the envelope calculations of the costs to replace lost sulfur suggest producer responses were limited and suboptimal.
Making activists out of environmentalists: New experimental evidence
Melissa Michelson & Stephanie DeMora
Environmental Politics, forthcoming
Abstract:
Among the many goals of advocacy organizations is motivating supporters to engage in actions that help move forward the policy goals of the group. This might include signing a petition, sending an email to an elected official, or attending a local government meeting. These actions are important for the maintenance of democracy, but also very rare; most people are not activists. How best to encourage supporters to engage in that necessary advocacy has thus been the topic of extensive political science research. We present results from a series of A/B experiments sent by a local environmental advocacy organization seeking to increase higher order levels of participation among their supporters. We find consistent evidence that framing those messages in negative terms (e.g., stop dirty energy) is more effective than framing them positively (e.g., promote clean energy).
Evidence of air quality data misreporting in China: An impulse indicator saturation model comparison of local government-reported and U.S. embassy-reported PM2.5 concentrations (2015–2017)
Jesse Turiel & Robert Kaufmann
PLoS ONE, April 2021
Abstract:
This paper analyzes hourly PM2.5 measurements from government-controlled and U.S. embassy-controlled monitoring stations in five Chinese cities between January 2015 and June 2017. We compare the two datasets with an impulse indicator saturation technique that identifies hours when the relation between Chinese and U.S. reported data diverges in a statistically significant fashion. These temporary divergences, or impulses, are 1) More frequent than expected by random chance; 2) More positive than expected by random chance; and 3) More likely to occur during hours when air pollution concentrations are high. In other words, relative to U.S.-controlled monitoring stations, government-controlled stations systematically under-report pollution levels when local air quality is poor. These results contrast with the findings of other recent studies, which argue that Chinese air quality data misreporting ended after a series of policy reforms beginning in 2012. Our findings provide evidence that local government misreporting did not end after 2012, but instead continued in a different manner. These results suggest that Chinese air quality data, while still useful, should not be taken entirely at face value.