Swamped
Are Republicans Bad for the Environment?
Luke Fowler & Jaclyn Kettler
State Politics & Policy Quarterly, forthcoming
Abstract:
Does the partisanship of officeholders affect environmental outcomes? The popular perception is that Republicans are bad for the environment, but complicating factors like federalism may limit this outcome. Using a dataset that tracks toxic releases over 20 years, we examine how partisan control of executive and legislative branches at both state and federal levels affect environmental policy. Moving beyond the passage of policies or environmental program spending allows us to fully understand the impact of Republicans on the environment. In addition, we take into account structural complications that may shape the relationship between Republican control and environmental outcomes. We find that the conventional wisdom that Republicans are bad for the environment has some validity, but it is dependent on what offices Republican elected officials occupy. More specifically, Republicans significantly affect toxic chemical releases when occupying governorships and controlling Congress. Our conclusions provide further insight into understanding how partisanship affects environmental outcomes, including how partisanship composition across the federal system matters.
Residential noise exposure and health: Evidence from aviation noise and birth outcomes
Laura Argys, Susan Averett & Muzhe Yang
Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, forthcoming
Abstract:
Utilizing information on exact home addresses on birth records, we exploit arguably exogenous variation in noise exposure triggered by a new Federal Aviation Administration policy called NextGen, which unintentionally increased noise levels in communities experiencing concentrated flight patterns. We examine the fetal health impact of exposure to noise levels in excess of the EPA and the WHO recommended threshold of 55 dB. We find that the likelihood of having low birth weight (LBW) babies increases by 1.6 percentage points among mothers who live close to the airport, in the direction of the runway, exposed to noise levels over the 55 dB threshold, and during the period when NextGen was more actively implemented at the airport. Our finding has important policy implications for the trade-off between flight pattern optimization and human health in light of the long-term impact of LBW on later life outcomes.
COVID‐19 Pandemic Imperils Weather Forecast
Ying Chen
Geophysical Research Letters, forthcoming
Abstract:
Weather forecasts play essential parts in economic activity. Assimilation of meteorological observations from aircraft improves forecasts greatly. However, global lockdown during the COVID‐19 pandemic (March‐May 2020) has eliminated 50‐75% aircraft observations and imperils weather forecasting. Here, we verify global forecasts against reanalysis to quantify the impact of the pandemic. We find a large deterioration in forecasts of surface meteorology over regions with busy air flights, such as North America, southeast China and Australia. Forecasts over remote regions are also substantially worse during March‐May 2020 than 2017‐2019, and the deterioration increases for longer‐term forecasts. This could handicap early warning of extreme weather and cause additional economic damage on the top of that from the pandemic. The impact over Western Europe is buffered by the high density of conventional observations, suggesting that introduction of new observations in data‐sparse regions would be needed to minimize the impact of global emergencies on weather forecasts.
Disparities in PM2.5 air pollution in the United States
Jonathan Colmer et al.
Science, 31 July 2020, Pages 575-578
Abstract:
Air pollution at any given time is unequally distributed across locations. Average concentrations of fine particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter (PM2.5) have fallen over time. However, we do not know how the spatial distribution of PM2.5 has evolved. Here, we provide early evidence. We combine 36 years of PM2.5 concentrations measured over ~8.6 million grid cells with geographic, economic, and demographic data from ~65,000 U.S. census tracts. We show that differences in PM2.5 between more and less polluted areas declined substantially between 1981 and 2016. However, the most polluted census tracts in 1981 remained the most polluted in 2016. The least polluted census tracts in 1981 remained the least polluted in 2016. The most exposed subpopulations in 1981 remained the most exposed in 2016. Overall, absolute disparities have fallen, but relative disparities persist.
High priority violations and intra-firm pollution substitution
Binish Rijal & Neha Khanna
Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, forthcoming
Abstract:
We examine the sign and the magnitude of pollution leakage associated with the High Priority Violations Policy (HPVP) under the Clean Air Act. Using 46,012 facility-year observations for 7947 polluting facilities across all industries in the U.S., we find strong evidence of intra-firm pollution substitution associated with the HPVP. On average, a compliant facility increased its toxic air emissions by about 35–56 percent (3600 to 6000 lbs.) if it had at least one other sister facility, within the same 6-digit NAICS industry code and belonging to the same parent firm, concurrently under violation. The magnitude of such intra-firm pollution substitution was stronger towards compliant facilities with no prior history of high priority violation as well as towards those owned by private parent companies. We also find that substitution of pollution from a sister facility under violation increases the risk of violation among currently compliant facilities.
Public Health and Climate Benefits and Tradeoffs of U.S. Vehicle Electrification
Daniel Peters et al.
GeoHealth, forthcoming
Abstract:
Vehicle electrification is a common climate change mitigation strategy, with policymakers invoking co‐beneficial reductions in carbon dioxide (CO2) and air pollutant emissions. However, while previous studies of U.S. electric vehicle (EV) adoption consistently predict CO2 mitigation benefits, air quality outcomes are equivocal and depend on policies assessed and experimental parameters. We analyze climate and health co‐benefits and tradeoffs of six U.S. EV adoption scenarios: 25% or 75% replacement of conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, each under three different EV‐charging energy generation scenarios. We transfer emissions from tailpipe to power generation plant, simulate interactions of atmospheric chemistry and meteorology using the GFDL‐AM4 chemistry climate model, and assess health consequences and uncertainties using the U.S. EPA Benefits Mapping Analysis Program Community Edition (BenMAP‐CE). We find that 25% U.S. EV adoption, with added energy demand sourced from the present‐day electric grid, annually results in a ~242M ton reduction in CO2 emissions, 437 deaths avoided due to PM2.5 reductions (95% CI: 295, 578), and 98 deaths avoided due to lesser ozone formation (95% CI: 33, 162). Despite some regions experiencing adverse health outcomes, ~$16.8B in damages avoided are predicted. Peak CO2 reductions and health benefits occur with 75% EV adoption and increased emission‐free energy sources (~$70B in damages avoided). When charging‐electricity from aggressive EV adoption is combustion‐only, adverse health outcomes increase substantially, highlighting the importance of low‐to‐zero emission power generation for greater realization of health co‐benefits. Our results provide a more nuanced understanding of the transportation sector's climate change mitigation‐health impact relationship.
Children drinking private well water have higher blood lead than those with city water
Jacqueline MacDonald Gibson et al.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 21 July 2020, Pages 16898-16907
Abstract:
Although the Flint, Michigan, water crisis renewed concerns about lead (Pb) in city drinking water, little attention has been paid to Pb in private wells, which provide drinking water for 13% of the US population. This study evaluates the risk of Pb exposure in children in households relying on private wells. It is based on a curated dataset of blood Pb records from 59,483 North Carolina children matched with household water source information. We analyze the dataset for statistical associations between children’s blood Pb and household drinking water source. The analysis shows that children in homes relying on private wells have 25% increased odds (95% CI 6.2 to 48%, P < 0.01) of elevated blood Pb, compared with children in houses served by a community water system that is regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act. This increased Pb exposure is likely a result of corrosion of household plumbing and well components, because homes relying on private wells rarely treat their water to prevent corrosion. In contrast, corrosion control is required in regulated community water systems. These findings highlight the need for targeted outreach to prevent Pb exposure for the 42.5 million Americans depending on private wells for their drinking water.
Dust Bowl Migrants: Identifying an Archetype
Richard Hornbeck
NBER Working Paper, August 2020
Abstract:
The 1930's American Dust Bowl created archetypal "Dust Bowl migrants," refugees from environmental collapse and economic upheaval. I examine this archetype, comparing migration from more-eroded counties and less-eroded counties to distinguish Dust Bowl migrants from other migrants in this era. Migrants from more-eroded counties were more "negatively selected," in years of education, than other migrants who were "positively selected." These Dust Bowl migrants struggled economically, especially in California. Despite migrants' struggles, however, I estimate strikingly modest impacts of the Dust Bowl on average incomes that contrast with its enduring impacts on agricultural land.
Co‐occurrence of antibiotic, biocide, and heavy metal resistance genes in bacteria from metal and radionuclide contaminated soils at the Savannah River Site
Jesse Thomas et al.
Microbial Biotechnology, July 2020, Pages 1179-1200
Abstract:
Contaminants such as heavy metals may contribute to the dissemination of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) by enriching resistance gene determinants via co‐selection mechanisms. In the present study, a survey was performed on soils collected from four areas at the Savannah River Site (SRS), South Carolina, USA, with varying contaminant profiles: relatively pristine (Upper Three Runs), heavy metals (Ash Basins), radionuclides (Pond B) and heavy metal and radionuclides (Tim’s Branch). Using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, we explored the structure and diversity of soil bacterial communities. Sites with legacies of metal and/or radionuclide contamination displayed significantly lower bacterial diversity compared to the reference site. Metagenomic analysis indicated that multidrug and vancomycin antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and metal resistance genes (MRGs) including those associated with copper, arsenic, iron, nickel and zinc were prominent in all soils including the reference site. However, significant differences were found in the relative abundance and diversity of certain ARGs and MRGs in soils with metal/radionuclide contaminated soils compared to the reference site. Co‐occurrence patterns revealed significant ARG/MRG subtypes in predominant soil taxa including Acidobacteriaceae, Bradyrhizobium, Mycobacterium, Streptomyces, Verrumicrobium, Actinomadura and Solirubacterales. Overall, the study emphasizes the potential risk of human activities on the dissemination of AMR in the environment.
Characterization of an Asphalt Binder and Photoproducts by Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry Reveals Abundant Water-Soluble Hydrocarbons
Sydney Niles et al.
Environmental Science & Technology, 21 July 2020, Pages 8830-8836
Abstract:
Road asphalt is comprised of aggregate (rocks) mixed with a binder composed of high-boiling petroleum-derived compounds, which have been thought to be relatively inert (unreactive) and thus leach small amounts of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) into water from the built environment. However, recent studies have demonstrated that petroleum readily undergoes photooxidation and generates water-soluble oxygen-containing hydrocarbons. Therefore, here, we investigate the effects of solar irradiation on an asphalt binder. Upon irradiation in a photooxidation microcosm, thin films of the asphalt binder produce abundant oil- and water-soluble oxygenated hydrocarbons, which we hypothesize are also leached from roads and highways through photooxidation reactions. Ultrahigh-resolution Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) enables extensive compositional characterization of the virgin asphalt binder, irradiated asphalt binder, and the water-soluble photoproducts. The results reveal the production of water-soluble species that resemble the molecular composition of petroleum-derived dissolved organic matter, including abundant hydrocarbons and S-containing species with up to 18 oxygen atoms. The results also confirm photo-induced oxidation, fragmentation, and potentially polymerization as active processes involved in the production of water-soluble organic pollutants from asphalt.