Factors Influencing Customer Participation in a Program to Replace Lead Pipes for Drinking Water.

Many public water systems are struggling to locate and replace lead pipes that distribute drinking water across the United States. This study investigates factors associated with customer participation in a voluntary lead service line (LSL) inspection and replacement program. It also uses quasi-experimental and experimental methods to evaluate the causal impacts of two grant programs that subsidized homeowner replacement costs on LSL program participation.

Electric vehicle usage, pollution damages, and the electricity price elasticity of driving.

I study battery electric vehicle (BEV) usage and ownership characteristics with fundamental implications for the electrification of passenger transportation. Using data covering the entire BEV population in New York, I quantify BEV mileage and electricity consumption and highlight the important role of vehicle utilization in contributing to real-world pollution damages and their spatial variation. I then study the factors influencing how much BEVs are driven with a focus on estimating the electricity price elasticity of BEV mileage.

Cost-effectiveness of erosion mitigation to meet water clarity targets in the Manawatū-Whanganui Region of New Zealand.

Soil erosion is a significant environmental issue worldwide. It affects water quality, biodiversity, and land productivity. New Zealand government agencies and regional councils work to mitigate soil erosion through policies, management programmes, and funding for soil conservation projects.

The Social Costs of Hydrofluorocarbons and the Large Climate Benefits from their Expedited Phasedown.

Hydrofluorocarbons are a potent greenhouse gas, yet there remains a lack of quantitative estimates of their social cost. The present study addresses this gap by directly calculating the social cost of hydrofluorocarbons (SC-HFCs) using perturbations of exogenous inputs to integrated assessment models. We first develop a set of direct estimates of the SC-HFCs using methods currently adopted by the United States Government, and then derive updated estimates that incorporate recent advances in climate science and economics.

Advancing the estimation of future climate impacts within the United States.

Evidence of the physical and economic impacts of climate change is a critical input to policy development and decision-making. In addition to the magnitude of potential impacts, detailed estimates of where, when, and to whom those damages may occur; the types of impacts that will be most damaging; uncertainties in these damages; and the ability of adaptation to reduce potential risks are all interconnected and important considerations. This study utilizes the reduced-complexity model, the Framework for Evaluating Damages and Impacts (FrEDI), to rapidly project economic and physical impacts of climate change across 10 000 future scenarios for multiple impact sectors, regions, and populations within the contiguous United States (US).

Estimating biotic integrity to capture existence value of freshwater ecosystems.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) uses a water quality index (WQI) to estimate benefits of proposed Clean Water Act regulations. The WQI is relevant to human use value, such as recreation, but may not fully capture aspects of nonuse value, such as existence value. Here, we identify an index of biological integrity to supplement the WQI in a forthcoming national stated preference survey that seeks to capture existence value of streams and lakes more accurately within the conterminous United States (CONUS).

The relationship between childhood blood lead levels below 5 µg/dL and childhood intelligence quotient (IQ): Protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: The causal association between childhood lead (Pb) exposure and decrements in intelligence quotient (IQ) is well-established, and no safe blood lead level (BLL) in children has been identified. An international pooled analysis of seven prospective studies published by Lanphear et al. in 2005 quantified the relationship between childhood BLL and IQ.

Harmonized nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations in the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin from 1980 to 2018.

Water quality monitoring can inform policies that address pollution; however, inconsistent measurement and reporting practices render many observations incomparable across bodies of water, thereby impeding efforts to characterize spatial patterns and long-term trends in pollution. Here, we harmonized 9.2 million publicly available monitor readings from 226 distinct water monitoring authorities spanning the entirety of the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin (MARB) in the United States.

Does short-term, airborne lead exposure during pregnancy affect birth outcomes? Quasi-experimental evidence from NASCAR's deleading policy.

Background: There is evidence of a weak placental-fetal barrier to lead, suggesting that maternal lead exposure could affect the fetus. The health consequences for newborns from in utero lead exposure are not well understood.

Objectives: We estimated the effects by trimester, of short-term (<1 week), airborne lead exposure during pregnancy on birth outcomes.

Cardiovascular Mortality and Leaded Aviation Fuel: Evidence from Piston-Engine Air Traffic in North Carolina.

Leaded fuel used by piston-engine aircraft is the largest source of airborne lead emissions in the United States. Previous studies have found higher blood lead levels in children living near airports where leaded aviation fuel is used. However, little is known about the health effects on adults.

An Integrated Assessment Model for Valuing Water Quality Changes in the U.S.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) often requires expertise from environmental assessors, hydrologists, economists, and others to analyze the benefits of regional and national policy decisions related to changes in water quality. This led EPA to develop two models to form an Integrated Assessment Model (IAM): HAWQS is a web-based water quantity and quality modeling systems and BenSPLASH is a modeling platform for quantifying the economic benefits of changes in water quality. This paper discusses the development of the component models and applies HAWQS and BenSPLASH to a case study in the Republican River Basin.

Exposure to formaldehyde and asthma outcomes: A systematic review, meta-analysis, and economic assessment.

Background: Every major federal regulation in the United States requires an economic analysis estimating its benefits and costs. Benefit-cost analyses related to regulations on formaldehyde exposure have not included asthma in part due to lack of clarity in the strength of the evidence.

Objectives: 1) To conduct a systematic review of evidence regarding human exposure to formaldehyde and diagnosis, signs, symptoms, exacerbations, or other measures of asthma in humans; and 2) quantify the annual economic benefit for decreases in formaldehyde exposure.

Economic and Environmental Impacts of a Proposed "Carbon Adder" on New York's Energy Market.

The New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) has developed a carbon-pricing proposal to reduce carbon intensive electricity generation in anticipation of future clean energy goals in the state. The proposed measure is a so-called "carbon adder" on CO emissions from the power sector that targets the social cost of carbon amidst existing overlapping policies. The carbon adder is set as the difference between the targeted social cost of carbon and the prevailing RGGI price for CO emission allowances.

ESTIMATING THE ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON 16 MAJOR US FISHERIES.

Observational evidence shows marine species are shifting their geographic distribution in response to warming ocean temperatures. These shifts have implications for the US fisheries and seafood consumers. The analysis presented here employs a two-stage inverse demand model to estimate the consumer welfare impacts of projected increases or decreases in commercial landings for 16 US fisheries from 2021 to 2100, based on the predicted changes in thermally available habitat.

Superfund Cleanups and Children's Lead Exposure.

This study evaluates the effect of EPA's Superfund cleanup program on children's lead exposure. We linked two decades of blood lead level (BLL) measurements from children in six states with data on Superfund sites and other lead risk factors. We used quasi-experimental methods to identify the causal effect of proximity to Superfund cleanups on rates of elevated BLL.

Valuing Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Control in Public Forests: Scope Effects with Attribute Non-Attendance.

Sensitivity to the scope of public good provision is an important indication of validity for the contingent valuation method. An online survey was administered to an opt-in non-probability sample panel to estimate the willingness-to-pay to protect hemlock trees from a destructive invasive species on federal land in North Carolina. We collected survey responses from 907 North Carolina residents.

Exploring the General Equilibrium Costs of Sector-Specific Environmental Regulations.

The requisite scope of analysis to adequately estimate the social cost of environmental regulations has been subject to much discussion. The literature has demonstrated that engineering or partial equilibrium cost estimates likely underestimate the social cost of large-scale environmental regulations and environmental taxes. However, the conditions under which general equilibrium (GE) analysis adds value to welfare analysis for single-sector technology or performance standards, the predominant policy intervention in practice, remains an open question.

Early childhood lead exposure and the persistence of educational consequences into adolescence.

Background: There is consensus that early childhood lead exposure causes adverse cognitive and behavioral effects, even at blood lead levels (BLL) below 5 μg/dL. What has not been established is to what extent the effects of childhood lead exposure persist across grades.

Objective: To measure the effects of early childhood lead exposure (BLL 1-10 μg/dL) on educational performance from grades 3-8; to determine if effects in lower grades persist as a child progresses through school; and if so, to characterize the pattern of persistence.

Distributional Impacts of Energy-Heat Cross-Subsidization.

Energy and heat cross-subsidies are common in developing and transitioning countries, but the distributional and efficiency impacts of these policies (and reform) are largely unknown. In Post-Soviet countries such as Belarus, revenues from an industrial tariff on electricity are used to cross-subsidize heating for households. We analyze the distributional impacts of cross-subsidy reform with both input output methods and a calibrated static computable general equilibrium (CGE) model with heterogeneous households based on a household consumption survey.

Valuing Ecological Improvements in the Chesapeake Bay and the Importance of Ancillary Benefits.

Reducing the excess nutrient and sediment pollution that is damaging habitat and diminishing recreational experiences in coastal estuaries requires actions by people and communities that are within the boundaries of the watershed but may be far from the resource itself, thus complicating efforts to understand tradeoffs associated with pollution control measures. Such is the case with the Chesapeake Bay, one of the most iconic water resources in the United States. All seven states containing part of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed were required under the Clean Water Act to submit detailed plans to achieve nutrient and sediment pollution reductions.

Policy Brief - What's in a Name? A Search for Alternatives to "VSL".

Benefit-cost analyses of environmental, health, and safety regulations often rely on an estimate of the value of statistical life (VSL) to calculate the aggregate benefits of reducing human mortality risk. The VSL represents the marginal rate of substitution between mortality risk and money. Although this concept is well-understood by economists, it is viewed by many non-economists as confusing technical jargon that borders on the immoral.

Tools for Open Source, Subnational CGE Modeling with an Illustrative Analysis of Carbon Leakage.

This paper introduces the Wisconsin National Data Consortium (WiNDC) framework for producing self-consistent accounts based on publicly available datasets that can be used in sub-national economic equilibrium analysis in the United States. We describe the process used to generate regional social accounting matrices and a calibrated static multi-regional, multi-sectoral computable general equilibrium model conformal with the constructed dataset. As illustration, we show how the core model can be applied for the analysis of energy-environment issues.

Preterm birth and economic benefits of reduced maternal exposure to fine particulate matter.

Preterm birth (PTB) is a predictor of infant mortality and later-life morbidity. Despite recent declines, PTB rates remain high in the United States. Growing research suggests a possible relationship between a mother's exposure to common air pollutants, including fine particulate matter (PM), and PTB of her baby.