The landmark Clean Air Act, or CAA, turns 50 this month, and its impact has been dramatic: Ambient measures of pollutants have fallen more than 90 percent in some areas, and improvements in air quality are credited with preventing hundreds of thousands of premature deaths.
Despite this success, the debate rages on over whether the costs to industry of further pollution reductions are too high – most recently, the Trump administration declined to tighten soot rules.
After five decades, has the CAA accomplished its mission?
Not even close, say two economists at the University of California, Berkeley who found a novel way to measure the compliance costs for industry by analyzing pollution offset markets.
In a newly released working paper, they concluded that on average, the benefits of additional air pollution regulation exceed the costs by 10 to one.
“We looked at many different cities, states, pollutants and years, and found that in nearly all circumstances, regulation is currently too lenient, rather than too strict,” said Reed Walker, an associate professor at Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. “In other words, there are enormous social benefits to improving air quality just a little bit more when compared to the compliance costs for firms.”
As economists, Walker and co-author Joseph S. Shapiro, an associate professor with UC Berkeley’s Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, wanted to understand whether the CAA had reached the point of diminishing returns.
“Some of this debate stems from the remarkable improvements we’ve seen in air quality over the past 50 years,” Shapiro said. “Most economists would believe that tightening regulation further becomes incrementally more expensive for firms, which begs the question of whether an additional unit of pollution reduction is ‘worth’ the health and other benefits to society.”
Quantifying costs versus benefits
Estimates of the societal benefits of pollution abatement exist – for instance, research showed that 5 percent of premature mortality is from air pollution – but it’s been far more challenging to measure the true costs to producers.
Walker and Shapiro found a way to do this through a CAA provision that capped pollution levels in the counties with the dirtiest air.
When a manufacturer wants to open a new plant that would raise pollution above existing levels, it must either adopt cleaner technology or pay an existing plant to reduce its emissions in order to stay under the cap. These transactions – known as offsets – have led to the creation of over 500 pollution offset markets across several metro areas.
Offset prices are closely tied to the costs of additional pollution reductions. They can run into the millions of dollars, so a company only buys offsets when the cost of reducing its own pollution is even higher.
That gave the researchers a way to estimate the incremental costs of pollution abatement in different cities. They assembled data on 100 offset markets in 16 states. Next, they used previous estimates of the marginal benefits of pollution reduction to assess whether the benefits of additional reductions outweigh the costs.
“We compared the incremental costs of removing one ton of pollution emissions to the incremental benefits to society of reducing the same one ton of emissions,” Shapiro said.
For example, they estimated that an existing firm in the San Francisco Bay Area would receive almost $1,500 in offset value from lowering its nitrogen oxides emissions by one ton. However, those decreased emissions are worth over $50,000 in societal benefits, due to factors such as reduced premature mortality. This led them to conclude that on average, the benefits of additional pollution regulation are about ten times the marginal costs.
This was true in every market they looked at save Houston, where they determined that regulation was too stringent on volatile organic compound emissions. The result has been marginal costs for industry that are twice as large as the estimated marginal benefits.
The researchers’ new method of calculating pollution abatement costs has led to estimates that are dramatically different than traditional estimates from the Environmental Protection Agency, possibly because EPA estimates did not account for all the economic costs that firms face. Yet even taking into account their finding that abatement costs have increased by about 6 percent to 9 percent annually over the past couple of decades, the benefits of these regulations still greatly outweigh the costs, the researchers said.
“We should always think carefully ‘on the margin’ to understand whether additional improvements in air quality are worth it,” Walker said. “In the vast majority of cities in the United States today, the answer is yes.”
Though it was not a focus of the paper, Walker and Shapiro looked at how CAA regulations could be improved. They suggested that getting rid of the current offset markets—where polluters pay for the quantity of pollution they produce—in favor of a pollution tax could be a more efficient way to improve air quality.
Morgan Foy and Laura Counts write for Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.
Obsidian. Photo by Kathleen Scavone. LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The science of geology presents itself to us daily via Lake County's contrasting landforms of mountains, valleys, streams and lakes.
As you drive south between Hidden Valley and Middletown great tracts of serpentinite, our State Rock lay exposed.
Middletown's Rabbit Hill offers stunning geologic features in its boulders and rock outcrops where serpentinite and a rock made up of microcrystalline quartz known as chert are exposed.
Serpentinite comes in an array of colors from shiny green to tans and browns. If you've driven through the Lake 29 Expressway project, which is, as reported on Aug. 6, 2020, in this publication, "The largest highway project in the county in 50 years," you may have marveled at the geologic features being unearthed by monster machines.
Along the stretch of highway, acres of glistening black obsidian lay exposed, then, farther along the highway red volcanic soils paint another picture of Earth's bold geology, while next along the panoramic highway brilliant white soils are in evidence.
The white features that lay exposed are Pozzolans and Dacite, which are also volcanic in origin and sometimes occur in the centers of old volcanoes.
The volcanic Pozzolans and Dacite are the materials being mined at the big white mountain at Kelseyville's S-Bar-S Quarry.
Since our own volcano, Mount Konocti, is nearby we don't have to look far to find the origins of all of these volcanic materials. But Mount Konocti is but one relatively small volcanic feature in the grand scheme.
Spread around Lake County and its environs are numerous hot springs, along with the Geysers Geothermal Field in the Mayacamas Mountains.
The Geysers' boundaries are the Collayomi and Mercuryville Faults. All of this geothermal activity is due, scientists say, to a large magma body beneath the surface.
The activity from Earth's plates and the continuous changes it incurs happens all along the California coast, with many volcanic fields tied in.
Our own volcanic field is called the Clear Lake Volcanics, and includes the Geysers and Cobb Mountain areas extending down to Lake Berryessa, but not Mount Saint Helena.
The Clear Lake Volcanics is at the top of the chain of volcanic fields. The various volcanic fields that are active over time eventually go extinct. Our Clear Lake Volcanics is still considered active.
Now we can reflect upon our Geology 101 courses of our pasts and remind ourselves that plate tectonics is a large force in our landscape since Earth's crust is made up of moving plates, with each plate moving in varying directions at any given time.
In the Jurassic Period, around 135 million years ago all of the west coast of our continent up to the Sierra Nevada foothills – and that includes Lake County – was submerged beneath the ocean. Geologists tell us that if you look carefully, possibly in a chunk of chert rock from a nearby creek, you may find shell fossils.
“Guy’s Fault,” photographed in August 2017. Photo by Elizabeth Larson/Lake County News. Also seen from Highway 29, between Lower Lake and Kelseyville in Manning Flat, is a large channel that runs throughout the flat where a sign once stated it was "Guy's Fault."
Geologist Dean Enderlin tells the story behind this geologic feature: “The bottom of Thurston Lake is considerably higher in elevation than Clear Lake level, so the two aren't directly connected. Seasonal runoff into Thurston Lake does recharge groundwater, however, which eventually enters Clear Lake as springs in the vicinity of Jago Bay. The water in Thurston Lake is remarkably murky (turbid), because it is fed by clayey runoff from Manning Flat on the ridge to the southwest. This is a man-made effect. Manning Flat was originally a valley with no natural outlet (called a closed basin). Water would have originally accumulated in the basin as seasonal lakes (vernal pools). In an effort to drain the valley, landowners attempted (and eventually succeeded) in cutting a channel through the ridge that separates Manning Flat from the Thurston Lake watershed. Since then, the fine-grained sediments in the Manning Flat basin have eroded rapidly, creating a deeply incised channel that is actively cutting through the soils in the flat and is threatening State Highway 29. As a prank, the channel was once posted with a sign, reading "Guy's Fault," but the channel has nothing to do with faulting. It is purely erosional, but its path across the flat may have followed portions of old roadways and a race track that was once used there."
Our county is full of geologic wonders that await discovery. According to Lake County Marketing's website, www.lakecounty.com , other rocks and minerals that can be found here include, "An abundance of obsidian, onyx, agate, jasper, chert, quartz, travertine, jade, petrified wood and clamshell fossils – many of which are the result of the Clear Lake Volcanic Field. "
When the world opens once again after the pandemic, they invite you to “visit the Lake County Historic Courthouse Museum, where you’ll see a 94-carat faceted Lake County Diamond!"
Kathleen Scavone, M.A., is a retired educator, potter, freelance writer and author of “Anderson Marsh State Historic Park: A Walking History, Prehistory, Flora, and Fauna Tour of a California State Park” and “Native Americans of Lake County.”
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Imagine Lake County without the small businesses we love and rely on.
Think about your favorite restaurant, the family birthdays celebrated within those walls.
Recall the youth spaorting event where your son or daughter made a key play; a local business supported the costs of their uniform.
Consider the moments shared over a Bartlett pear salad and bottle of Lake County wine, and the conversations you’ve had while seated on a couch purchased from a local shop.
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a complex and fast-changing business environment and added innumerable layers of financial and procedural complication.
Community members and local governments want to help.
On Monday, Dec. 28, Supervisors Bruno Sabatier and Eddie Crandell, representatives from the county of Lake, along with the cities of Clearlake and Lakeport, and other business community stakeholders will convene the first meeting of the Lake County Small Business COVID-19 Recovery Team.
Positioning Lake County businesses to take advantage of COVID-19 relief funding opportunities that emerge is a matter of priority.
Monday’s agenda will include discussion of a potential second round of Federal Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, funding.
Another such opportunity is the California Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program, a $500 million funding opportunity offering grants of up to $25,000 for eligible businesses with annual revenues of $2.5 million or less.
Businesses are strongly encouraged to prepare now to start applying at 6 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 30.The application period ends Jan. 8 at 11:59 p.m.
For more information and answers to frequently asked questions regarding the California Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program, visit https://careliefgrant.com/ .
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control has eight dogs ready to spend the holidays in new homes.
Dogs available for adoption this week include mixes of Australian Cattle Dog, heeler, husky, Labrador Retriever, mastiff and pit bull.
Dogs that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are either neutered or spayed, microchipped and, if old enough, given a rabies shot and county license before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake.
The following dogs at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption (additional dogs on the animal control Web site not listed are still “on hold”).
This young male mastiff is in kennel No. 18, ID No. 14240. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Male mastiff
This young male mastiff has a short tan coat.
He is in kennel No. 18, ID No. 14240.
“Ralph” is a male pit bull terrier mix in kennel No. 19, ID No. 14239. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. ‘Ralph’
“Ralph” is a male pit bull terrier mix.
He has a short brindle coat.
He is in kennel No. 19, ID No. 14239.
This male pit bull is in kennel No. 20, ID No. 14218. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Male pit bull
This male pit bull has a short brindle and brown coat.
He is in kennel No. 20, ID No. 14218.
This male husky is in kennel No. 22, ID No. 14194. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Male husky
This male husky has a medium-length black and white blue eyes.
He has been spayed.
He’s in kennel No. 22, ID No. 14194.
This male pit bull is in kennel No. 23, ID No. 14196. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Male pit bull terrier
This male pit bull terrier has a short gray and white coat.
He’s in kennel No. 23, ID No. 14196.
This male pit bull terrier-Australian Cattle Dog mix is in kennel No. 24, ID No. 14197. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Pit bull terrier-Australian Cattle Dog mix
This male pit bull terrier-Australian Cattle Dog mix has a short tricolor coat.
He is in kennel No. 24, ID No. 14197.
This male shepherd mix is in kennel No. 28, ID No. 14241. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Male shepherd mix
This male shepherd mix has a medium-length tricolor coat.
He has been altered.
He’s in kennel No. 28, ID No. 14241.
This male heeler-Labrador Retriever mix is in kennel No. 29, ID No. 14178. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Male heeler-Labrador Retriever
This male heeler-Labrador Retriever mix has a short black and white coat.
He is in kennel No. 29, ID No. 14178.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
This festive season, or simply the holidays, is a time for celebrating, gift-giving, reflections and thanks.
To commemorate this time of year, the U.S. Census Bureau presents the following holiday-related facts and figures from its collection of statistics.
The following facts are made possible by the invaluable responses to the Census Bureau’s surveys.
“We appreciate the public’s cooperation as we continuously measure America’s people, places and economy,” the agency said.
Did you know?
$18.4 billion
The estimated retail sales for the nation’s department stores in December 2019, a decrease of 3.5 percent from December of the previous year.
Source: Monthly Retail Trade Survey
13.9 percent
The estimated percentage that December sales accounted for of total hobby, toy and game store sales in 2019.
Source: Monthly Retail Trade Survey
$85.2 billion
The estimated value of retail sales by electronic shopping and mail-order houses in December 2019, the highest estimated total for any month last year.
Source: Monthly Retail Trade Survey
$30.8 billion
The fourth quarter 2019 seasonally adjusted after-tax profits for retail trade corporations with assets of $50 million and over, up $5.7 (±0.6) billion from the third quarter of 2019.
Source: Quarterly Financial Report
$2.1 billion
The value of U.S. imports of Christmas ornaments from China for 2019. China led the way with 92.4 percent of the U.S. total imports of Christmas ornaments.
Sources: www.census.gov/trade and https://usatrade.census.gov
$484.9 million
The value of U.S. imports of Christmas tree lights for 2019. Cambodia led the way with 47.3 percent of the total U.S. imports of Christmas tree lights.
Source: International Trade Statistics, Harmonized System Code 9405.30 (Lighting sets of any kind used for Christmas Trees), www.census.gov/trade and https://usatrade.census.gov
532 establishments
The number of establishments nationwide that primarily produced dolls, toys and games in 2018, an increase of 23 establishments from 2017 (509 establishments); they employed 6,237 workers in the pay period including March 12, an increase of 117 employees from 2017 (6,120 employees). California led the nation with 93 establishments in 2018.
Source: County Business Patterns
$546.8 million
The value of U.S. imports of tapered candles in 2019. Most of these came from Vietnam, representing more than 46.8% of America’s imported tapered candles, followed by Canada with 16.7 percent.
Source: International Trade Statistics, Harmonized System Code 3406 (Candles, tapers, and the like), www.census.gov/trade and https://usatrade.census.gov
Holiday names
There are many holiday-sounding places in the United States. For example, more than a dozen places have Holly in their names, including Mount Holly, N.C. (population 16,257), and Holly Springs, Miss. (7,798).
There’s also Snowflake, Ariz. (5,995); Santa Claus, Ind. (2,411); North Pole, Alaska (2,094); Noel, Mo. (1,807); and — if you know about reindeer — Dasher, Ga. (1,015), and Rudolph, Wis. (416). There is also Unity, Ore. (70).
Shayne Tyler Wrede, 35, of Fort Bragg, California, was arrested on Thursday, December 24, 2020, after authorities said he ran down and killed a Willits, California, man who was riding a motorcycle. Mendocino County Jail photo. NORTH COAST, Calif. – The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said it has arrested a Fort Bragg man who investigators believe used his pickup to intentionally hit and kill a motorcyclist.
Det. Sgt. Luis Espinoza said Shayne Tyler Wrede, 35, was arrested on Christmas Eve for killing 48-year-old Mark Jason Hutchinson of Willits.
Espinoza reported that shortly after 5:40 a.m. Thursday, officers with the California Highway Patrol were dispatched to a reported traffic collision causing injury in the 15000 block of Caspar Road near the Pacifica Drive intersection in Caspar.
Upon arrival the initial CHP officer discovered the traffic collision involved a 2003 Chevrolet pickup truck being driven by Shayne Wrede, Espinoza said.
Additionally, Espinoza said a 1994 Honda 650 motorcycle was present in the roadway. Through this investigation, it was determined the motorcycle was being operated by Mark Hutchinson.
Preliminary information identified Hutchinson as succumbing to his injuries related to the traffic collision, Espinoza said.
Mendocino County Sheriff's deputies were dispatched to the reported coroner's case. While responding, it was learned Wrede – who was identified as also being on county parole – reported being the victim of a shooting earlier that morning prior to the traffic collision, Espinoza said.
Espinoza said Fort Bragg Police Department officers were dispatched to an apartment complex on South Street in Fort Bragg where evidence was located that was consistent with a shooting.
Mendocino County Sheriff's detectives were summoned and were assisted by an investigator with the CHP Northern Division Investigative Unit, Espinoza said.
Espinoza said initial information revealed that following the shooting, both Hutchinson and Wrede were involved in an approximate 4.5-mile vehicle chase.
Their vehicles reached speeds of at least 90 miles per hour through the city of Fort Bragg and the unincorporated southern portion of Fort Bragg before continuing south onto Caspar Road where the subsequent traffic collision occurred resulting in Hutchinson's death, Espinoza said.
Investigators with CHP's Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team stationed in Redding were requested to respond and assist in determining the circumstances related to the traffic collision, Espinoza reported.
Following their scene investigation, speaking with eye witnesses and reviewing surveillance video associated with the shooting/vehicle chase, Espinoza said sheriff's detectives developed probable cause to believe Wrede intentionally caused the traffic collision by striking Hutchinson's motorcycle with his 2003 Chevrolet pickup truck at a high rate of speed while on Caspar Road.
Wrede was arrested for murder and violation of post release community supervision, Espinoza said.
Espinoza said Wrede was subsequently booked into the Mendocino County Jail where he was to be held in lieu of $500,000 bail.
Sheriff's detectives are continuing to followup on information and are asking for the public's help, according to Espinoza’s report.
Sheriff's detectives are requesting anyone with information related to a shooting incident on South Street in Fort Bragg and the vehicle chase involving a motorcycle and dark-colored pick-up truck or the reported traffic collision on Caspar Road to call the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office Tip-Line at 707-234-2100, Espinoza said.
Specifically, Espinoza said any residences or businesses with surveillance video facing US Highway 1 between Walnut Street – where Safeway is located – continuing south to Caspar Road are asked to contact the sheriff's office.
Espinoza said the time frame requested is from 5 to 6 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 24.
The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office thanked the following public safety agencies for their assistance during this investigation: California Department of Fish and Wildlife, California Highway Patrol Investigator - Northern Division Investigative Unit, Fort Bragg Police Department, Mendocino County District Attorney's Office and the CHP Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team.
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