Cars

1.      What is the Fundamental Law of Road Congestion? What is its implication for the strategy of building more road capacity to solve traffic  problems?

2.      With respect to automobile exhaust, what is the trade­off between local and global pollution when deciding how to control an engine’s emissions? What did VW choose with its diesel motors? (By the way, there is a settlement in  prospect.)

3.      According to Knittel, what are the options for increasing the fuel economy of the automobile fleetintheshort,mediumandlongrunintheU.S.?Bespecificastoeachtimeperiod.

4.      According to Knittel, what has been the result of the relatively rapid technological change in the automobile sector? Sketch a graph of the results of this change. What has been consumers’ reaction to it? Include this on your graph, too. How might a higher fuel tax have kept this from occurring? Explain, briefly, using both words and your   graph.

5.      Name two ways in which an increased gasoline tax would be superior to a higher CAFE standard in reducing CO2   emissions.

Global warming(GW)

1.      We know that human psychology predisposes us to focus on the present and the visible. As the GW models have improved, what has happened to their ability to attribute extreme weather to GW? (Extreme weather: drought, hurricanes, floods, & heat   waves.)

2.      Some skeptics note, correctly, that solar radiation changes naturally, and this influences temperatures. What is the magnitude of this change, relative to the effect of CO2, CH4 and other atmospheric drivers of GW? And, how do we know that other sources of natural variability besides the sun aren’t responsible,  either?

3.      Last decade, there was a notable increase in CO2 emissions from fossil fuels. What changed, as compared to preceding decades, to cause this? Make reference to population, efficiency (carbon vs. energy, and energy vs. GDP), and income  growth.

4.      One of the abatement strategies suggested in IPCC AR5 WG3 is bioenergy with carbon capture and storage or “BECCS.” Given what you’ve read in MacKay and in the popular press, what is   the technological prospect for this? The economic prospect, in terms of its being a low­cost method? Bespecific.