With meat demand going up and leather demand going down, the cowhide industry has a devastating supply and a demand problem.…
Environment
Environmental economics looks at the positive and negative impact of growth. Especially focusing on marginal analysis and externalities, econlife looks at our current impact on the environment and our use of natural resources in the US and beyond.
Plastic Straw Ban Surprises
With plastic straw bans and request-a-straw rules, people and places are adjusting with new kinds of straws and some surprising innovations.…
How to Bond With a Rhino
Combining financial and ecological incentives, the London Zoological Society is encouraging investors to buy rhino bonds for rhino conservation.…
How the Weather Affects What We Buy
Even influencing the kind of car we decide to buy, weather economics can have a surprising impact on the decisions we make as consumers.…
Should We Charge Electric Cars?
With the depletion of the Highway Trust Fund, Congress needs to decide if its new funding sources will include a pay-by-the-mile tax that charges EVs.…
Why We Want Sneakers Made From Coffee
Whether it relates to coffee grounds or new clothing patterns, zero waste design can optimize economic efficiency in surprising ways.…
The Spillover From Sorting (and Not Sorting) Trash
The four colors of Shanghai’s trash-sorting bins make the new system look deceptively simple for households and businesses.…
Six Facts: Our Global Energy Consumption
The six facts that illustrate our global energy consumption take us to the countries, the growth rates, and the types of energy..…
How Legos Discovered It’s Not Easy to be Green
If we want our Legos to match, attach, and detach, we might have to wait awhile for them to develop the appropriate bio-based plastic.…
The Significance of a Cat Census
While the mission of the DC Cat Count is humane treatment of cats, it is also a cat census that provides a basic economic lesson.…