The Benefit Estimation Project on Grandfather Mountain has come to an end...

You can click on the above link to see our project in preventing.

Our research showed that travel cost is more important to patrons of Grandfather Mountain than the level of haziness and pollution. We feel that part of this discovery is due to the fact many people who come to GM are not simply coming for the views of Charlotte, other mountains, etc. As we asked in our survey, other things to visit at GM are hiking trails (that may or may not have the views overlooking mountain ranges), the Mile-High bridge, the nature preserves/museums, and other activities that do not demand impeccable air quality. Furthermore, we have learned that if this particular estimation should be done again, the surveys should maybe be taken at random times in all seasons.

On behalf of Dr. Whitehead's ECO3620 class and Appalachian State University, we would like to thank you for joining us today and we hope you enjoyed the show. Please exit the theater to your right and deposit your 3-d glasses into the bins. Enjoy the rest of your day here in Boone, North Carolina.

Backlash Spreads to Oil Companies

In the wake of high energy prices, the world's major oil companies are reporting record profits. Political pressure has been mounting against companies such as Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell to explain how they are not taking unfair advantages to situations such as continuing instability in the Middle East and the recent outbreaks of major hurricanes in the Gulf. Even high level Republicans such as Senate Majority leader Bill Frist have said they may take action. In the atricle Mr. Frist is quoted as saying "If there are those who abuse the free enterprise system to advantage themselves and their businesses at the expense of all Americans, they ought to be exposed, and they ought to be ashamed." What Bill Frist means by "abusing the free enterprise system," is using these recent events to gouge consumers with high oil prices. Now it is possible that many of the rising prices are legitimate due to worries of a supply shock that limits the amount of oil and gas that consumers can normally purchase. But many people think some price increases are a way of gouging in a moment of crisis and believe some of the price increases to be illegitimate. The federal government has received lots of complaints so that is why there is such drastic calls for anti-gouging laws and price ceilings on the price of gas. I think it would be a bad idea to take such drastic action at this time. If the governement were to pass laws limiting the ability of companies to raise their prices, then there could be a huge problem with shortages similar to what happened with OPEC in the 1970s. If the price of oil is legitimately rising due to uncertainty and the companies cannot sell it for the price they paid, then they have no incentive to produce and consumers will be out of luck. In the long term, these laws would also allow consumers to continue being inefficient and it would delay further the development of more fuel-efficient cars. If the price of oil is allowed to rise in the free market system, then other alternative energy sources could be developed that might be more efficient then the use of gasoline. In the end, these calls for new legislation are probably just a knee-jerk reaction to constituents' complaints about their rising energy costs. The politicians are worried about their political future so they speak out to protect themselves. Too much involvement could end up making the situation worse.

Grandfather Mountain Survey Write-Up

For our survey project, we are putting all of our data into an Excel sheet. We have 20 different Descriptive Variable Labels,which are the headings for each column of data. The Descriptive Variable Labels are one word descriptors that represent the main part of the question. Sometimes, there is a problem with one of the questions and we need to change the data because the question was not read correctly or something. This is called a Data Imputation. These Data Imputations will be written up in the end. We have added two questions to the survey that were not previously on it that we are answering ourselves. One is whether the day was Friday or Saturday. The other is to lookup HMPG for each car the surveyees drove. This has been interesting as some people put things such as "minivan," "BMW," or something like "auto." I don't even know what that means. "Auto" as in not stick shift? Or "auto" as in you didn't fly a 747 to Blowing Rock? In all seriousness, we should have specified that we wanted the make, model, and year. Now we know! I had problems with some other questions as well and some people put answers for the questions they were told to skip (if they answered the previous question a certain way) and stuff like that. We know now that next time we have to be more specific with our questions. Various questions will be used to illustrate demand shifts, travel costs, etc. So, not bad for our first stab using Stated Preference Surveying and the Contingent Valuation Method.

NOAA Fisheries....again

NOAA Fisheries valuate recreational fishing for the purpose of studying the changes of qualtiy and quantity of marine recreational fishing. According to the NMFS Guidelines on Economic Valuation of Marine Recreational Fishing, there are five steps that NOAA Fisheries must follow to valuate recreational fishing, and they are:1. Define the affected fishery; 2. Determine how physical conditons affect recreational quality and quantity; 3. Estimate baseline recreational activity and value of recreational fishing; 4. Estimate changes in recreational activity and economic value; 5. Display gains and losses.http://swfsc.nmfs.noaa.gov/publications/TM/SWFSC/NOAA-TM-NMFS-SWFC-32.PDF
A case study can be found at:http://www.st.nmfs.gov/st5/documents/bibliography/Protected_Resources_Valuation%20.pdf
This is a study that valuates the threatened and endangered species (over forty). The main objective of this study is to provide value estimates for species under the management of NOAA's Office of Protected Resources. They used data from the NOAA libraries, standardized estimates to 2003 dollars via the consumer price index, and they used a multi-attribute approach for valuing protected resources. They took into consideration population changes, program success, program implementation, future sport fishery and costs. The major outcome of this study is a chart that show the public value of a protected resource.

NOAA Fisheries

NOAA Fisheries is the federal agency that controls the habitats of the United States' marine wildlife and protects those resources by enforcing laws passed by Congress. The goals of NOAA Fisheries are to protect and conserve the marine life that lies in the United States' Exclusive Economic Zone ( up to 300 miles out from the shoreline), they must predict the size of fish stocks, regulate the fisheries to be sure they are following the law, and they strive to eliminate wasteful fishing by these fisheries. The laws NOAA Fisheries enforce are the Magnuson-Stevens Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, and the Endangered Species Act. All of these laws are very important to NOAA Fisheries and are constantly enforced. The marine resources are very valuable to not only the environment but for these fisheries too. NOAA Fisheries makes sure that there will be abundant resources in the future.

A case study can be found at this link...
http://www.afsc.noaa.gov/Quarterly/amj2005/divrptsNMML3.htm
This study is a survey that was conducted by the Cetacean Assessment and Ecology Program in June and July of 2005 about killer whales. The purpose of this survey was to observe whales in their own environments and to study their eating habits, movements, stock strutures, and others.

Grandfather Mountain Recreation Survey

1. How many people are in your party? ____ people

2. Are any of them children? ____ children

3. How many hours do you plan on spending at Grandfather Mountain today? ____ hours

4. Including today, how many times in the past year have you visited Grandfather Mountain? ____ visits

5. What is your main reason for visiting Grandfather Mountain today? Is it:

a. The Views
b. Mile-High Bridge
c. Hiking
d. Nature Preserves/Museums
e. Something Else

6. On a clear day, Mt. Mitchell and the Charlotte skyline are visible from Grandfather Mountain. On a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is very clear and 5 is very hazy, how would you rate the visibility at Grandfather Mountain today?

1 2 3 4 5

7. On a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is very important and 5 is not important at all, how important do you think it is to improve the air quality in the High Country?

1 2 3 4 5

8. Using the same scale, how important do you think it is to improve visibility at Grandfather Mountain?

9. If the visibility at Grandfather Mountain was improved so that it is very clear at least 5 days a week, would you visit Grandfather Mountain more often?

Yes No (skip next question)

10. (If yes) About how many times in the next year do you think you would visit Grandfather Mountain? ____ visits

11. Do you live in North Carolina?

Yes No (skip next question)

12. Do you live in the High Country region? (define region if asked)

Yes (skip next question) No

13. If you lived within XYZ miles of Grandfather Mountain, about how many times in the next year do you think you would visit Grandfather Mountain? ____ visits

14. How many miles is it from your home to Grandfather Mountain? ____ miles

15. What type of vehicle did you drive today? ___________________

16. In what year were you born? 19____

17. What is the highest level of education you have completed?

High School 2-year college 4-year college Masters degree Other graduate degree

Sex: Male Female

If you would like to receive results from this survey, please feel free to put your email address on our contact list.

Thank you for participating in our survey!

Oil Futures and Prices of Alternative Energy Sources

In the last few weeks, crude oil futures have fallen on the New York Mercantile Exchange. When Hurricane Rita was heading towards the Gulf, many were very concerned that it could cause more devastation then Katrina. At one point, Rita was a stronger storm then Katrina. Also it was headed towards Texas where there are many more refineries then the areas hardest hit by Katrina. According to Bob Tippee, editor of the industry trade journal Oil & Gas Journal, if Rita directly hit Texas at the strength it was initially predicted to, then the U.S. could have lost up to 3 million barrels of capacity. http://money.cnn.com/2005/09/21/news/economy/rita_threat/ With such a massive forecasted supply shock, traders bid up the price of oil and some feared gas prices could rise to $5 a gallon. Fortunately, Rita weakened and didn't cause as much damage as initially feared. A little over a month ago, crude oil was hovering around $70 a barrel. At last check, on October 7, it is below $62 a barrel.

A check of the website www.solarbuzz.com shows charts on the price of solar energy. The table and graph go back to October 2000. The highest price (which is price per watt) was recorded in January 2001 at $5.93. The price went as low as $4.94 in May of 2004 but has been steadily rising since and as of September was $5.23 per watt. The price has probably been rising due to the steady ascent of prices in oil. With oil prices rising, many are turning to or considering alternative energy sources such as solar energy. Obviously noone wants to use fuel that is more expensive then another so that would probably explain the steady rise which nearly coincides when oil started rising. It will be interesting to see what happens if the goal that is mentioned on the site is achieved. The industry is hoping through the use of better technology to lower prices per watt to the $1.50-$2.00 range. If oil keeps rising and this goal is achieved, then the switchoff point could be reached and a mass exodus will leave the petroleum market and instead become consumers of solar energy.