A Per-Capita Estimate of Mortality, Morbidity, and Life-Expectancy Loss in 2025 Daniel Brouse and Siddhartha MukherjeeJune 2026 Abstract: Climate Welfare Accounting Framework (CWAF) Climate change is often discussed in terms of physical damages, disaster losses, or aggregate effects on GDP. Those measures are important, but they understate a central reality: climate change is also a […]
Tag Archives: economy
The Welfare Cost of Climate Change in the United States
Wholesale Inflation Surges to Highest Level Since 2022: Consumer Prices May Be Next
The latest inflation data delivered an unwelcome surprise. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Producer Price Index (PPI) for final demand rose 1.1% in May on a seasonally adjusted basis, pushing wholesale inflation to 6.5% over the past 12 months—the highest annual rate since November 2022. The increase exceeded expectations and represents […]
Inflation Surges to Three-Year High as Oil Shock Ripples Through the Economy
Rising Energy Costs Push Inflation Higher U.S. consumer inflation accelerated sharply in May 2026, reaching its highest level in three years according to the latest data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The Consumer Price Index (CPI), the government’s primary measure of inflation, rose 4.2% over the previous twelve months, up from 3.8% […]
Don’t Be Fooled by Oil Futures: The Hidden Supply Crunch
Don’t Be Fooled by Oil Futures: The Hidden Supply Crunch in U.S. Commercial Inventories and the Strategic Petroleum Reserve at Multi-Decade Lows Introduction: Paper Markets vs. Physical Reality Oil futures markets are currently sending a deceptively calm signal. Prices appear to reflect a system that is balanced, or at least manageable. But beneath that surface, […]
The Future: Feedback Loops and the Limits of Human Adaptation
Introduction: Bounded — But Potentially Extreme Q: What is the most likely future climate scenario? A: Accelerating climate disruption driven by interacting feedback loops. The good news is that physics places limits on the absolute worst-case outcomes. Earth is not expected to undergo a runaway Venus-style greenhouse effect in which oceans boil away and the […]
Oil Forecast: Record Highs Before Structural Collapse?
What is likely to happen to the price of oil? While the future is uncertain, the highest-probability outcome may be a period of the highest oil prices in history followed by some of the lowest sustained prices in modern history. In the short term, geopolitical instability, supply disruptions, war risk, and constrained global production capacity […]
The AI Investment Bubble and the Coming Automation Tax Debate
Investing in equities tied to the AI boom carries enormous uncertainty. Trillions of dollars are now being poured into artificial intelligence infrastructure, chips, data centers, and automation platforms — but trillions in spending do not automatically translate into trillions in profits. The core economic question remains unresolved: how will many of these companies generate sustainable […]
Debt Crosses the Line: U.S. Debt Surpasses the Size of the Economy
As of April 30, 2026, U.S. federal debt held by the public has officially exceeded the size of the entire American economy for the first time since World War II—a symbolic and economically significant milestone. Current Fiscal Snapshot What It Means for Households Crossing the 100% threshold does not trigger an immediate crisis, but it […]
The Accidental Climate Accelerator: How Global Conflict and China’s Solar Surge Are Reshaping Energy Faster Than Policy
The good news is that, regardless of intent or framing, Trump’s recent policy choices have significantly accelerated investment and deployment in green energy—arguably contributing, in an unintended way, to one of the fastest transitions in energy technology in modern history. Despite the short-term negative impacts of current geopolitical tensions and energy policy disruptions on climate […]
Record Exports, Rising Costs: The Hidden Tradeoffs of America’s Oil Boom
The United States reached a record-breaking 12.9 million barrels per day (bpd) in total crude oil and petroleum product exports for the week ending April 17, 2026. On paper, this milestone reinforces the narrative of American “energy dominance.” In practice, it reveals a far more complex—and costly—reality. The Refinery Mismatch: Why the U.S. Imports Oil […]