Space Debris in “Gravity”
Alfonso Cuarón’s “Gravity” may have enchanted critics and enjoyed the best October opening ever, but the movie also sparked a flurry of debate about its scientific accuracy and implications. The destructive space junk depicted in the film has become a popular talking point, with some media outlets wondering if a real-world “rocket tax” could be used to hold governments and corporations more responsible for material they send into orbit.
Thinking about space as a global “commons” is critical to solving problems such as excess space junk, according to RFF’s Molly Macauley. In a recent Resources issue, Macauley said that this debris is “one more form of pollution that can be addressed through policy mechanisms like deposit-refunds or tradable permits.” Resource and environmental economics, she noted, could also be used to set debris growth standards and account for policy enforcement costs.
Fixing Flood Reform
The Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act began increasing some high-risk policyholders’ premiums on October 1st. The reform is an effort to make the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) self-sustaining, while preventing its benefits from flowing “disproportionately toward repeatedly devastated properties and to the wealthy.” Though the act is disliked by some politicians in areas most affected by these hikes, local efforts to delay the bill have been stalled by the government shutdown.
To ensure flood insurance remains affordable for all policyholders, RFF’s Carolyn Kousky and Howard Kunreuther propose coupling it with “a means-tested voucher with hazard mitigation requirements to be financed with low-interest loans.” Distributing vouchers parallel to new risk-based pricing would make insurance attainable for low-income homeowners and the NFIP more sustainable, while keeping communities aware of their relative flood risks.
