Jeremy Weber, professor of economics and public policy at the University of Pittsburgh, will give the talk "Can environmental restoration help revitalize communities? Evidence from treating abandoned mine drainage in Pennsylvania" at noon on Friday, Sept. 18, in 157 Hosler Building at Penn State University Park.
The event is part of a fall seminar series hosted by the Initiative for Energy and Environmental Economics and Policy (EEEPI). The talk is free and open to the public.
Communities facing industrial decline or energy transitions often face accompanying environmental hazards. In areas transitioning away from coal, abandoned mines and acid mine drainage can have large impacts.
"Using coal communities as a test case, we consider whether turning environmental hazards into amenities helps revitalize communities threatened with economic and demographic decline," Weber said.
Results reveal that communities with mine-impaired waterways see less population growth or even depopulation, and that environmental restoration can help address these trends, according to Weber.
"Even partial waterway restoration can offset this effect, with growth in the college-educated population increasing by 10 percentage points," Weber said. "Our findings suggest that environmental restoration should be viewed as more than environmental policy, having a clear role in place-based development strategies for communities undergoing industrial transitions."
Weber is a professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public and International Affairs. He researches the policy and economics of environmental and energy issues. He has extensive policy experience, having worked as a research economist at a federal statistical agency and as a chief economist at the White House. He earned a bachelor of arts in international political economy from Juniata College and his doctorate in agricultural and applied economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
About EEEPI
Established in 2011, EEEPI operates as a University-wide initiative at Penn State with support from the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute and the Institute of Energy and the Environment. EEEPI seeks to catalyze research in energy and environmental systems economics across the University and to build a world-class group of economists with interests in interdisciplinary collaboration.
