At least when there was a housing bubble, there were actual houses involved. The next bubble could ostensibly be a carbon dioxide bubble; the newly-created, artificial market for a clear, odorless gas is growing at rapid rates. According to a new article from Mark Shapiro in Harper’s: Carbon trading is now the fastest-growing commodities market on earth. Since 2005, when major greenhouse-gas polluters among the Kyoto signatories were issued caps on their emissions and permitted to buy credits to meet those caps, there have been more than $300 billion worth …
April 30 was the last day for the planning department of Petaluma, Calif. The city decided to axe the department after it became clear that development activity was not generating sufficient revenue to cover the department’s expenses. As of March, the department was running a deficit of $280,000 for the fiscal year, which ends in June. Too few developers were applying for building permits or otherwise making use of the department’s fee-generating services. In 1972, Petaluma became the first city in the country to attempt to control growth through limiting …
