Biography
Since Darmstadter joined RFF in 1966, his research has centered on energy resources and policy. He also has focused on issues related to climate change, natural resource sustainability, and productivity in natural resource industries.
Darmstadter has served on National Research Council bodies and has contributed to its studies. He also has served on a team that evaluated the performance of the U.S. Department of Energy's National Institute of Global Environmental Change. Darmstadter has been an adjunct faculty member of the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, an editorial committee member of the Annual Review of Energy, and a contributing editor of Environment magazine.
Darmstadter has presented papers at numerous international conferences. In 1995, he gave a series of lectures in Argentina under the auspices of the U.S. Information Agency. More recently, he presented papers at a 1999 renewable energy workshop in Austria and at the August 2000 Greenhouse Gas Technology Conference in Australia.
M.A. in economics, New School for Social Research, 1952.
A.B. in economics, George Washington University, 1950.
Professional Experience
Senior Fellow, Resources for the Future, 1966 - present.
Director, Resources for the Future, Energy and Materials Division, 1984 - 1988.
Professional Lecturer, Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies, 1983 - 1993.
Economist, National Planning Association, 1957 - 1966.
Active Duty, U.S. Army, 1955 - 1957.
Research Assistant (for several economic research organizations), 1952 - 1955.
Journal Articles
Review of "The New Consumers: The Influence of Affluence on the Environment: by Norman Myers and Jennifer Kent (Washington: Island Press, 2004)" Joel Darmstadter Environmental Conservation | June 2005 | Vol. 32, No. 2
Whistling in the Wind? Toward a Realistic Pursuit of Renewable Energy Joel Darmstadter Brookings Review | Spring 2002
Winner, Loser or Innocent Victim: Has Renewable Energy Performed as Expected? James McVeigh, Dallas Burtraw, Joel Darmstadter, and Karen Palmer Solar Energy | Vol. 68, No. 3 | pp. 237-255 | Related Discussion Paper 99-28 (Also appeared as Research Report No. 7, Renewable Energy Project, Washington, March 1999.)
Renewables From Another Angle James McVeigh, Dallas Burtraw, Joel Darmstadter, and Karen L. Palmer Electric Perspectives | 2000 | Vol. 25, No. 2 | pp. 10-20
Climate Change Impacts on the Energy Sector and Possible Adjustments in the MINK [Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas] Region J. Darmstadter Climatic Change | June 1993
Interconnections Between Energy and the Environment: Global Challenges J. Darmstadter and R. W. Fri Annual Review of Energy and the Environment | 1992 | Vol. 17
Prospects for a Global Greenhouse Gas Accord: Lessons from Other Agreements Michael A. Toman, Peter Morrisette, Joel Darmstadter and Andrew Plantinga Global Environmental Change | June 1991
Books, Chapters, and Reports
Slaking our Thirst for Oil Ian Parry and Joel Darmstadter New Approaches on Energy and the Environment: Policy Advice for the President | Richard D. Morgenstern and Paul R. Portney, eds. | RFF Press | 2004 | Chapter 4
Stimulating Renewable Energy: A "Green Power" Initiative Joel Darmstadter New Approaches on Energy and the Environment: Policy Advice for the President | Richard D. Morgenstern and Paul R. Portney, eds. | RFF Press | 2004 | Chapter 5
The Energy-CO2 Connection: A Review of Trends and Challenges Joel Darmstadter Climate Change Economics and Policy: An RFF Anthology | Michael A. Toman, ed. | RFF Press | 2001
The Role of Renewable Resources in U.S. Electricity Generation: Experience and Prospects Joel Darmstadter Climate Change Economics and Policy: An RFF Anthology | Michael A. Toman, ed. | RFF Press | 2001
Innovation and Productivity in U.S. Coal Mining Joel Darmstadter Productivity in Natural Resource Industries | R. David Simpson, ed. | RFF Press | 1999
The Energy Upheavals of the 1970s: Policy Watershed or Aberration? J. Darmstadter and D. R. Bohi The Energy Crisis: Unresolved Issues and Enduring Legacies | D. l. Feldman, ed. | Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press | 1996
Energy Patterns - In Retrospect and Prospect Joel Darmstadter Sustainable Development of the Biosphere | W. C. Clark and R. E. Munn, eds. | Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press | 1986
Energy Today and Tomorrow: Living With Uncertainty
Joel Darmstadter, Hans H. Landsberg, Herbert C. Morton with Michael J. Coda Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, for Resources for the Future | 1983
Slaking Our Thirst for Oil Ian Parry and Joel Darmstadter New Approaches on Energy and the Environment: Policy Advice for the President | pp. 23-27 Resources for the Future Press, Washington DC, 2004.
Richard Morgenstern and Paul Portney, editors
Book review of "Fossil Fuels in a Changing Climate" by U. Bartsch and Benito Mueller Joel Darmstadter American Journal of Agricultural Economics | May 2002
Comment on "Searching for a National Energy Policy" by J. P. Holdren Joel Darmstadter Issues in Science and Technology | Summer 2001
The Long-Run Availability of Minerals: Geology, Environment, Economics Joel Darmstadter The Long-Run Availability of Minerals: Geology, Environment, Economics | Resources for the Future (RFF) and the Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development Program (MMSD) | 2001
What Drives Productivity Growth in Natural Resource Industries? Douglas R. Bohi, Joel Darmstadter, Roger A. Sedjo, John E. Tilton, Hans H. Landsberg, and Ian W.H. Parry Resources | Spring 1996 (123)
Energy Tax Joel Darmstadter The Encyclopedia of the Environment | 1994 | Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin
Book review of "Energy Efficiency and Human Activity" by L. Schipper and S. Meyers Joel Darmstadter The Energy Journal | 1993 | Vol. 14, No. 2
Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Alternative Fuels Alan J. Krupnick, Margaret Walls, Sari Radin, Carol Collins, and Joel Darmstadter Report to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Policy Analysis | June 1991
Comment on "Energy Demand and Supply in the Developing World" by A. A. Churchill Joel Darmstadter World Bank Annual Conference on Development Economics | World Bank | Proceedings of the World Bank Annual Conference on Development Economics | 1983
Can Power from Space Compete? Molly K. Macauley, Joel Darmstadter, John N. Fini, Joel S. Greenberg, John S. Maulbetsch, A. Michael Schaal, Geoffrey S.W. Styles, and James A. Vedda RFF Discussion Paper 00-16 | March 2000 | Abstract
The Economy-Energy-CO2 Connection: A Review of Trends and Challenges Joel Darmstadter Greenhouse Gas Technology Conference | Cairns, Australia | August 1, 2000
The Role of Renewables in U.S. Electricity Generation: Experience and Prospects. Joel Darmstadter International Biosphere, Climate and Economy (BIOCLIMECO) Workshop | BIOCLIMECO | Graz, Austria | October 1, 1999
Professional Activities
Committee Memberships: Committee on Earth Resources, National Research Council, 1994 - 1997.
"The Role of Renewable Resources in U.S. Electricity Generation: Experience and Prospects." Delivered to the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Science, Washington, D.C., February 28, 2001.
Panels and Symposiums: Panelist, Cosmos Club Energy Symposium, Washington, D.C., April 28, 2001.
Member, National Research Council Panel to Review the U.S. Geological Survey's Energy Resources Program, 1997 - 1999.
Member, review team evaluating National Institute for Global Environmental Change, sponsored by U.S. DOE, administered by University of California at Davis, 1997.
Organizer, National Research Council Workshop ("Valuing Natural Capital in Planning for Sustainable Development"), Woods Hole, MA, July 1993.
Organizer, American Economic Association meeting (sessions on natural resources), Washington, D.C., December 1990.
Organizer, AAAS Annual Meeting (Symposium on Climate Change), New Orleans, LA, February 1990.
Lecturer: Lecture on U.S. energy policy, George Mason University, Learning-in-Retirement Institute, May 15, 2001.
Consultant: Consultant, National Research Council Committee on Valuing Ground Water, 1994 - 1996.