Historically, the greatest scientists are great precisely because they broke with the consensus. Remember this when discussing global warming and other environmental issues. Such issues are always contentious, for they share two characteristics: They are technically complex and highly emotional. Can you think of a single environmental issue that isn’t both? Global warming tops the […]

Shortly after Rick Stroup and I established the Center for Political Economy and Natural Resources at Montana State University, we received a major grant to host national conferences on resource economics. A foundation president advised me to consult with an LA media expert. I dutifully called him. He asked if we were going to hold […]

Each Friday my colleagues and I produce a column for the following Wednesday. Mine of November 3rd, the day after our election, anticipated election results and suggested constructive reflections. The following day, November 4th, I surveyed 20-plus folks who often read my column. Alas, only two had read the latest. It was like a morning […]

Writing before it occurs, what can I say about yesterday’s election? In this arena, modesty and circumspection come naturally. Yet, I am confident of a few important features of our emerging political economy. Here’s the history from which I write. Ramona and I spent the Wednesday after the 2000 election in the Lima, Peru airport. […]