Gallatin County doubled in population in the past thirty years, making it the fastest-growing region in Montana. While the county’s 2.6 percent annual growth rate falls far short of the 8.3 percent rate of Loudoun County, Virginia, or the 4.3 percent rate of Clark County (Las Vegas), Nevada, it is still enough to cause stresses […]

Most folks instinctively believe growth and environmental protection are mutually exclusive. Increased economic activity and growing populations stress the Earth’s “carrying capacity.” In this view, we must choose between protecting the planet or promoting economic progress. Fortunately this is not the real choice. Consider this. Population Growth In 1798, Thomas Malthus published An Essay on […]

While planning last week for my next seminar for federal judges, to be held in July by the Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment, I was disheartened to read that several distinguished judges had felt obliged to distance themselves from the Foundation by resigning from its Board of Trustees. This will be my […]

My wife, Professor Ramona Marotz-Baden, Ph.D., is retiring after a 35-year teaching career. Twenty-seven were at MSU. She had offers at Ivy and Big Ten schools. Her college at the University of Minnesota named Ramona one of its “Top 100 Graduates of the First 100 Years.” This prompts a question: Why does Montana State attract […]