Will water move uphill toward money? Last week’s U.S. Supreme Court decision, Kelo v. City of New London, makes it more likely. Here’s how. The Kelo case is the latest challenge to the 5th Amendment’s constraints on governmental seizure of private property. In a 5-4 decision, the Court held that the government can transfer property […]

Each summer Eagle Mount’s Camp Braveheart program brings 10 to 20 kids from throughout the nation to the Bozeman area. All of them are stricken by cancer and many come from families of modest means. While here, they revel in Montana delights: horseback riding, camping, canoeing, etc. FREE and Curmudgeon friends sponsor a day at […]

Each spring, the mainstream media — fueled by a single advocacy group — accuse FREE of promoting corporate interests, pursuing anti-environmental policies, and conducting boondoggle seminars for federal judges and law professors. Solid evidence refutes these claims. It would be less disturbing if these printed accounts appeared on opinion pages, but these biases underlie Associated […]

Oil is a non-renewable finite resource, yet we’ll never run out. How is this possible? The answers are not obvious and some folks are unduly concerned. Let’s explore the logic of oil exploration, production, and consumption. First, there is a critical difference between resources and reserves. Resources are the total physical stock of a natural […]

I recently read that the Property and Environment Research Center (PERC), a free-market environmental group in Bozeman, will celebrate its 25th anniversary on June 4th. Please join me in offering congratulations. PERC has done a great deal to improve America’s understanding of the institutions that promote and foster environmental quality, as well as those that […]