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 […]

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 […]

With the 35th anniversary of Earth Day recently passed, memories of slogans and bumper stickers like “spilt wood, not atoms” come to mind. Yet as we ponder rising energy costs and growing concerns over global warming, we soon face major choices. When I was a Berkeley student in the 1960s, I was interested in nuclear […]

Dear Governor Schweitzer: I supported your candidacy. I paid careful attention to your energy plans for Montana and believe you aspire to keep energy prices low while protecting Montana’s environment. I heartily endorse this goal. Hence I’m puzzled by your determination to subsidize the construction of ethanol plants and to mandate we use gasoline made […]

While a graduate student, I had the great good fortune to know professor Marion J. Levy, of Princeton University. He heavily influenced my thinking on society and economy. In particular, he sensitized me to the pitfalls of relying upon good intentions and idealistic proclamations. I was working with Professor Levy at the time of the […]