In an earlier life I was an economic anthropologist and I still enjoy studying people with unusual views of the ideal society. For example, Ramona and I attended an early Earth First! rendezvous. It made the Sierra Club look moderate indeed. Earth First!’s experiment seems exhausted. Its environmental concerns have been trumped by more immediate […]
Read More
The Thanksgiving holiday has traditionally been one of America’s biggest family travel days. This year the price of air travel has gone up. This suggests that people’s willingness to fly to be with loved ones and friends will be tested. The reason is simple; as prices for something rise, demand falls. This is the social […]
Read More
We went to North Carolina’s Research Triangle the day after the election to participate in the “Spirit of Inquiry” award program sponsored by the John W. Pope Center for Higher Education Policy. The awards are offered to foster “a spirit of open-minded exploration within the guidelines of an academic discipline.” Students nominated 59 courses from […]
Read More
The economic crisis has accomplished something that many nations have been trying, and failing, to do for years—reduce CO2 emissions. This reality highlights the enormous social and technical challenges we face. Is a continuing recession and reduction in prosperity the best way to deal with climate change or any environmental problem? No. Economic growth and […]
Read More
“Things Counterintuitive” is the theme of FREE’s first summer conference. We have invited a select group of economists, mathematicians, free-range intellectuals, and a magician to explore interesting and important counterintuitive truths about nature and human behavior. Much human behavior is given by nature, immune to pious pronouncements. It is irresponsibly naïve to ignore this reality. […]
Read More
I’m just back from Western Michigan after giving a series of talks on our energy future. In the 19th century, Dutch immigrants settled much of this area, bringing with them an affinity for windmills. There is an authentic windmill named De Zwaan, meaning graceful bird, in the town of Holland. When the local utility proposed […]
Read More
Wal-Mart is the largest retailer in the world. It employs 1.8 million, more than any other American institution besides the federal government. Its 2006 revenues surpassed $315 billion. But statistics serve only to reinforce what most Americans already know: Wal-Mart is big business. Wal-Mart often shares its success. The Walton family has donated over $1 […]
Read More
I received an invitation from the Gallatin County Democrats to join with local labor unions to renovate a portion of the Gallatin Labor Temple and raise funds for Hurricane Katrina relief. I hope the event was successful. The invitation came on a picture postcard. The image was in the genre known as Socialist Realism. It […]
Read More
Gasoline prices have hit new highs. Hurricane Katrina, a lack of refineries (the newest U.S. refinery is thirty years old), a “Balkanzied” fuel market, and high demand drive prices. Politicians are tempted to “protect” consumers from being “gouged” by oil companies. Unfortunately, one of their favored policies, a cap on gasoline prices, has a sorry […]
Read More
How would $6/gal gas or diesel change the lives of folks living in Montana? With an area slightly smaller than Japan and a population of just under one million, we are rather dispersed; it’s not a great place for mass transit. We are totally dependent on cars, pickups, and SUVs. Further, our housing locations were […]
Read More