Protesters were drawn to Miami last week as negotiators worked on the Free Trade Area of the Americas pact. One of the protestors’ concerns is that free trade is creating a “race to the bottom” in which developing countries lower their environmental standards to attract international business. But their fears are misplaced. Here’s why. At […]
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We’ve had “global warming” for more than a decade — the hottest decade on record worldwide. Is this the “greenhouse effect” that scientists have been warning about, i.e. a response to increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, or is it some natural — not man-made — climatic change? The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) […]
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I applaud the Bozeman Bicycle Network Plan of August 22. It was prepared by Mack Durham, a research assistant at MSU’s Western Transportation Institute. It was designed to “alleviate the issues facing the cyclists of the Bozeman area.” It aims to “provide a tool to help improve the quality of bicycle transportation in the city […]
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Does economic growth come at the expense of environmental quality? Democratic Presidential candidate Howard Dean thinks not. He’s right. Here’s why. Economic progress is a prerequisite for improving environmental quality. The real enemy of the environment is poverty, not affluence. Consider U.S. air quality. The EPA reports that between 1976 and 1997 ozone levels — […]
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Bozeman’s farmers’ market is a charming way to purchase locally grown produce and handicrafts. The ideal of self-sufficiency such markets imply is often advocated by environmentalists and community food co-ops, e.g., “Be a yokel, buy local.” But while it may appeal to the well-off and socially conscious, if taken to its logical conclusion it has […]
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Think tanks challenge conventional wisdom and generate alternatives. Gallatin Writers and FREE seek innovative solutions to difficult environmental and economic problems. For example, we promote community-based conservation projects and environmental entrepreneurship. Our seminars facilitate policy discussions among federal judges, law professors, environmental professionals, and business leaders. We hope to foster creative alternatives to contentious natural […]
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No prominent member of the Bush administration has convincingly made the case for an environmentalism based on property rights, incentives, and sensible, sustainable regulations. This alternative would be far more effective, efficient, and ecologically sensitive than the command-and-control approach favored by many Greens. The resignation of EPA administrator Christie Todd Whitman offers the administration a […]
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Every society faces the important challenge of meeting its desires without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs. Since we care about the well-being of future generations, the question is, How do we best allocate scarce resources over the long term? Here I consider four categories of resources. The first is renewables, such […]
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Economics is about choices, not money. Money is only a useful measuring tool. But as the Hoover Institution’s Thomas Sowell has so rightly observed, what economists measure best are not those things that matter most. Yet, the economic way of thinking helps me understand two divisive issues, sexually oriented business and the burning of tires […]
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Yesterday Americans celebrated our 33rd Earth Day. I spent the first fighting to protect the Lincoln Backcountry from the U.S. Forest Service. They proposed an economically idiotic development plan for that high-elevation and extremely fragile area. In 1972 we won that battle and I’ve seen great environmental progress since. The air and water are cleaner […]
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