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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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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I applaud state senator Emily Stonington’s (D-Bozeman) Senate Bill 240. The bill would have required methane-drilling companies to seriously consider the impact of their activities on the owners of surface rights. Her bill implicitly recognizes the importance of property rights and illustrates their evolutionary nature. Clear and enforceable property rights subject to the rule of […]
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For a generation Republican Party leaders have been alienating a constituency they long took for granted. Characterized as “Range Rover Republicans”, they are well educated, well-off folks who care about wilderness and wildlife habitat. These people are deserting the Republican Party in droves. Since neither of the Bush presidents seem to understand the causes of […]
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One of the first lessons responsible parents teach their children is both simple and valid: if you make a mess, clean it up. Many mining companies used their political influence to escape this admonition. This is true through out the West, even on the borders of Yellowstone National Park. Their economic calculus is simple. Benefits […]
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I wish President Bush well, but environmentally, his administration remains astonishingly shortsighted. They inexplicably ignore an increasingly important political fact: as individuals’ wealth and education increase, so does their sensitivity to environmental quality. Economist Don Coursey of the University of Chicago recently demonstrated that the demand for environmental quality resembles that for BMWs and foreign […]
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People agree strong government does much good. Nothing new here. But there is a change. Once it seemed that only the sophisticated, the cynical, and economists allied with the University of Chicago understood government’s potentials for mischief. For a generation, the proportion of analysts writing on the pathologies and pitfalls of government power has grown. […]
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Whether we’re trying to save species or specie, decisions are based on information and incentives. Regulations that generate poor incentives simply won’t work. Good intentions are not enough. Congress tried to protect endangered species via the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973. Prior to 1973, landowners could freely use their land, even if endangered species […]
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Election politics brought a wave of “green decrees” from Washington. President Clinton has locked in the support of national environmental groups by resolving environmental controversies by executive order. Most recently, Clinton declared 1.7 million acres of southern Utah (seven times larger than Mount Rainier National Park) a national monument, using authority granted under the 1906 […]
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The modern environmental movement evolved from the conservation movement of the turn of the century. We can be grateful for the many notable successes of the early conservationists. They alerted America to serious problems like “cut and run” timber harvesting, overgrazing government lands, and vanishing game. However they also gave us a legacy to overcome. […]
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