Deep ecologists urge us to “return to nature”. If we reconnect with nature in a primitive, spiritual way, we may spare mother earth. Reject science, technology, and the market for small-scale, Edenic lifestyles. I like their goals of environmental protection and sustainability, but their means are dangerously misguided. A “return to nature” will increase our […]
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GALLATIN GATEWAY, MONT.– Last week, 17 federal judges gathered at the Gallatin Gateway Inn. This inn, the last of its kind, was built by the Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad to attract tourists en route to Yellowstone National Park. The judges met to hear policy analysts explain a new environmentalism. Gallatin Gateway is a perfect […]
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I just returned from the other Washington, the one on the Potomac. I met with people in think tanks, universities, the federal judiciary, and intellectuals from the Reagan Administration. A common question was, “are the Republicans in the 104th Congress brain damaged or just cowards?” We all wondered what could possess Republicans to blatantly attack […]
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The epicenter of Ecotopia lies somewhere in the area encircled by Bellingham, Eugene, and Bozeman. Four colleges of forestry, dozens of environmental groups, and busloads of environmental writers are based there. Hence, the federal land management agencies are under intense scrutiny. But even here, the institutional arrangements are so perverse that often management is grossly […]
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Whether we’re trying to save species or specie, decisions are based on information and incentives. Reform that generates 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 operate even if their activities harmed the habitat […]
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Congress passed the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1973 to protect species threatened or in danger of extinction. Federal judges have an especially difficult time dealing with it. In the ESA, they confront nasty conflicts between Congressional intent to save endangered species and our Bill of Rights. In Saving All the Pieces, Rocky Barker notes […]
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In the late 1800s and early 1900s, there was great concern that America would run out of trees. Predictions of a timber famine were common among forestry “experts” of the time, especially from Gifford Pinchot, first chief of the Forest Service Pinchot and others correctly noted that timber harvests were far exceeding reforestation, but incorrectly […]
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“THE Tragedy of the Commons” is the best known article on ecology. It was printed in Science magazine in 1968 and has been reprinted hundreds of times in dozens of fields ranging from anthropology to zoology. Its essential message is profound yet simple: If a valuable resource is open to all, if it is common […]
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THE 104th Congress convenes today. Many environmentalists see the new Republican majority as America’s repudiation of an environmentally friendly administration. Because the Clinton administration had a green facade, they fear that this change portends environmental doom The Clinton administration has a green posture. Vice President Gore wrote an impassioned green book, “Earth in the Balance.” […]
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I’M home at the ranch for the holidays, recalling Christmas traditions. Both my family and my wife feed our animals special rations on Christmas morning. My grandmother would bake oatmeal biscuits with lots of meat trimmings for their dog and a warm corn mash for her chickens. Granddad would give the cows and sheep leafy, […]
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