Originally appeared in Defining Ideas: A Hoover Institute Journal on February 9, 2011 In 2006, the California Legislature enacted AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act that directed greenhouse gas emissions in the state to be at their 1990 level by 2020. To get a sense of what that means for the state, in 2006,Continue reading “California’s Crazy Climate”
Author Archives: admin
New drilling method opens vast oil fields in US
by Pete Geddes AP writer Jonathan Fahey (a 2010 PERC Media Fellow) reports on a new drilling technique that is opening vast fields of previously out-of-reach oil in the western United States (interactive graphic here). I’m often asked about our consumption of natural resources, e.g., oil, iron, and copper. Since these resources are finite andContinue reading “New drilling method opens vast oil fields in US”
Mexico and the Environmental Kuznets Curve
Bruce Yandle has a new research paper out with Jody W. Lipford on the Environmental Kuznets Curve, a stylized version of which is presented above. The EKC holds that economic growth precedes improvements in environmental quality. After a certain threshold of economic growth is reached, environmental improvements follow. Yandle and Lipford apply the theory ofContinue reading “Mexico and the Environmental Kuznets Curve”
New drilling method opens vast oil fields in US
A new drilling technology is opening up vast fields of previously out-of-reach oil in the western United States. This new drilling is expected to raise U.S. production by at least 20 percent over the next five years. And within 10 years, it could help reduce oil imports by more than half.
The State of Property Rights in Egypt
From Hernando de Soto in yesterday’s WSJ: • As far as real estate is concerned, 92% of Egyptians hold their property without normal legal title. • We estimated the value of all these extralegal businesses and property, rural as well as urban, to be $248 billion—30 times greater than the market value of the companiesContinue reading “The State of Property Rights in Egypt”
Prosperity, Pollution, and Public Choice
by Holly Fretwell Last week the Wall Street Journal printed a debate between Peter Singer and Bjorn Lomborg discussing the potential of reducing poverty while enhancing the environment. Both ignore the reality of public choice issues. First, it is important to understand the correlation between poverty and environmental degradation. Lomborg explains this well and has spent decadesContinue reading “Prosperity, Pollution, and Public Choice”
No Ziploc for This 6-Year-Old
by Jane S. Shaw Canada’s National Post reports that a six-year-old boy was not allowed to participate in a lunchtime drawing for a stuffed teddy bear at his daycare. Why? Because his parents had packed his lunch in a disposable plastic bag rather than reusable Tupperware. “We have to take care of our planet andContinue reading “No Ziploc for This 6-Year-Old”
Bootleggers and Baptists in Retrospect
PERC Senior Fellow Bruce Yandle orginated the theory of Bootleggers and Baptists in the early 1980s. In essence, two different groups suppor the same, regulations, but benefit from different effects of the regulation. Has anything changed?
A Break with the Past
by Jane S. Shaw The Boston Globe reports that New Urbanism is being challenged by “landscape urbanism,” an approach to planning that is comfortable with people living in “spacious suburbs.” The conflict pits Andres Duany, designer of nostalgic “cityscapes”–towns with a “compact grid of narrow, tree-lined streets laid out around a walkable downtown with storesContinue reading “A Break with the Past”
Why Add More Public Acreage to Overstretched Budgets?
If more public land is what the public wants, then the public land users should pay for use and maintenance through fees.