A Thai farmer from a rural province south of Bangkok has found yet another use for the versatile coconut. Not only does its flesh provide food, its trunk supply wood, and its juice make a delicious drink, but now Kitti Maneesrikul is using its oil to fuel the family truck. High fuel costs andContinue reading “All Purpose Coconuts”
Author Archives: admin
Agriculture and the Environment
A look at the major environmental constraints that limit U.S. food production without necessarily improving environmental quality.
Is No Use Good Use?
Americans are on the fast track to land preservation as more and more federal land is set aside at an increasingly rapid pace. Now is the time to pause and ask if locking up great expanses of land provides the good stewardship that we want for our public lands.
Pesticides and Property Rights
Two PERC researchers, reviewing the history of the banned pesticide DDT, have concluded that violation of private property rights lies at the heart of the conflict over DDT.
Economic Growth and the State of Humanity
Economic Growth and the State of Humanity, by Indur M. Goklany, emulates and builds upon the contributions that Julian Simon made in reporting on the progress of humankind.
A Place for the Obsolete
Staying one step ahead of the regulators, IBM has created a recycling service for personal computers. The New York-based computer maker took the offensive by establishing the IBM PC Recycling Service. For a fee of $29.99, IBM will accept whatever computer parts you can cram in a box and ship to Envirocycle in Hallstead, Pa.Continue reading “A Place for the Obsolete”
Banking on Streams
When plans for a $243.5 million industrial park in Missouri failed to come together, the developers looked for an alternative way to profit from the site, creating the nation’s first stream mitigation bank.
Sweet Success
The EcoEnterprises Fund has invested $500,000 in a private company that works with small scale cocoa producers in Latin America. ‘By investing in businesses doing the right thing, we can help people make a living, and help protect the world’s great places,’ says Tammy Newmark, president of the fund. The $10 million fund provides ventureContinue reading “Sweet Success”
Clear-cut
Every few years the phone rings and a person in distress says, “Wallace, something awful is going to happen.” The caller’s neighbor or someone close by has decided to cut timber. The distress in the caller’s voice verges on panic, as if the house had started to burn. The end is near. And it’sContinue reading “Clear-cut”
Government Recalcitrance
Federal agencies reject liability for toxic harm.