For years, dikes have held back the salty waters at Long Beach, Washington, to create pastureland for horses and cattle. Now the tide has turned, and the dikes are coming down to create high quality intertidal wetlands. John McHugh is tearing down a 60-year-old dike on his property and restoring eight acres of wetlands forContinue reading “Down With Dikes”
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Muck Farm To Eco-Resort
The transition from muck farm to nature-based resort has been a rocky road for Florida’s St. Johns River Water Management District. Despite the rough patches, the resort is in full swing today offering visitors a glimpse of a Florida marsh and its wildlife, while returning profits to the agency. The road to nature tourism beganContinue reading “Muck Farm To Eco-Resort”
Saving The Sisserou
A small group of scientists and philanthropists have personally contributed enough money to finalize the creation of a bioreserve on the Caribbean island of Dominica. The reserve is home to the Sisserou, the world’s rarest Amazon parrot and the national bird of Dominica. Only 200 of these parrots are believed to exist. Led by Dr.Continue reading “Saving The Sisserou”
Soybeans In The Trunk
Tractor parts made from soybeans and picnic tables made from the kenaf plant are just a few of the products that use natural fibers to replace more conventional materials. They are proving to be more durable, lighter in weight, and priced right. For example, both Ford Cougars and Mustangs are being outfitted with door panelsContinue reading “Soybeans In The Trunk”
Suburban Legends
By Ronald D. Utt Growth-control advocates claim that many federal programs and laws have contributed to sprawl. Their short list includes mortgage insurance programs of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and the Veterans Administration (VA), the deductibility of mortgage interest payments from taxable income, the federal highway program, HUD’s low-income housing programs, federal grants forContinue reading “Suburban Legends”
Urban Renewal
Breaking the suburban mold.
Reforming Zoning Laws
A portfolio of ideas for forward-looking regulators.
Good Samaritan Abandoned or Inactive Mine Waste Remediation Act
June 21, 2000 Testimony to the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, and Water By David Gerard PERC Research Associate PERC is the nation’s oldest and largest nonprofit institute dedicated to original research that advocates using market principles to address environmental problems. More than 90 percent of our funding comes from foundations and individual donors. As partContinue reading “Good Samaritan Abandoned or Inactive Mine Waste Remediation Act”
End of the Road?
President Clinton puts a stop to multiple use on national forests By Shannon Fitzsimmons Laws can be repealed without Congress doing a thing. The president’s “roadless initiative,” which would ban road construction in over 43 million acres of national forest, is the latest step in the gradual repeal of the laws governing the Forest Service.Continue reading “End of the Road?”
What’s All the Racket Over Airport Noise?
By Daniel K. Benjamin Given the racket that people raise over airport noise, one would think that the social benefits of regulating airport noise must be great. Pollution comes in many forms. One of the most ubiquitous is noise–from truck and automobile traffic, neighbors’ stereos, barking dogs, and for some people, takeoffs and landings ofContinue reading “What’s All the Racket Over Airport Noise?”