When a 930-acre farm went on the market near Yellow Springs, Ohio, a town known for its 1960s counterculture ambiance, the residents went to battle in the marketplace. Fearful that developers would buy the property at auction, residents earmarked $400,000 from a greenspace fund and organized an array of fund-raising events. A concert along withContinue reading “Saving Open Space”
Author Archives: admin
Economic Value of Government-provided Information
Late 19th-century storm warnings from the U.S. Weather Service yielded substantial, positive net returns to society. Economists are notorious for using both sides of our mouths when talking about the government. We claim that government has a comparative advantage in provision of so-called public goods, such as national defense, the creation of property right systems,Continue reading “Economic Value of Government-provided Information”
An Attraction For Sharks
Shark fishing had been a way of life for generations of Donsol residents. Families in this tiny village in the Philippines relied on the giant, docile whale shark for their main source of income until overfishing made the shark increasingly scarce. With guidance from the World Wildlife Fund, however, the villagers have created a newContinue reading “An Attraction For Sharks”
New Life For Old Timber
The reclaimed wood industry which began in the Northeast is now taking hold in the Northwest. As sources of old-growth timber dwindle and environmental awareness grows, old wood is much in demand. Duluth Timber Company, a Minnesota-based firm, is doing a booming business in Seattle selling reclaimed wood from demolished homes, factories, warehouses, and evenContinue reading “New Life For Old Timber”
Environmental Progress: What Every Executive Should Know
A new paper challenges conventional wisdom about the role of business in environmental issues. Written primarily for business executives, it offers new ideas for addressing environmental challenges while keeping a principled commitment to market competition, consumer choice, and innovation.
Ancient Apples
Duchess of Oldenburg, Maiden’s Blush, Esopus Spitzenberg, and Black Gilliflower. These are not exactly household names for those of us on the threshold of the 21st century, but they were as familiar to early American settlers as Granny Smiths and Golden Delicious are to us today. These ancient strains have all but disappeared from commercialContinue reading “Ancient Apples”
Ashes to Concrete
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure is more than an old adage to several American companies. It is the key to their financial success. These firms are recycling the ash from trash incinerators and coal-burning electric generating stations and giving it new life as a construction material. It can be used in concrete, cement,Continue reading “Ashes to Concrete”
Legislating Ideals
Around 1970, the government began to go beyond enforcing society’s norms and began imposing intellectually generated ideals on society. As a graduate of Yale Law School in 1968, I was a part of this process. My contemporaries and I were instrumental in helping to launch the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as the NaturalContinue reading “Legislating Ideals”
Engineering Nature
When employees of a Toronto business complained of headaches, irritated eyes and lethargy, all symptoms of the increasingly common “sick building syndrome,” their CEO called in a biologist. Typically, the answer has been to hire a phalanx of engineers and drain the bank account in an effort to alleviate the problem. In this instance, however,Continue reading “Engineering Nature”
Why I am an Organic Farmer
I was not born an organic farmer or raised or educated as one. One step at a time, however, I converted my farm from conventional agriculture to the completely different system known as organic farming. Organic farming has often been misunderstood and misrepresented, and it has been defined in many ways. Over the years theContinue reading “Why I am an Organic Farmer”