During the transition to climate change, some species will be favored and some disfavored. The net economic consequences will depend on whether and how quickly humans take advantage of the changes. Most discussions of large-scale ecological change simply assume that the consequences will be harmful and that centralized government action is the best wayContinue reading “Consequences of Climate Change”
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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”
Logging for Conservation
The Nature Conservancy, known for preserving landscapes by buying land and development rights, is considering logging as another tool to protect forest land in Virginia. As the coal industry has begun to wane in the southwest portion of the state, timber cutting has increased. According to a survey by the state Department of Forestry, theContinue reading “Logging for Conservation”
Environmental Education
In one of my favorite Calvin and Hobbes vignettes, a dejected Calvin is standing at a booth in his yard where he is trying to sell swift kicks in the rear for a dollar. When Hobbes the tiger asks how business is going, a nonplused Calvin replies that it’s terrible, adding indignantly, “I don’tContinue reading “Environmental Education”
Urban Sprawl: Pro and Con
By Randall G. Holcombe The term “urban sprawl” has a bad ring to it. The name reinforces the view that metropolitan growth is ugly, inefficient, and the cause of traffic congestion and environmental harm. Before we decide we are against urban sprawl, however, we should be clear about what it is and why weContinue reading “Urban Sprawl: Pro and Con”
Prosperity and Environment
By Matthew Brown and Jane S. Shaw Deforestation, lack of safe drinking water, oppressive air pollution-these environmental ills are found frequently in Third World nations but rarely in developed ones. Even so, economic growth is still often portrayed as the cause of many (if not most) environmental problems. The economic literature has begun to addressContinue reading “Prosperity and Environment”