Enviro-Capitalists: Doing Good WhileDoing Well By Terry L. Anderson and Donald R. Leal Enviro-Capitalists persuasively demonstrates why Americans should turn to entrepreneurs in the private sector rather than the federal government to guarantee protection and improvement of environmental quality. This book provides numerous examples of entrepreneurial approaches that emphasize using markets and private property rightsContinue reading “Enviro-Capitalists:”
Author Archives: admin
The Rise of the Enviro-Capitalists
Wall Street JournalAugust 26,1997 By Terry L. Anderson and Donald R. Leal A quiet revolution taking place across the country and around the world is dispelling the myth that environmental quality must emanate from government. A new breed of environmental entrepreneurs, using the tools of capitalism instead of command-and- control tactics, are working to preserveContinue reading “The Rise of the Enviro-Capitalists”
Forest Service Roads Opened for Recreation Would Defray Costs
Sacramento BeeAugust 5, 1997 Forest Service Roads Opened form Recreation Would Defray Costs By Donald R. Leal Not long ago, Congress flirted with the idea of making the timber industry pay for the roads it builds on national forests. The decision ended in a compromise, but the environmentalists and fiscal conservatives pushing for payment willContinue reading “Forest Service Roads Opened for Recreation Would Defray Costs”
Private Initiatives
In the August 1997 edition of PERC Reports, Linda Platts compiled examples of private conservation initiatives from around the United States.
Nature’s Entrepreneurs
Enviro-Capitalists catalogues concrete examples of entrepreneurs who contract with private property owners to improve environmental quality.
Avoiding the Ax
By Daniel K. Benjamin Insecure property rights induce trespassers and forest owners to cut tress on short rotations and not to replant. Deforestation has been in the news of late, and for good reason: Recent estimates are that the world’s forests are shrinking at a rate of about one percent per year. Most discussions ofContinue reading “Avoiding the Ax”
Trash:
By Daniel K. Benjamin Unit pricing reduced the volume of garbage presented for collection by 37 percent. Largely due to new environmental regulations, the fees paid to deposit trash in U. S. landfills ("tipping fees") tripled between 1987 and 1993. These increases led some communities to experiment with "unit-pricing" programs, which require households to payContinue reading “Trash:”
Is there a Biodiversity Jackpot?
By Daniel K. Benjamin Biodiversity prospecting is the search for new chemicals produced by wild organisms. Because these chemicals (such as aspirin, quinine, and cancer-fighting taxol) appear to be a potential bonanza for their discoverers, biodiversity prospecting in ecological "hot spots" in South America, Southeast Asia, and Africa has been widely touted as a meansContinue reading “Is there a Biodiversity Jackpot?”
EPA Chokes on Ozone Standard
By Daniel K. Benjamin Good intentions often yield unintended consequences, especially when incentives are ignored. According to a recent article in the American Economic Review, federal policy directed at cleaner air is a prime example: The Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to clamp down on peak exposures to harmful ozone have produced a rise in theContinue reading “EPA Chokes on Ozone Standard”
Salvation or Dross? Recycling’s Record
The Natural Resource Defense Council and economist Clark Wiseman go head to head over the environmental costs of recycling.