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”
Author Archives: admin
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.
Salvation or Dross? Recycling Revisited
The Natural Resource Defense Council and economist Clark Wiseman go head to head over the environmental costs of recycling.
Don Leal on Self-Supporting National Parks
July 10, 1997 Statement for the Subcommittee on Parks and Public Lands By Donald R. Leal PERC Senior Associate “I believe the time will come when Yellowstone, Yosemite, Mount Rainier, Sequoia, and General Grant national parks and probably one or more members of the system will yield sufficient revenue to cover costs of administration andContinue reading “Don Leal on Self-Supporting National Parks”
Back to the Future to Save Our Parks
Our national parks are in trouble. Their roads, historic buildings, visitor facilities, and water and sewer systems are falling apart. What has gone wrong?
Priming the Invisible Pump
Rain and snow may be falling today, but throughout the world, people continually fear the threat of water shortages. Is there too little water for the world's growing population? Are we running out of water?
Winter Kill in Yellowstone
Wall Street JournalJanuary 28, 1997 By Holly Lippke Fretwell and Linda Platts BOZEMAN, Mont. – So far this winter more than 700 Yellowstone National Park bison have been shot on sight or shipped to slaughterhouses as they searched for food outside the park. The purpose of this bloodletting is to prevent the spread of infectiousContinue reading “Winter Kill in Yellowstone”