Businesses routinely lobby to avoid heavy burdens from government regulations. But some businesses lobby in favor of regulations that give them a market edge. Environmental regulations are riddled with provisions that are less about saving the planet than about helping a particular industry or special interest. The latest example comes from a business group thatContinue reading “Politics-Green But Dirty”
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How Markets Save Salmon
I am a native of Iceland, where the entire economy is based on fishing. I have enjoyed fishing for salmon with a fly rod all my life. As a child, I can remember the rivers of Iceland teeming with fish. Today, we still have some of the best sport salmon fishing in the world,Continue reading “How Markets Save Salmon”
Looking Before We Leap
People are knowledgeable about the hazards faced by individuals in their age group. It is widely argued that individuals cannot accurately assess the environmental and workplace risks they face .1 One typical claim is that people poorly assess the hazards of dying: They wildly overestimate the likelihood that they will die of lightning strikes orContinue reading “Looking Before We Leap”
PERC Research Associate Clay Landry Talks About Water Marketing
NWRA (National Water Resources Association): What is PERC’s mission and how are you included in groundwater marketing? LANDRY: We’re a non-profit organization – a think-tank is what some people like to call us– that looks at market solutions to environmental problems. PERC was a pioneer in the approach known as free market environmentalism. This isContinue reading “PERC Research Associate Clay Landry Talks About Water Marketing”
Straw Houses Withstand Huffs And Puffs
The EcoEnterprises Fund offers a new twist on venture capital by targeting environmentally responsible and conservation-minded businesses. The fund will invest an average of $100,000 to $200,000 in small start-up ventures in Latin America and the Caribbean. The fund, also known as Fondo EcoEmpresas, is a joint effort of the Inter-American Development Bank and theContinue reading “Straw Houses Withstand Huffs And Puffs”
To Preserve It, Buy It
Tacoma News Tribune August 13, 1998 By Matthew Brown and Jane S. Shaw Chaining yourself to a tree in the forest just doesn’t work any more. Environmentalists who want to save forests have found a less confrontational way to achieve their goals–and a more effective one, too. They reach for their checkbooks. Abandoning court battlesContinue reading “To Preserve It, Buy It”
Rangers On Tour
While ecotourism has been touted as a way to save everything from tigers to sea turtles, it might also prove an economic boon to the financially beleaguered U.S. Forest Service. Heritage Expeditions is part of the user-fee demonstration program that allows federal land management agencies to charge fees for recreation on public lands. A recentContinue reading “Rangers On Tour”
Make Forest Service Pay Its Own Way
Rocky Mountain NewsJune 7, 1998 By Terry L. Anderson The threat of budget cuts for the Forest Service is some of the best fiscal and environmental news yet out of this congress. Angered by years of declining timber sales, Western conservatives are threatening to wield the budget ax. The net result could be a breathContinue reading “Make Forest Service Pay Its Own Way”
Oily Hair
An Alabama hairdresser is making oily hair his specialty. Phillip McCrory has devised a technique to clean up oil spills with hair trimmings. The technique is now being refined at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The system could eventually mean quicker and less expensive cleanups. McCrory was first inspired while watching coverageContinue reading “Oily Hair”
Entertainment Farming
Family farms and ranches have found that entertainment is a cash crop that can keep them in business, even when more traditional fruit and vegetable crops cannot. Small family farms struggling to keep up with rising costs and compete with large commercial operations have turned to corn mazes, petting zoos, and hayrides. Farmers who beganContinue reading “Entertainment Farming”