The physical world lost a great scholar last week with the passing of Elinor Ostrom, a 2009 Nobel Laureate. Ostrom left us with scholarly works that brought economic and property rights theory into the field. Why do we see the tragedy of the commons? When do we see it? And why, in some common resource pools,Continue reading “A Life’s Work That Will Last Forever”
Author Archives: admin
Is the Ninth Circuit Due for Environmental Correction?
Will the Supreme Court’s October 2012 term find the Supreme Court repeatedly reversing the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in environmental cases as it did in the October 2008 term?
Saving Patagonian Grasslands
Meet Carlos Fernandez, PERC Board Member and the Nature Conservancy’s Patagonia Grasslands Manager. The following is an excerpt from our interview with Carlos in Bariloche, Patagonia: I am the Patagonia Grasslands Argentina Project Manager for the Nature Conservancy and a PERC Board Member. I had my first encounter with PERC in 2005 when I metContinue reading “Saving Patagonian Grasslands”
Support Subsidies, Pay Less for Subsidized Service
Gary Leff reports on a new Amtrak program whereby those who join the National Association of Railroad Passengers, a D.C.-based “advocacy organization” that supports greater Amtrak subsidies, get special discounts on Amtrak tickets. Leff comments: Whatever you think of government funding for train travel in the United States, is it problematic that a government corporation will giveContinue reading “Support Subsidies, Pay Less for Subsidized Service”
Glass to Cash
As a Bozemanite I live 700 miles from the nearest glass remanufacturing center. In Golden, Colorado glass bottles are melted and reused to produce new bottles. That is a lot of miles and gallons of gas away. Not many would argue that it makes economic or even environmental sense to truck the stuff across country.Continue reading “Glass to Cash”
Namibia’s Twenty-year Experiment with Fisheries
Laura Huggins speaks on the John Batchelor Show about Namibia’s twenty-year experiment with an exclusive fishing zone, and how that has improved the local fisheries.
Professor Ostrom Will Be Missed
The mood at PERC is somber this morning due to the news of the loss of an extraordinary woman. Elinor Ostrom was the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Economics. Ostrom received the 2009 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for her groundbreaking research demonstrating that ordinary people are capable of creating rules and institutions thatContinue reading “Professor Ostrom Will Be Missed”
Fishy Politics on World Oceans Day
World Oceans Day is meant to bring communities from around the globe together to celebrate the vast environmental, economic and social wealth of our oceans. It is also a day to remember the threats to ocean health and overfishing if we don’t manage our ocean resources accordingly. Apparently some politicians have other intentions. In herContinue reading “Fishy Politics on World Oceans Day”
One step forward, two steps back on World Oceans Day
US Congress passes legislation opposing catch share fisheries one of the most promising management schemes for protecting fisheries and marine habitat
Energy Independence: A Proverbial Icon
According to Steven Chu, the U.S. Secretary of Energy and a Nobel physicist, “The most direct way to reduce our dependency on foreign oil is to simply use less of it.” That makes sense. The arguments in support of energy independence, however, do not. We hear that “[e]nergy independence means energy security (supply and priceContinue reading “Energy Independence: A Proverbial Icon”