Assessing the common law as a replacement for pollution control regulations.
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Cadillac Desert: A classic a quarter century later
This classic of conservation literature is still illuminating important lessons today.
The Case for Cap-And-Trade
Banzhaf argues that free market environmentalists should applaud the cap-and-trade approach over more government regulation.
Reconciling economics and ecology
“In times of change learners inherit the earth; while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.” —Eric Hoffer Modern environmentalism and neo-classical economics have more in common than one might think. First, they are linked by a focus on equilibrium models. Many environmentalists view nature undisturbed byContinue reading “Reconciling economics and ecology”
Is the Earth Full?
In 1965, the American economist Kenneth Boulding popularized the phase “Spaceship Earth” expressing his concern about the fragility of our planet. His logic went something like this: since the Earth’s resources are finite, just as bacteria growing in a Petri dish will eventually exhaust their resources, we too must sooner or later run up againstContinue reading “Is the Earth Full?”
A Closer Look at State Park Budgets
Most state park systems are largely dependent upon general fund appropriations, which are supported by tax dollars, and dedicated funds for operating and capital expenditures. When state budgets are tight these funds are often swept away from parks to help fund other state priorities. The threat of park closures and cuts in park services areContinue reading “A Closer Look at State Park Budgets”
Local Food Makes Strange Dining Companions
The revival of local food and local markets marches under the banner of the left, but its resistance to centralization also appeals to conservatives.
Shoot an Elephant, Save a Community?
Today in Defining Ideas PERC’s Terry Anderson and Shawn Regan point out that when GoDaddy CEO Bob Parson’s video of himself shooting a bull elephant in Zimbabwe went viral it unleashed a stampede of criticism and a campaign by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) urging people to drop their GoDaddy accounts. To the non-hunter, suchContinue reading “Shoot an Elephant, Save a Community?”
Kenyan parks face development pressure
Kenya might make 20 times more money from the Masai Mara Game Reserve, which is just a sixth of Tanzania’s Serengeti, but this, reports Special Correspondent WYCLIFFE MUGA, comes at a huge environmental cost . By Wycliffe Muga PERC Media Fellow In what amounted to a direct challenge thrown at Kenyan tourism in February,Continue reading “Kenyan parks face development pressure”
Shoot an Elephant, Save a Community
When people who live near wild elephants understand how they can benefit economically, they have an incentive to protect the wildlife.