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The Economists in the Garden

PERC has made a name for itself in the environmental policy spotlight and continues to change the culture of environmentalism.

Published on: June 16, 2016

World Oceans Day

This World Oceans Day, join us in creating a culture of environmental entrepreneurship to ensure our oceans are conserved long into the future.

Published on: June 8, 2016

Accounting for Dynamic Nature

Most of today’s environmental laws and programs are based upon outmoded assumptions about the relative stability of natural systems when free of human interference. Scientists have understood for decades that ecosystems are incredibly dynamic and change over time, often in unanticipated ways. To be effective, therefore, conservation policies must themselves be dynamic and adaptive, […]

Published on: June 8, 2016

Life in the Plasticene

Crowdsourcing data to remove plastic from waterwaysβ€”and (one day) earn a profit.

Published on: June 8, 2016

Environmentalism Without Romance

[…] extract political favors for their personal benefit. By the time Buchanan was awarded the Nobel Prize, this idealized view of politics was no longer seen as a valid approach to economic analysis. β€œThe romance is gone,” Buchanan said in 1979, β€œperhaps never to be regained.” Politics is not the only area where we are […]

Published on: June 8, 2016

Designing Institutions for the Anthropocene

[…] localized in creating incentives to comply with those limits. Land The environmental successes and failures of land management regimes in the United States tend to confirm the validity of the subsidiarity prescription. Zoning by local governments is intended to protect wetlands, wildlife habitat, open space, scenic vistas, and other so-called ecosystem services. Although some […]

Published on: June 8, 2016

How Humans Spare Nature

We conserve nature by using less of itβ€”but to do so we must embrace modern technology.

Published on: June 8, 2016

The Non-Tragedy of the Bison Commons

[…] one participant in a 1906 roundup put it. β€œA bison ain’t afraid of nothing and don’t stick with the herd like a cow will.” Ten cowboys could easily trail 3,000 head of cattle. But ten cowboys could hardy herd ten bison to a common point. Indeed, bison are one of the large animal species […]

Published on: June 8, 2016

Are Ecosystems Self-Organizing?

[…] the equator, which Charles Darwin described in 1839 as β€œentirely destitute of trees,” became richly vegetated and produced a cloud rainforest over the next century because of plants people brought there from the four corners of the Earth. If there were a difference in the ways in which heirloom and hodgepodge ecosystems behave or […]

Published on: June 8, 2016