In June of 2012, the world mourned the loss of the giant tortoise, Lonesome George. The 100-year-old tortoise lived in the Galapagos and was believed to be the last of his sub-species. George served as an ambassador for endangered species—especially in Ecuador where many groups are working to restore not only tortoise populations throughout the archipelago but also to improve the status of other rare species.
Types Archives
The EPA Is Politicized—So Make It Official
Would the EPA be better run by a bipartisan commission? Reform the agency by politicizing it, says PERC board member Steven Hayward.
Sell Yosemite, Hold a Smithsonian Yard Sale?
Facing the “fiscal cliff,” perhaps the president and Congress should start thinking in terms of the “foreclosure crisis.” All lenders, whether a local home-loan bank or the Chinese government, expect to be repaid either from the borrower’s income or, if that is insufficient, from the sale of assets. Where does that leave the U.S. government?Continue reading “Sell Yosemite, Hold a Smithsonian Yard Sale?”
“Green” Wrapping Expensive Environmental Policies
From the World Resources Institutes initiative for Keeping Options Alive to the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity, calls for conserving biodiversity are persistent. This goal appears reasonable, at least on its face. Who would argue against a wider variety of plants and animals increasing our chances for a life-saving drug in the future? It has,Continue reading ““Green” Wrapping Expensive Environmental Policies”
Daylight-Saving Time Is Past Its Prime
Saturday night marks the end of daylight-saving time for 2012. Time for those clocks to “fall back” an hour to standard time, when the sun really is highest at high noon. An extra hour of cold, dark fall mornings is probably the last thing you look forward to when you first wake up—or when you’reContinue reading “Daylight-Saving Time Is Past Its Prime”
Environmental Protection Up in Smoke
When the wildfires that are burning millions of acres in the West are finally smothered by winter snows, environmentalists undoubtedly will blame climate change. They might look in the mirror instead. Environmental laws since the 1970s require public input into federal land-use decisions including logging on national forests. This has led to lawsuits challenging effortsContinue reading “Environmental Protection Up in Smoke”
Of Moose and Man
That there are moose in Yellowstone today tells us something about nature and our role in it.
The Clean Water Act
Thursday marks the 40th anniversary of the Clean Water Act. No doubt, the billions spent on the act have improved overall water quality. Yet as someone who regularly rowed on Washington, D.C.’s Potomac River during college, I know that the Clean Water Act and the EPA are still in murky water. For example, regulating stormContinue reading “The Clean Water Act”
Public Lands v. Madison Co. Commission
PUBLIC LANDS ACCESS ASSOCIATION, INC., Petitioner/Appellant, v. THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MADISON COUNTY, STATE OF MONTANA, AND C. TED COFFMAN, FRANK G. NELSON, and DAVID SCHULTZ, constituting members of said Commission; and ROBERT R. ZENKER, in his capacity as the County Attorney for Madison County, State of Montana, Respondents/Appellees. JAMES C. KENNEDY, Respondent-Intervenor/Appellee/CrossContinue reading “Public Lands v. Madison Co. Commission”
An Untrustworthy Trustee
It is well past time to hand management of trust assets over to the individuals who own them.