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Can hunting endangered animals save the species?

Some exotic animal species that are endangered in Africa are thriving on ranches in Texas, where a limited number are hunted for a high price. Ranchers say they need the income to care for the rest of the herd.
Watch the Video report on 60 Minutes

More scientists resist drastic action on global warming

More scientists and engineers are warning that the politics of global warming are pushing us toward drastic actions, which scientific evidence does not support. This opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal has been signed by 16 notable scientists.

Could markets end feud over whale hunting?

whale University of California researcher Chris Costello proposes a tradable quota system for whales, similar to catch shares for fish, as a solution to the long feud over whale hunting. Nations and conservation groups could buy and sell shares. The journal Nature supports the effort.

Litigating for justice: Who is Chip Mellor and why do we care?

Chip Mellor Mellor is the chief of the Institute for Justice, the nation's only libertarian public interest law firm, where he conducts guerrilla legal warfare on behalf of individual freedom. He's worth getting to know, according to the Wall Street Journal.

EPA water regulations burden rural communities

Poor and struggling rural communities are struggling to meet water quality standards that would cost millions of dollars, reports High Country News.

Enviropreneur uses market strategies to save coral reefs

Brett Howell, a former PERC Enviropreneur, and Colorado Leeds School of Business alumnus, is exploring how to apply market-based approaches to making coral reef restoration financially sustainable.

A market-ready solution for Las Vegas water

Cheap water in the middle of a scorching desert made Las Vegas boom, but those heady days may be over. Water is scarce, and water rates will have to rise. Boats might have fewer docks, but at least the city won't blow away in the desert wind.

PERC's visiting scholars expand and enrich our research.

This special issue of PERC Reports focuses on our Lone Mountain Fellows—law professors, economists, and experts in natural resources. They bring an interdisciplinary approach that fosters innovative public policy proposals.

Are parks a boon to state economies?

Does protecting public land in parks and protected preserves bolster state economies? Two Montana research groups have reached different conclusions: Headwaters Economics and PERC.

bees

Market responds to bee colony collapse

Without political intervention, the beekeeping industry reacted swiftly to a bee disorder that could have threatened our food supply. Pollination continued and the food supply was saved. In the newest PERC Policy Series agricultural economists Randal Rucker and Walter Thurman explain how the market efficiently resolved what the press touted as a major environmental crisis.

An electric fence brings peace and safety to African villagers and wildlife

elephant in forest To protect the wildlife in Kenya's Aberdares National Park, With the help of local people who live all around the edges, the park is now encircled by a sturdy 240-mile electric fence that keeps poachers, out of the park, and elephants and other wildlife out of the gardens and cornfields of local people.

New labor laws for teens on farms and ranches go too far

Sweeping new laws from the Department of Labor are making it virtually impossible for a young person to work on a ranch or farm. Don't go in the hay barn. Don't ride on a tractor without a seat belt. Don't cut down a tree. Who determines what rules make a child safe?

Do fiscal conservatives and environmentalists share common ground?

Terry Anderson talks about how the two movements could unite in behalf of environmental quality. The Green Tea Party founded by Kermit the Frog and supported by PERC just could be the best way to connect. Listen to a short interview.

The Green Tea Party gains momentum

Green Tea Party logo Terry Anderson believes in a new approach to environmental quality: Empower citizens through property rights and markets to act in their own best interests. Learn more: Green Tea Party, The Wall Street Journal, and the John Batchelor Show.

Gasoline subsidies distort the market

gas pump nozzle PERC Senior Fellow Andrew Morriss appeared on MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan Show to argue that energy prices are all distorted by subsidies. Until people pay the real costs of their energy consumption, there will be no inducement in the market place for technological innovation.

Market-based reforms take hold in developing nations

In PERC's latest Policy Series, Laura Huggins reports on Namibia's rights-based fisheries and other fisheries success stories in the developing world. These clearly illustrate that property rights and environmental protection can happen anywhere.

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Woody biomass is heating buildings across Vermont

large cut log Vermont is using woody biomass created during forest management to heat schools, public buildings, and private companies. Steven Bick's newPERC Case Study reports that heating bills are significantly lower with woody biomass than with oil, propane, natural gas or electricity.

Why are Indian reservations so poor?

Poverty on Indian reservations is not caused by alcoholism, school-dropout rates, and corruption. Those are just symptoms, says John Koppisch, a Forbes senior editor and recent PERC Media Fellow. The real culprit is a lack of property rights and a government controlled reservation system that perpetuates communal land.

Economic prosperity for North American Indians

The link between natural resources, institutions, and economic prosperity is nowhere more apparent than on American Indian reservations. Terry Anderson saw it first hand when hunting pheasants on the Crow Reservation.

ESA fails on private land

PERC Senior Fellow Jonathan Adler argues that the ESA should be modified to separate the listing of a species from the details of how it should be protected, avoiding conflict and allowing more creative solutions.

Saving African Rhinos: A Market Success Story

A new PERC Case Study by environmental economist Michael 't Sas-Rolfes explains how white rhinos were saved from the brink of extinction in southern Africa by allowing private ownership of wildlife and the use of markets.