admin, Author at PERC | Page 176 of 210

Can We Expect Environmental Progress From the Bush Administration?

President Bush had numerous chances to show that conservative principles include conservation, yet at midterm scores low grades for implementing the tenets of free market environmentalism, which emphasizes establishing incentives and clarifying property rights within a growing economy that values environmental quality. Instead his administration continues an unfortunate trend of making the Republican Party lookContinue reading “Can We Expect Environmental Progress From the Bush Administration?”

Restoring Harmony in the Klamath Basin

Restoring Harmony in the Klamath Basin explains how this conflict developed and offers a solution—markets in water. Written by Roger Meiners and Lea-Rachel Kosnik, this paper persuasively argues that clarification of property rights to water is fundamental to ending the crisis.

Idaho’s Harriman State Park – A Model for the Future?

State parks across the nation are serving more and more visitors while struggling to preserve natural and cultural resources. As demands for tax-generated revenues grow, many state legislatures are cutting appropriations to their park systems. Shrinking funds and growing usage threaten the well-being of all our state parks.

The Environmental Kuznets Curve: A Primer

DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT Executive Summary Since 1991, when economists first reported a systematic relationship between income changes and environmental quality, this relationship, known as the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC), has become standard fare in technical conversations about environmental policy (Grossman and Krueger 1991). When first unveiled, EKCs revealed a surprising outcome: Some important indicatorsContinue reading “The Environmental Kuznets Curve: A Primer”

Fish Tales

Using economic reasoning, students solve seven mysteries surrounding the tragic reductions in fish populations.

Blast from the Past

Grain growers in Washington’s Spokane Valley traditionally burned the rubble on their fields after harvest. More recently, concern about air quality amidst the growing population is forcing many of them to give up the practice. As a result, the farmers have been left in the lurch. They still must remove the rubble, which they doContinue reading “Blast from the Past”

Alligators Go West

The high desert of southern Idaho seems an unlikely spot for fish farms and alligator ranches, but one ingenious farmer has made a success of just such an operation. Leo Ray, who studied fish farming at the University of Oklahoma, visited the area after graduation and decided it would be a near perfect location forContinue reading “Alligators Go West”

Wastewater on Sale

A tidal wave of wastewater from rapidly growing towns and suburbs is creating a headache for officials in counties north of San Francisco. Somehow, somewhere, they have to dispose of it. Small farmers who buy the water for agricultural uses have helped relieve some of the pressure. They also have eased the problem in anotherContinue reading “Wastewater on Sale”