While there has been no lack of news coverage on the sad state of our national parks, there is still not enough money to shore up the buildings and patch the roads. To help fill the gap, two energetic entrepreneurs turned their disappointment over a canceled trip to Yosemite during the 1995 government closure intoContinue reading “Cataloging Parks”
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Tantalizing Tamarins
In Brazil’s Atlantic coastal forest, farmers are finding they can make more money by protecting the trees than from agriculture. The golden lion tamarin, a rare monkey, makes its home in this forest and attracts ecotourists from around the world. Scientists have relocated monkeys who are barely surviving in small isolated forest patches to larger,Continue reading “Tantalizing Tamarins”
Ecosystem Management:
One of the Clinton administration’s first major environmental policy initiatives was to call for a shift to ecosystem management. In a nutshell, ecosystem management means that the federal government makes protection or restoration of the health, integrity, and sustainability of ecosystems the primary goal of its activities. The Forest Service, for example, now intends toContinue reading “Ecosystem Management:”
Driving and Density
One technique proposed for combating “urban sprawl” is increasing population densities. Government planners are beginning to require new residential developments to house more people per acre. Even existing low-density suburbs are supposed to be rebuilt to higher densities. The “smart growth” plan for Portland, Oregon, considered a model for anti-sprawl policies, calls for increasing theContinue reading “Driving and Density”
Land Trusts or Land Agents?
Celebrated by market enthusiasts and conservationists alike, land trusts have become the instrument of choice across the nation for conserving farmland, sensitive habitat, and open space. Recently, however, free market environmentalists have been raising a few questions about them. For years, friends of the market such as PERC associates have cheered trusts because of theContinue reading “Land Trusts or Land Agents?”
Paying to Play: The Fee Demonstration Program
The federal government's program to raise entrance and user fees in national parks and forests is an important step in the right direction, says PERC researcher Holly Fretwell.
Fear Bigger Governments, Not Bigger Populations
Orange County Register October 12, 1999 Fear Bigger Governments,Not Bigger Populations By Richard L. Stroup and Matthew Brown The world’s population surpasses the six billion mark this month, on or about October 12, according to the United Nations. Alarmists are using this milestone to call attention to the dangers of growing population. A study fromContinue reading “Fear Bigger Governments, Not Bigger Populations”
At Home in the Suburbs
By James R. Dunn Many environmentalists worry that suburban growth is reducing the diversity of wildlife. The Sierra Club’s Carl Pope recently wrote that urban sprawl “fragments landscapes–and fragmented landscapes are the biggest threat to America’s wildlife heritage” (Pope 1999, 6). This claim may be true in California, but it is not supported in NewContinue reading “At Home in the Suburbs”
The Secret Past of Recycling
Like most people of my generation, I used to believe that recycling began a few decades ago in response to the crisis of energy and environmental degradation (except in the slums of the Third World where it was a means of survival). I had heard of the rag picker, the scavenger at the dump, theContinue reading “The Secret Past of Recycling”
Safe But Sorry
In June, European environmental activists dressed as butterflies protested the possible sale of genetically modified crops. A scientific report had suggested that pollen from such corn could harm caterpillars. Friends of the Earth and Defenders of Wildlife have written President Clinton calling for a ban on so-called “killer corn.” A broad coalition of environmental groups,Continue reading “Safe But Sorry”