Commentary
- Indirect Source Regulation: The Latest Front in the Sprawl War
by Leonard Gilroy.
Originally published on Reason.org on December 28, 2005.
Air pollution officials in California's Central Valley have opened a new front in the war against urban sprawl, and regulators and environmental advocates throughout the state are watching closely. Starting in March 2006, the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District plans to become the first regulatory body in the country to impose fees on new residential and commercial development in an attempt to reduce air pollution. Given the high costs and questionable benefits of this approach, other air districts should avoid following in the Valley's footsteps.
- Clean Water Act's Ever-Expanding Reach
by Shikha Dalmia.
Originally published on Reason.org on October 28, 2005.
A big mess! That's the only way to describe the state of wetland regulation in this country under the Clean Water Act.
- Endangered Species Act Needs Dose of Sanity
by Shikha Dalmia.
Originally published on Tech Central Station on October 5, 2005.
If there is a Don Quixote of federal laws, it is the Endangered Species Act (ESA): For over three decades this law's regulations have endangered the species in distress that they are endeavoring to protect.
- How to Save New England's Fishing Villages
by Ronald Bailey.
Originally published on Reason.org on September 28, 2005.
The Newfoundland cod fishery collapsed in 1992. Once one of the world's greatest fisheries, the number of fish capable of spawning had dropped by 99 percent from what it had been in 1962. The Canadian government finally closed the fishery in the hope that it would recover. It hasn't, and 40,000 people have lost their jobs.
- Who Pays for the Delhi Sands Fly?
by Ronald Bailey.
Originally published on Reason.org on July 1, 2005.
Environmental activists are howling worse than a heartsick wolf on a moonless winter night over proposed revisions to the Endangered Species Act (ESA). House Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo (R-Calif.) is circulating a draft revision to the ESA that, according to Defenders of Wildlife Executive Vice President Jamie Rappaport Clark, "takes a wrecking ball to the whole Endangered Species Act."
- Betting on Climate Change
by Ronald Bailey.
Originally published on Reason.com on June 8, 2005.
It would be far more interesting and valuable to the climate debate if major figures in the climate change debate would negotiate a bet about the future of global temperature trends.
- Happy 35th Earth Day
by Ronald Bailey.
Originally published on Reason.com on April 22, 2005.
The Hallmarkization of Earth Day aptly symbolizes the predicament of 21st century ideological environmentalism. Unfortunately for green activists, the public now recognizes that their relentless predictions of imminent environmental apocalypse are a bunch of hooey. In fact, the state of the natural world in the United States and much of the world has greatly improved over the past 35 years.
- Clear Foolishness
by Joel Schwartz.
Originally published on Tech Central Station on March 23, 2005.
EPA has just implemented the Clear Skies pollution caps through regulations known as the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) and the Clean Air Mercury Rule (CAMR). Though a boon to regulators and activists, the big losers from these regulations will be the American public, who will have to pay big bucks for them in the form of higher energy bills, while reaping few or no health benefits.
- The Kyoto Protocol Launches! But Will it Matter?
by Ronald Bailey.
Originally published on Reason.com on February 16, 2005.
Under the Kyoto Protocol, thirty-five industrialized countries have vowed to cut their greenhouse gas emissions to 5.2 percent below their 1990 levels by 2012 to allegedly prevent catastrophic global warming caused by man-made gas emissions. But according to Reason's Ronald Railey, Kyoto is a solution in search of a problem.
- Smog Declines Still Further from 2003 Record Lows
by Joel Schwartz.
Originally published by the Heartland Institute on February 15, 2005.
In 2004, the United States reported the lowest ozone smog levels since states began measuring them in the 1970s. Based on preliminary data from around the country, the number of days exceeding EPA's tough new eight-hour ozone standard declined to an average of about 50 percent below 2003, which was itself a record low year.
- Crichton's State of Fear...
by Kenneth Green.
Originally published on TechCentralStation.com on January 19, 2005.
According to Kenneth Green, great storytelling has been a vehicle for education throughout the history of humanity, and, in our times of increasing scientific illiteracy, Michael Crichton's new novel State of Fear may be a particularly appropriate way to expose common people to the scientific problems that plague the arguments supporting greenhouse gas regulations.
- Comments on the New Jersey CO2 Rule
by Marlo Lewis.
Originally published by the Competitive Enterprise Institute on January 18, 2005.
According to the Competitive Enterprise Institute's Marlo Lewis, the New Jersey DEP's proposed classification of carbon dioxide as an "air contaminant" is a conceptual muddle, lacks a credible scientific rationale, and fails a rudimentary cost-benefit test.
- Reef Madness
by Marlo Lewis.
Originally published on TechCentralStation.com on January 10, 2005.
Energy rationing schemes like Kyoto can do nothing to save reefs from known environmental threats in the next few decades. Alarmist tracts could even make matters worse by distracting public attention from clear and present dangers, diverting resources from effective stewardship strategies, and fostering the fatalistic view that reefs cannot be conserved in a warming world.
- Tsunami of the Absurd
by Patrick J. Michaels.
Originally published on Reason.com on January 8, 2005.
As a popular environmentalist argument runs, if global warming were to lift the sea level, coastal peoples would be more vulnerable to massive future inundations. This is environmental demagoguery at its most vile. Riding your issue on the backs of 130,000 dead people goes beyond the pale, even for the global warming crowd.
- Noah Circa 2005
by Author unknown.
Published on RPPI.org on December 29, 2004.
If Noah had lived in the United States in the year 2005, then the story may have gone something like this.
- Polar Disasters: More Predictable Distortions of Science
by Patrick J. Michaels.
Originally published on Canstats.org on December 23, 2004.
November has been quite a month for climate disaster stories! But you can breathe a sigh of relief because both of those disaster stories are critically flawed. In fact, the only real disaster they demonstrate is the disheartening decay of the peer-review process in science.
- Stem Cell Research Breakthrough?
by Ronald Bailey.
Originally published on Reason.com on December 21, 2004.
While the debate over the use of embryonic stem cells rages on, Reason's Ronald Bailey writes that researchers should simultaneously pursue all lines of stem cell research -- adult, umbilical cord, and embryonic -- to insure the best chance of discovering effective future treatments.
- Arctic Warming Scares Continue, Despite Meagre Data
by Kenneth Green.
Originally published in the National Post on December 21, 2004.
Though 2004 has been one of the cooler years in recent history, the drumbeat of the energy-rationing crowd continues unabated with a new report about the impacts of a warming climate on the Arctic. The Arctic warming report is an excellent example of the favoured scare technique of the anti-energy activists: pumping largely unjustifiable assumptions about the future into simplified computer models to conjure up a laundry list of scary projections.
- California Dreamin'
by Kenneth Green.
Originally published in the Montreal Gazette on December 21, 2004.
California's regulators have passed rules that aim to reduce the carbon-dioxide emissions of the Golden State's vehicle fleet. But every indication suggests the California Air Resources Board's new rule, like its electric-car mandate of the 1990s, offers great economic pain for no environmental gain.
- A Chilling Tale: Crichton Slams Environmentalist Misinformation in New Book
by Ronald Bailey.
Originally published in the Wall Street Journal on December 10, 2004.
In his new novel "State of Fear," Michael Crichton delivers a lightning-paced technopolitical thriller that turns on a controversial notion: All that talk we've been hearing about global warming might be at best misguided, at worst dead wrong. Reason's Ronald Bailey reviews the book in the Wall Street Journal.
- The New York Times Whiffs on Air Pollution
by Joel Schwartz.
Originally published on Tech Central Station on December 1, 2004.
A recent New York Times story on air pollution in Los Angeles could serve as a clinic on how news stories often leave readers with false impressions about the environment.
- Derailing California’s Most Environmentally Progressive Development
by Michael De Alessi.
Originally published on Reason.com on November 29, 2004.
Sonoma Valley's Sea Ranch development was an early attempt to address environmental issues with innovative architecture and private covenants, but it quickly became a target of activists opposed to the blending of people and nature. Reason's Michael De Alessi examines how an effort to protect California coastlands derailed the most environmentally progressive development the state had ever seen.
- New Hydro Projects are Spawning
by Ken Silverstein.
Originally published in Utilipoint's Issue Alert on November 20, 2004.
Scientists at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory say that the country could more than double its supply of hydropower by accessing smaller streams in addition to dams traditionally used for such purposes. The next phase of hydropower, however, will focus on smaller hydro units that are less disruptive environmentally but still useful in supplying electricity to remote areas.
- Tsunami Triggered in Nantucket Sound
by Ken Silverstein.
Originally published in Utilipoint's Issue Alert on November 19, 2004.
To the chagrin of some Massachussetts greens, townships, and businesses, a key federal agency has released a report favoring a proposed wind project in Nantucket Sound. The hullabaloo centers on whether the power-generating turbines would create an eyesore that would distort the pristine environment enjoyed by Nantucket residents.
- Air Board’s Greenhouse Rule: Raw Deal for Dealers
by Marlo Lewis.
Originally published by the Competitive Enterprise Institute on November 12, 2004.
On September 24, California’s Air Resources Board (CARB) adopted a plan to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from new cars and trucks starting in 2009. But according to Marlo Lewis of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, CARB’s rulemaking is a raw deal for auto dealers in California and any other state that mimics California’s plan.
- Two Sides to Global Warming
by Ronald Bailey.
Originally published on Reason.com on November 10, 2004.
Is dangerous, rapid global warming merely the new conventional wisdom — or a credible forecast of our climatic future? Reason's Ronald Bailey explores the evidence for both positions.
- Launching the Counter-Offensive against Climate Alarmism
by Marlo Lewis.
Originally published by the Competitive Enterprise Institute on November 10, 2004.
How should the next session of Congress approach the climate change issue? Marlo Lewis of the Competitive Enterprise Institute offers a commonsense plan.
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George W. Bush, Man of Science
by Ronald Bailey.
Originally published on Reason.com on November 3, 2004.
Now that President Bush has been re-elected, what will science policy look like over the next four years? Reason's Ronald Bailey considers the future in the areas of global warming, stem cell research, and environmental issues, and he offers advice to scientists who want to play in the public policy arena.
- Transgenics Gone Wild!
by Ronald Bailey.
Originally published on Reason on November 1, 2004.
While it is possible that genetically modified plants and animals could become disruptive when introduced into the wild, this risk must be evaluated in light of what we know about the history of introducing unmodified new species into ecosystems.
- Nanotechnology: Hell or Heaven?
by Ronald Bailey.
Originally published on Reason on October 27, 2004.
When it comes to the possibilities of nanotechnology, it can be hard to know what to expect: glittering visions of abundance and long, healthy life spans; fears of out-of-control world-destroying devices, pervasive surveillance tyrannies, and devastating nanotech wars; or maybe all of the above.
- Smog Hits a Record Low
by Joel Schwartz.
Originally published on TechCentralStation.com on October 18, 2004.
2004 has had the lowest ozone smog levels since states began measuring the stuff back in the 1970s. You wouldn't know this from reading activists' reports on air quality, which continue to tell a deceitfully gloomy story.
- Invariably, Blame Government's Poor Pricing Policies
by Cliff Slater.
Originally published in the Honolulu Advertiser on September 30, 2004.
There is one word that we in Hawaii use far too loosely and that is, ‘shortage.’ For example, we talk about shortages of water, teachers, parking, and, in the last few days especially, nurses. Shortages are invariably caused by inappropriate government policies about pricing. The reason that we never have shortages of underwear, jewelry, or aloha shirts, is because these items do not have their prices either controlled or influenced by government.
- Cleaning The Air – or Spewing Hot Air?
by Kenneth Green.
Originally published by the Orange County Register on September 22, 2004.
Once again, California regulators are out to get full-size gasoline cars and light trucks. In the old days, such attacks would be tied to the goal of reducing smog or soot levels. But as air pollution continues to decline - despite people driving larger cars over longer distances, regulators have to find a new excuse to keep them in business, and the latest excuse is climate change.
- Desperately Seeking Climate Change Impacts
by Joel Schwartz.
Originally published on Tech Central Station on August 4, 2004.
A new report from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), argues that global warming will cause increases in future ozone smog levels, because warmer temperatures favor ozone formation. But even taking their warming estimates at face value, NRDC's smog claim is bogus.
- New Zealand Leader in Healthy Fishing
by Michael De Alessi.
Originally published in the Santa Barbara News-Press on August 2, 2004.
In New Zealand, the creation of harvest rights to fish so self-interest lines up with conservation and the future health of fisheries resulted in something anathema to most fisheries in the United States: fishermen agreeing to catch less than they were allotted by the government.
- More Highways, Less Pollution
by Joel Schwartz.
Originally published on Tech Central Station on July 30, 2004.
Environmental activists continue to mis-diagnose air pollution's causes and cures and to obscure or ignore positive trends in pollution emissions and ambient levels. A new report from the Sierra Club is the latest example.
- Do 1,700 Torontonians Really Die each Year from Air Pollution?
by Kenneth Green and Joel Schwartz.
Originally published on CANSTATS on July 16, 2004.
Are there really 1,700 autopsies declaring air pollution as the cause of death, as a recent report by Toronto Public Health claims? Are 6,000 people admitted to hospital each year with a diagnosis of "air pollution" as the cause? Even the report's author admits there are not.
- EPA to Review Clean Air Rules
by Ken Silverstein.
Originally published in Utilipoint's Issue Alert on July 15, 2004.
Amidst a legal delay and a staunch grassroots campaign, the Environmental Protection Agency has agreed to rethink rules that affect the Clean Air Act and how power plants consider investing in new technologies to curb pollutants.
- Toxic Activism
by Joel Schwartz.
Originally published on Tech Central Station on July 9, 2004.
According to the EPA, toxic releases rose 5 percent in 2002 compared with the previous year. Environmental activists are practically jubilant, claiming that the Bush administration has rolled back environmental regulations and stopped enforcing the few that remain. But reports of the death of environmental regulation are premature.
- Jolted by Gas Prices? Don’t Be Too Quick to Cuss the Refiners
by David Nott.
Originally published in the Los Angeles Times on June 29, 2004.
Despite record profits and high gasoline prices, Shell plans to close its Bakersfield refinery in October, and an already tight fuel market is about to get even tighter. Drivers throughout the state are blaming Shell, but the real villain is the state's burdensome regulations and punitive taxes.
- Mercury Debate Concentrates on Hot Spots
by Ken Silverstein.
Originally published in Utilipoint's Issue Alert on June 28, 2004.
There's no argument that mercury is a noxious pollutant yet there is widespread disagreement over how or whether to control it. Now the attention is on potential "hot spots," whereby individual power plants could end up not cutting mercury-related emissions under a free market approach espoused by the Bush administration and others.
- The 'Duh' After Tomorrow?
by Kenneth Green.
Originally published by the Fraser Institute on June 9, 2004.
The sad reality, despite billions of dollars spent digging into the science of climatology, and chasing the wild goose of Kyoto, is that nobody knows how much the earth is likely to warm, where it will warm, where it will cool, or what the impacts of that warming or cooling might be.
- Just for the Halibut
by Donald R. Leal and Jane S. Shaw.
Originally published in the Weekly Standard on June 8, 2004.
The long-awaited report of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy mostly repeats familiar themes--the need for more research on marine resources, more regulations to protect them, more bureaucracy to implement the regulations, and of course more government spending. But the report does not champion a remedy that could end the crisis unfolding before our eyes, the depletion of our fish stocks.
- What Doom Will Look Like This Time Around
by Ronald Bailey.
Originally published in the Wall Street Journal on May 20, 2004.
Environmentalist Paul Ehrlich makes false predictions and they are widely believed. The gloomier he is and the faultier he proves to be as a prophet, the more honored he becomes, even in his own country. Reason's Ronald Bailey examines the flawed thinking in Ehrlich's latest book.
- State of the Scare, Once Again
by Joel Schwartz and Steven Hayward.
Originally published on Tech Central Station on May 4, 2004.
In it's latest air quality report, the American Lung Association's continues its five-year tradition of inflating air pollution levels and health risks in a so-far successful effort to maintain an unwarranted climate of public fear.
- Oceans Need Innovation, Not Bureaucracy
by Michael De Alessi.
Originally distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service on April 26, 2004.
The key to rehabilitating and sustaining our oceans is stewardship and property rights.
- The `Fatal Conceit' of Kyoto
by Kenneth Green.
Originally published by the Toronto Star on April 26, 2004.
A suppressed report by the federal government evaluating the effectiveness of spending $500 million since the year 2000 to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases has shown - surprise! - that the spending was largely wasted, producing neither a reduction in gas emissions, nor the development of new "cleaner" technologies.
- Wasted Energy
by Ken Silverstein.
Originally published in Utilipoint's Issue Alert on April 5, 2004.
Wasted energy is an awful use of resources. That's the message from those who espouse reusable energy as a way to limit the need to build power plants and to reduce the level of pollutants released into the atmosphere.
- Driving Policy with Distractions
by Joel Schwartz.
Originally published on Tech Central Station on April 5, 2004.
Anti-automobile activists often argue that building new highways will do little to remedy traffic congestion and will increase air pollution. But despite a tripling of urban driving during the last 30 years, air pollution has dropped dramatically, and areas with more freeway lane-miles per capita have lower traffic densities.
- California's Fishy Fish Laws
by Michael De Alessi.
Originally published on Tech Central Station on March 29, 2004.
California's coastline is one of its greatest natural assets. Below the surface however, a number of serious environmental problems loom, principally over-fishing and the loss of productive marine habitat.
- Happy Birthday, Love Canal
by Ronald Bailey.
Originally published on Reason Online on March 24, 2004.
In the midst of the furor over Love Canal, Congress enacted the highly dysfunctional Superfund law, aimed at cleaning up hazardous wastes sites. Now it is 26 years and $400 million dollars later, and what have we learned about the health of former Love Canal residents? Was this a real crisis?
- Should 'Moral Vertigo' Make Biotech Fall Over?
by Ronald Bailey.
Originally published on Reason Online on March 12, 2004.
As people's understanding of new technologies increases, most of them overcome their initial fears and end up welcoming new technological advances rather than rejecting them.
- Governors Explore Endangered Species Act
by National Governors Association.
Originally published by the National Governors Association on March 12, 2004.
In a recent testimony to the National Governor's Association, Michael De Alissi argued ESA has been a disappointment, especially on private lands, and diminished by questionable scientific and political considerations.
- Climate Alarmists Misrepresent Pentagon Reports
by Kenneth Green, Ph.D..
Originally published by the Fraser Institute on March 10, 2004.
A worst-case scenario report--long-buried in the bowels of the Pentagon--has been dusted off by global warming enthusiasts in a last-ditch effort to persuade the United States to repent and sign the costly Kyoto Treaty.
- The Case for Environmental Optimism
by Kenneth Green, Ph.D..
Originally published by the Fraser Institute on March 3, 2004.
In contrast with the doom and gloom espoused by alarmists, Reason Senior Fellow Kenneth Green examines numerous environmental trends that give cause for optimism. While this article focuses on Canada, these trends are equally as strong - if not stronger - in the United States.
- Political Science
by Ronald Bailey.
Originally published on Reason Online on March 3, 2004.
The Union of Concerned Scientists recently issued a report alleging abuses of science by the Bush administration. But is government the best place to look for unbiased science?
- Weighing Environmental Policies
by Ken Silverstein.
Originally published in Utilipoint's Issue Alert on February 29, 2004.
The overriding goal of protecting public health and safety - concepts that are difficult to quantify - ought to not get lost in all the facts and figures. If such objectives can be accomplished through voluntary means or through market-based initiatives, then those ideas must be tried. If not, then traditional policies must remain in place.
- Global Warming: Myth, Reality or Distraction
by Gary M. Vasey.
Originally published in Utilipoint's Issue Alert on February 24, 2004.
While those who believe in global warming cite many observations in support of their conclusions, for those who do not agree, much of that evidence is either open to criticism or deemed inconclusive.
- Hydrogen Bombs
by Ronald Bailey.
Originally published on Reason Online on February 11, 2004.
Market forces created most of the fossil fuel infrastructure we enjoy today. Similarly, if and when hydrogen becomes a viable fuel, market forces will create most of that infrastructure as well.
- Hydrogen Economy Hazy
by Ken Silverstein.
Originally published in Utilipoint's Issue Alert on February 9, 2004.
The dream of a hydrogen economy is possible, although it will not likely ever be a panacea. Still, political and financial support is paramount if this idea is to gain increasing credence.
- Housing Hurdles
by Thomas Sowell.
Originally published in the Washington Times on February 9, 2004.
In response to the severe housing affordability problem in California, too few people stop to think through the consequences of turning fashionable notions into laws.
- Science and Public Policy
by Ronald Bailey.
Originally published on Reason Online on February 4, 2004.
Reason's Ronald Bailey testifies before Congress about why dire environmental predictions have gone wrong and how environmental advocates continue to underestimate the power of markets to solve emerging problems.
- Hot Air Conference: Urgent Action on a Non-problem
by Ronald Bailey.
Originally published in Reason on January 31, 2004.
What happens if the Kyoto Protocol fails to come into force? The UNFCCC simply launches another round of negotiations in 2005 searching for a way to control future temperature increases. UN processes and bureaucracies never die.
- Multitudes In the Valley of Decision
by Ronald Bailey.
Originally published in Reason on January 28, 2004.
Sheena Iyengar's research seems to lead to the conclusion that people prefer more choices to fewer and simultaneously find it more difficult and frustrating to sort through those choices. Why is it difficult and frustrating?
- Bush Moves to Open Some Federal Lands to Gas Drilling
by Ken Silverstein.
Originally published in Utilipoint's Issue Alert on January 27, 2004.
Even if producers could explore in all regions of North America, current estimates suggest that in 30-40 years all reserves would be fully tapped. Clearly, the country needs a diversified energy resource strategy that includes not just natural gas but also coal, nuclear and renewable energy.
- Canada's Chicken Little
by Dr. Kenneth Green.
Originally published in the Montreal Gazette on January 7, 2004.
Just in time for the New Year, Canada’s very own Chicken Little has come out with a laundry list of sky-is-falling hysteria. Is nature really trying to give us a wake-up call in the form of unusually extreme weather events, or is this just another strident burst of unsupportable climate alarmism?
- The Endangered Species Act
by Michael De Alessi.
Originally published in The Washington Times on December 30, 2003.
Before celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act, we should ask ourselves a sobering question. What has the ESA really accomplished in the past three decades?
- Processor Quotas Threaten Individual Fishing Quotas
by Donald R. Leal and Michael De Alessi.
Originally published in the Anchorage Daily News on December 30, 2003.
Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens is backing individual fishing quotas for crabbers -- a good policy -- but forcing them to sell most of their catch to a small group of established processors -- a bad policy.
- Transit Projections are Hot Air
by Cliff Slater.
Originally published in the Honolulu Advertiser on December 15, 2003.
Predictions about both global warming and rail transit are the result of highly sophisticated computer programs. The problem is that the myriad variables comprising these programs are incomprehensible for the likes of you and me. But, as they say -- garbage in, garbage out.
- California: Long Live the Gasoline Engine!
by Henry Payne.
Published exclusively on RPPI.org on August 26, 2003.
In the face of market reality and industry lawsuits, CARB has relented on a key concession to automakers: that hybrid and so-called xP-ZEVx engines (the xPx stands for xpartialx) can qualify as zero-emission vehicles.
- Smart Growth Leads to More Road Congestion, Increases Community's Pollution Woes
by Joel Schwartz and Wendell Cox.
Originally published in the Bakersfield Californian on August 10, 2003.
Technology is improving air quality more rapidly, effectively, and cheaply than can urban planning. Misnamed smart growth would actually increase gridlock and smog, while putting home ownership out of reach for more Kern County residents.
- Environmental Colonialism: "Saving" Africa from Africans
by Robert Nelson.
Originally published in The Independent Review on August 3, 2003.
This excerpt from The Independent Review asserts that under the banner of saving the African environment, Africans in the last half century have been subjected to colonialism from an overlooked source: the conservation movement.
- Precautionary Principle a Risky Gambit
by Michael De Alessi.
Originally published in the San Francisco Chronicle on July 28, 2003.
The recently passed Precautionary Principle ordinance purports to make San Francisco a leader by "challenging traditional assumptions about risk management." In truth, it will likely be bad for the city, public health and the environment.
- One Fish, Two Fish, I Fish, You Fish
by Michael De Alessi.
Originally published in the Fraser Forum on July 24, 2003.
Fisheries around the world are depleting, and Canada also has a woeful track record of fisheries management, especially on the East Coast.
- P. Diddy Fuels SUV Foes
by Ted Balaker.
Published exclusively on RPPI.org on July 18, 2003.
We don't need additional laws to make people like P.Diddy pay more for driving SUVs. Those driving gas-guzzlers already pay more to drive somewhere because they have to buy more gas to travel the same distance.
- Clearing the Air
by Joel Schwartz.
Originally published in Regulation on July 10, 2003.
Reason Senior Fellow Joel Schwartz explores the disconnect between the widely-held perception that air quality is getting worse, and the data-driven reality that air quality is getting better in Regulation magazine.
- The Resurrection of Ethanol Mandates
by Joel Schwartz.
Published exclusively on RPPI.org on June 10, 2003.
Imagine the federal government forced you to spend $180 to buy an 8-track tape player. Sounds absurd. What could be more useless in the 21st Century than an obsolete Disco-era music machine? But what if our elected officials were a bit more subtle? What if they instead forced you to pay $180 more each year for gasoline that contains an antiquated additive you don't need, and that could actually worsen air quality? That is exactly what the energy bills moving through Congress propose to do.