Most of us naturally assume that some pollution is the price we must pay for economic progress. That may be true, but studies show that more pollution is bad for health, IQ, productivity and employment. That means that pollution reduces human capital. There may be a “Laffer Curve” for pollution, just as there is for…
Search Results for: pollution
Air Pollution, Sea Rise, and Virginia’s ‘Clean Economy Act’
Air pollution has been declining for years. Here are some charts. NoTricksZone.com || Rapid sea rise on Atlantic coast – in the 18th century. Eurekalert.org || Virginia tries to save the planet with ‘Clean Economy Act.’ Wattsupwiththat.com || Counting tweets: A scientific tool for measuring climate change? Heartland.org ||
The Troubled Art of Restoration Ecology
Liam Heneghan is a restoration ecologist, whose professional field—only forty years old, if that—is full of uncertainties. Its goal is to reverse environmental damage and restore land to a more pristine past. He explains: “Where ecosystems have been degraded because of human activity—including an overexploitation of useful species, invasion by exotic pests, erosion of soils,…
Where Are the Environmental Critics of China?
When it comes to climate change, China talks about reducing emissions but keeps building coal plants. So why are environmental groups so soft on China? Francis Menton explains on the Manhattan Contrarian. He notes what two leading environmental groups say about China (and there are more examples): Environmental Defense Fund, “Why China is at the…
What in the World Are Net-Zero Carbon Emissions?
They are all the rage in corporate America and on Wall Street. The idea is to express your commitment to ecological goals through decisions that reduce carbon dioxide emissions in order to reduce global warming. Morgan Stanley, a leading investment bank, has just committed itself to “net-zero financed emissions by 2050,” And “net-zero carbon emissions”…
Some Problems with the New York Times
This post is about how preconceived ideas, in this case ideas about climate change, corrupt reporting. A skilled reporter from the New York Times, Marguerite Holloway, went to western Massachusetts to see what was wrong with the trees there. She found a number of problems but her description and analysis are riddled with assumptions about…
Going Against the Grain
In 1973, John Baden and Richard Stroup proposed selling off the U. S. Forest Service to private owners. In an article in the Journal of Law and Economics, they argued that commercial timber would be better managed by private companies, and non-profit organizations like the Sierra Club could protect the important environmental areas.[1] That essay…