"The first seminar I was invited to was on global warming and climate change. I had no idea what FREE was or who John Baden was, but the invitation mentioned some of those who had already agreed to attend, and one of them was a scientist I had got to know well, and to trust...I took his selection as a good sign, joined the seminar, signed on for more, and have never been disappointed."
— Professor Thomas C. Schelling, Nobel Laureate Economics
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Whether we're trying to save species or specie, decisions are based on information and incentives. Reform that generates poor incentives simply won't work. Good intentions are not enough.
Congress tried to protect endangered species via the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973. Prior to 1973, landowners could operate even if their activities harmed the habitat of endangered species. This was a problem. Lawmakers saw prohibition of such activities as the answer. It wasn't.
Congress passed the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1973 to protect species threatened or in danger of extinction. Federal judges have an especially difficult time dealing with it. In the ESA, they confront nasty conflicts between Congressional intent to save endangered species and our Bill of Rights.
At each summer's end, I leave our Montana ranch and return to Washington. I love to drive the West.
This is a good time to reconsider our culture, ecology, economy and politics. Increasingly, I'm having second thoughts about these subjects. Many friends, academics, business people and environmentalists, are also re-evaluating their approach to environmental goals.
THIS is my last lecture as a professor at UW. I end my career with the course I began 25 years ago at Indiana University, The Political Economy of Environmental Policy. Throughout my career, I have advocated environmental policies based on incentives, not commands
AMERICA experienced a major energy crisis in 1978. Ill-conceived federal price controls and OPEC's last successful petroleum embargo combined to create an emergency. The results were disastrous, the predictable consequence of policies that disrupt the market process and favor special interests
In response to this "crisis," Congress passed the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act, commonly referred to as PURPA. Designed to spur research into "alternative" energy sources, this law produced several unintended consequences including higher energy prices for the consumer.
COUNTY executives from King, Pierce and Snohomish counties recently sent a letter to the state Legislature asking for a "transportation summit" to address a broad range of issues related to transportation in the Puget Sound region. The proposed two-day summit, tentatively scheduled for June, represents an excellent opportunity to educate legislators and the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) about least-cost analysis
RACHEL Carson's ecological wake up call, "Silent Spring," initially appeared as a series of essays in The New Yorker in June, 1962. Her work launched America's modern environmental movement and set the stage for the Earth Day celebration of 1970
THE simple homily "Save the whales!" began as a plea to stop the harvesting of great blue and other large whales. It was inspired by our first Earth Day 25 years ago. Shortly thereafter, it became a rallying cry for the green revolution
For more than 20 years, the idea was widely supported without question. But does a total ban on whaling make scientific sense? Equally important, do advocates of a ban hold the moral high ground?
IN THE 25 years since Earth Day, increased environmental concern has helped us avoid some mistakes by focusing attention on many environmental problems.
But concern alone is insufficient. No amount of concern will be enough to avoid environmental harm if information is of poor quality and incentives are perverse. How can we best channel our interest in environmental quality into constructive action? "Least-cost planning" offers one approach.
On April 22 we will celebrate the 25th anniversary of Earth Day. This is also the last time I will teach the environmental policy course I began teaching in 1970 at Indiana University.
When I began teaching environmental courses, many of my colleagues looked toward two reforms for ecological salvation: an environmental ethic to regulate behavior and a wise and powerful government to manage for the greatest good, for the greatest number, for the long run. While ethics are indeed important and limited government has value, we have learned since Earth Day not to depend on either.
