http://liberty.pacificresearch.org/rss/envi.xmlEnvironmentWed, 20 Oct 2010 19:00:00 ESTwww.eResources.com (Generator)eResourcessupport@eresources.com60http://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.755/blog_detail.aspAccording to T.J. Rodgers, the founder and CEO of Cypress Semiconductor. & quot;I know firsthand about green jobs. SunPower Corp., a company I chair and the second-largest U.S. producer of solar cells, has produced about 800 green jobs in California. But that& #39;s just a fraction of the 4,700 jobs lost when Toyota pulled the plug on its local Nummi automotive plant due to the high cost of doing business in California.& quot;Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.755/blog_detail.asp#11-2-2010Tue, 2 Nov 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5791/pub_detail.aspModern agriculture has been blamed for a host of environmental problems, including global warming, water pollution, and ecosystem damage. While growing crops and raising livestock does have significant environmental impact, in many cases the situation has been exaggerated or oversimplified, and some of the proposed solutions have been ineffective or more costly than the benefits derived.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5791/pub_detail.asp#11-2-2010Tue, 2 Nov 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5785/pub_detail.aspProposition 23, on next Tuesday& rsquo;s ballot, would suspend the implementation of the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32) until the state unemployment rate, now 12.4 percent, declines to 5.5 percent for four quarters. A new study published by the Pacific Research Institute examines the employment implications of that initiative.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5785/pub_detail.asp#10-27-2010Wed, 27 Oct 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5756/pub_detail.aspProposition 23 on the Nov. 2 ballot would delay implementation of California& rsquo;s Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (Assembly Bill 32). A recent study from the California Small Business Roundtable deals with the economic costs of that legislation.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5756/pub_detail.asp#10-20-2010Wed, 20 Oct 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.752/blog_detail.aspIn order to satisfy the admonition that & ldquo;California has to be a leader& rdquo; & mdash; a rationale shallow even by the standards of political sloganeering & mdash; the Golden State enacted in 2006 the Global Warming Solutions Act (& ldquo;AB32& rdquo;), mandating a reduction in purported greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.752/blog_detail.asp#10-19-2010Tue, 19 Oct 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5755/pub_detail.aspRetail giant Walmart announced plans this month to expand their & ldquo;sustainable agriculture& rdquo; goals, including sourcing more of the food they sell from small- and medium-sized farms, and doubling the amount of local produce grown and sold to customers within the same state. While critics contend that the corporation is destructive to local economies, Walmart& rsquo;s efforts to redefine the food supply chain may provide positive outcomes to both local farmers and consumers.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5755/pub_detail.asp#10-19-2010Tue, 19 Oct 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.738/blog_detail.aspRespected economist Ben Zycher recently completed this study for the Pacific Research Institute. It shows the massive numbers of jobs we stand to gain if Proposition 23 passes in November, or how many we stand to lose if it doesn& #39;t.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.738/blog_detail.asp#10-8-2010Fri, 8 Oct 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.735/blog_detail.aspThe California electorate next month will vote on Proposition 23, which would suspend the implementation of the state& rsquo;s global warming (i.e., energy taxation) law (& ldquo;AB32& Prime;) until the unemployment rate reaches 5.5 percent for four consecutive quarters.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.735/blog_detail.asp#10-5-2010Tue, 5 Oct 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5773/pub_detail.aspA new study finds that the approval of Proposition 23, suspending the implementation of AB 32, would add nearly 150,000 jobs in California in 2011, more than a half million jobs by 2012, and more than 1.3 million jobs by 2020.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5773/pub_detail.asp#10-4-2010Mon, 4 Oct 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5698/pub_detail.aspLast month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Transportation jointly announced that they are considering an upgrade of the energy and environmental information on new-car labels. Potential buyers, unfortunately, won& rsquo;t find the whole story on the new labels, even though the timing is right.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5698/pub_detail.asp#9-21-2010Tue, 21 Sep 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5662/pub_detail.aspCalifornia& rsquo;s Electronic Waste Recycling Act (EWRA) is a magnet for fraud on a massive scale, totaling tens of millions of dollars, as Tom Knudson revealed in a recent Sacramento Bee investigation.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5662/pub_detail.asp#8-18-2010Wed, 18 Aug 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5658/pub_detail.aspA recent move by the US Department of Energy (DOE) increases the authority of the federal government to regulate your showering habits.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5658/pub_detail.asp#8-17-2010Tue, 17 Aug 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5619/pub_detail.aspFor those favoring legislation on climate change, these should be the best of times. The Democrats, typically the party of the greens, are in control at the federal level. The BP disaster in the Gulf might, under other circumstances, be a motivator for major changes to rules affecting oil drilling and consumption. Several investigative committees have largely cleared the scientists involved in last November& rsquo;s & ldquo;Climategate& rdquo; scandal of any major wrongdoing. But none of that is translating into any movement on climate policy, and that scandal is part of the reason.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5619/pub_detail.asp#7-20-2010Tue, 20 Jul 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5555/pub_detail.aspLast month, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar approved the Cape Wind project, a 130-turbine wind farm on Nantucket Sound that has been loudly opposed by wealthy residents on Cape Cod for mostly aesthetic reasons. The latest argument against Cape Wind reveals another angle.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5555/pub_detail.asp#5-18-2010Tue, 18 May 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5549/pub_detail.aspA local fisherman, Mr. Larry Legans, has been accused of shooting a sea lion for consuming the fish he caught. Mr. Legans, who faces three years in prison and $70,000 in fines, must be rather puzzled to see government agents killing sea lions, for the crime of eating fish.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5549/pub_detail.asp#5-12-2010Wed, 12 May 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5518/pub_detail.aspEarlier this year, the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the final version of the advanced renewable fuel standard, known as RFS2. The new standard sets greenhouse gas emission performance standards for the nation& rsquo;s transportation fuels. Requirements for annual volumetric use of renewable fuels more than double in a decade, from 13 billion gallons in 2010 to 36 billion gallons in 2022.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5518/pub_detail.asp#4-20-2010Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5454/pub_detail.aspThe drought has also taken its toll on the politics of water in California, which have become increasingly contentious.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5454/pub_detail.asp#3-16-2010Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5388/pub_detail.aspThe nation's capital has been slammed with storms this winter, and so has the climate-change debate.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5388/pub_detail.asp#2-16-2010Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5350/pub_detail.aspIn what has come to be called “Climategate,” emails hacked from a server at the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia were leaked online in November 2009. These emails among prominent climate scientists included evidence that some have been strategizing to abuse the peer-review process to keep out dissenting research.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5350/pub_detail.asp#1-19-2010Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.651/blog_detail.aspNewsweek's science reporter Sharon Begley says it is time to dump the UN's climate circus: The best chance of reining in emissions of greenhouse gases and avoiding dangerous climate change is to stamp a big green R.I.P. over the sprawling United Nations process that the Copenhagen talks were part of.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.651/blog_detail.asp#12-21-2009Mon, 21 Dec 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.633/blog_detail.aspOK I really need to get back to my paying jobs... But here are two more ClimateGate posts to throw into the mix. (Both links come from ClimateDepot, which admittedly is the Drudge Report of global warming skepticism.)Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.633/blog_detail.asp#11-27-2009Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5199/pub_detail.aspThis study presents the basic science of genetic crop modification, an overview of environmental concerns associated with GM crops, and an analysis of the validity of these concerns. It also includes recommendations for sound policy based on science and safety.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5199/pub_detail.asp#11-17-2009Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5200/pub_detail.aspEarlier this month, a bill to implement a cap-and-trade system for carbon emissions passed the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. The Boxer-Kerry bill now moves on the full Senate for consideration, where it will likely be combined with other climate bills.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5200/pub_detail.asp#11-17-2009Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5140/pub_detail.aspLast week, California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger called state legislators into a special session to hammer out the details of proposed water legislation. The proposal could include a bond measure of $9.4 billion or more, and would ideally address the highly contentious water allocations and restrictions in the San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta. With so much at stake, it& rsquo;s important that California gets this right.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5140/pub_detail.asp#10-20-2009Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5075/pub_detail.aspIn October, San Francisco& rsquo;s newest garbage management law goes into effect, potentially fining residents up to $100 per violation & ndash; businesses up to $500 & ndash; for failing to separate compostable garbage from their trash. Fines can also be incurred if garbage collectors notice an individual is not producing enough compost & ndash; at least a cubic yard of compostable waste each week.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.5075/pub_detail.asp#9-17-2009Thu, 17 Sep 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/events/id.77/detail.aspThe Pacific Research Institute and the SF Federalist Society present a Book Signing and Reception with author Steven F. Hayward.Eventshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/events/id.77/detail.asp#9-3-2009Thu, 3 Sep 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.1851/pub_detail.aspPolicy Alerts highlights PRI& #39;s latest press releases, media coverage and impact on public policy in California and across the nation.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.1851/pub_detail.asp#9-1-2009Tue, 1 Sep 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4968/pub_detail.aspA recent study of paleoclimate, the results of which appear in the August issue of Nature Geoscience, finds that today& rsquo;s climate models do not accurately predict the most similar previous episode of climate warming in the geologic record. While this should not cast doubt on the value of climate models in tools to analyze drivers and projections of climate change, the study does point out that our understanding of climate dynamics remains imperfect.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4968/pub_detail.asp#8-18-2009Tue, 18 Aug 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.531/blog_detail.aspLet& rsquo;s face it: After 17 years and 232,522 miles of faithful service, my Jeep& rsquo;s best days were long past. Time for some new wheels & mdash; but money& rsquo;s a bit tight these days, for me as for so many others.But, as good fortune would have it, not for the federal government: They& rsquo;re willing to pay me $4,500 & mdash; $4,500! & mdash; to turn that clunker in for a new car satisfying the combined demands of political correctitude and the auto-dealer lobby. Alas, the rules specify that the big, powerful, safe truck that I want does not qualify.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.531/blog_detail.asp#8-4-2009Tue, 4 Aug 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.522/blog_detail.aspIn this month& rsquo;s article at EconLib, I provide an introduction to the economics of climate change, and discuss some of its major controversies. Follow the above link for the full story, but in a nutshell here are the main issues:Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.522/blog_detail.asp#7-21-2009Tue, 21 Jul 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4884/pub_detail.aspLast week, an investment management and advisory firm comprised of professors from California State University, Sacramento, released a report attempting to estimate the costs to small businesses & ndash; and therefore to California& rsquo;s economy & ndash; of implementing Assembly Bill 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4884/pub_detail.asp#7-21-2009Tue, 21 Jul 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4795/pub_detail.aspEarlier this month the House approved a measure that would give consumers up to $4500 to dump their gas guzzlers and buy a newer and more fuel efficient vehicle. Despite widespread support, this & ldquo;cash for clunkers& rdquo; program has its problems, and so do other environmental regulations coming out of Washington.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4795/pub_detail.asp#6-16-2009Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4726/pub_detail.aspWithin the last five years, concern over both global climate change and the economic and national security implications of U.S. oil consumption has created an interest in alternate sources of liquid fuel, namely, & ldquo;biofuels& rdquo; derived from agricultural crops. What began as an exciting possibility has unfortunately become an example of how well-intentioned but ill-conceived policy can stand in the way of other, perhaps better, ideas.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4726/pub_detail.asp#5-19-2009Tue, 19 May 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4644/pub_detail.aspRecently, thousands of farm workers and their supporters hit the road in California& rsquo;s Central Valley to raise awareness of water shortages in the region that are threatening the livelihoods and communities that rely heavily on irrigated crops. The farmers& rsquo; most controversial target, arguably, is the Delta smelt.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4644/pub_detail.asp#4-21-2009Tue, 21 Apr 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4627/pub_detail.aspSan Francisco & ndash; The Pacific Research Institute (PRI) and the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) released the 2009 Index of Leading Environmental Indicators, an annual report highlighting the significant environmental developments and milestones in the United States and worldwide.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4627/pub_detail.asp#4-16-2009Thu, 16 Apr 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4607/pub_detail.aspSierra Pacific Industries (SPI) is closing down an El Dorado county sawmill that has been around since 1889. SPI will also close another sawmill and electric power plant in Tuolome county. Two more SPI mills in Plumas and Humbolt counties will also close, leaving hundreds of workers without jobs.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4607/pub_detail.asp#4-8-2009Wed, 8 Apr 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4558/pub_detail.aspA lush green lawn has a certain aesthetic appeal, there& rsquo;s no denying that. If lawn was counted as a crop, however, it would be one of the nation& rsquo;s biggest, but it is far from a critical need as far as water use. Yet, watering lawns accounts for nearly 40 percent & ndash; almost half & ndash; of residential water use in California.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4558/pub_detail.asp#3-17-2009Tue, 17 Mar 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4489/pub_detail.aspIn his inaugural address, new President Barack Obama said he intended to & ldquo;restore science to its rightful place& rdquo; in government. Several days later, Obama again claimed a change in approach, saying, & ldquo;Rigid ideology has overruled sound science. Special interests have overshadowed common sense. Rhetoric has not led to the hard work needed to achieve results.& rdquo;Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4489/pub_detail.asp#2-17-2009Tue, 17 Feb 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.468/blog_detail.aspThe California State Lands Commission has rejected a proposal that could have led to the first new oil drilling project off the California coast in 40 years. The panel, January 29th, voted 2-1 against Plains Exploration & amp; Production Co.& #39;s request for approval of its bid to expand drilling off Platform Irene in the Santa Barbara Channel. Commission Executive Officer Paul Thayer said the project is effectively dead unless the oil company takes it to court or reapplies to the commission with a new proposal. The proposal, which would have been worth billions of dollars, was announced last year with a landmark alliance between longtime anti-oil environmentalists and the oil company.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.468/blog_detail.asp#2-2-2009Mon, 2 Feb 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4438/pub_detail.aspAs California& rsquo;s water situation continues to cause problems, well-intentioned analyses continue to promote misguided solutions while missing some obvious simple steps.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4438/pub_detail.asp#1-20-2009Tue, 20 Jan 2009 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4455/pub_detail.aspPRI Ideas in Action - December 2008Policy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4455/pub_detail.asp#12-31-2008Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4388/pub_detail.aspSACRAMENTO & ndash; Before the end of 2008, the Delta Vision Committee will send Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger a Bay-Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP), & ldquo;one of the most ambitious infrastructure and habitat restoration projects ever proposed in America,& rdquo; according to news reports, to restore the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, a prime source of drinking water and irrigation for two-thirds of Californians. Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4388/pub_detail.asp#12-17-2008Wed, 17 Dec 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4387/pub_detail.aspIn response to an April, 2007, Supreme Court ruling that greenhouse gases are air pollutants under the Clean Air Act, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently ended the public comment period on & ldquo;proposed rulemaking& rdquo; for regulating greenhouse gases. Buried within the proposal is a controversial measure for regulating methane from agricultural and livestock operations. While EPA bosses claim they do not intend to implement a & ldquo;cow tax,& rdquo; dairy and livestock producers are understandably nervous.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4387/pub_detail.asp#12-16-2008Tue, 16 Dec 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4373/pub_detail.aspCalifornia should lift bans and restrictions to help alleviate the water distribution problem, according Go with the Flow: Why water markets can solve California& rsquo;s water crisis, a new study by Dr. Amy Kaleita, PRI Environmental Studies fellow .Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4373/pub_detail.asp#12-2-2008Tue, 2 Dec 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4424/pub_detail.aspPRI Ideas in Action - November 2008Policy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4424/pub_detail.asp#11-30-2008Sun, 30 Nov 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4324/pub_detail.aspIn September, the Pacific Institute, an Oakland-based environmental think tank, released More with Less: Agricultural Conservation and Efficiency in California, a report that analyzes opportunities for reductions in agricultural water use, particularly in the water-stressed Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta region. That fragile ecosystem is home to the court-protected Delta smelt and a significant source of irrigation water to a large percentage of California& rsquo;s agricultural production. More with Less makes a number of valid and valuable points but, unfortunately, is also misleading.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4324/pub_detail.asp#11-18-2008Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4327/pub_detail.aspPRI Ideas in Action - October 2008Policy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4327/pub_detail.asp#10-31-2008Fri, 31 Oct 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4247/pub_detail.aspNASA& rsquo;s James Hansen, head of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies, is no stranger to controversy. But in September, Dr. Hansen took his activism to another level by endorsing & ldquo;ecovandalism& rdquo; in a British court.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4247/pub_detail.asp#10-21-2008Tue, 21 Oct 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4252/pub_detail.aspPRI Ideas in Action - September 2008Policy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4252/pub_detail.asp#9-30-2008Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/events/id.58/detail.aspThe Pacific Research Institute presents the San Francisco film premiere of & quot;Do As I Say (Not As I Do),& quot; a film by Steven F. Hayward and Nick Tucker, based on the New York Times bestselling book by Peter Schweizer.Eventshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/events/id.58/detail.asp#9-29-2008Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4164/pub_detail.aspCalifornia plans to provide an environmental education curriculum to its K-12 schools, home to more than six million students, by 2010. Since California often sets the tone for the rest of the nation, it wouldn& rsquo;t hurt to see just what kind of environmental curriculum the Golden State has in mind.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4164/pub_detail.asp#9-16-2008Tue, 16 Sep 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4194/pub_detail.aspPRI Ideas in Action - August 2008Policy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4194/pub_detail.asp#8-31-2008Sun, 31 Aug 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4103/pub_detail.aspListening to the news over the past year, one would think the Vatican was reinventing Catholicism in an effort to go green. First there was the story that the Vatican was sponsoring a forest to offset the carbon emissions of Vatican City. Then we found out that the Vatican had come up with seven new deadly sins, among them polluting the environment. The UK& rsquo;s Telegraph even ran the headline & ldquo;Recycle or go to Hell, warns Vatican.& rdquo; And in July, the Los Angeles Times wrote, & ldquo;Pope Benedict XVI, like many world leaders, has spoken passionately about the urgent need to protect the planet from climate catastrophe.& rdquo;Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4103/pub_detail.asp#8-19-2008Tue, 19 Aug 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4086/pub_detail.aspOn August 6, the California Coastal Commission approved a desalination plant at Carlsbad in San Diego County, a region with severe water needs in normal times and hard hit by the current drought. The $300-million for-profit venture by the Poseidon Resources Corporation aims to produce as much as 50 million gallons of fresh water each day, about nine percent of the water San Diego County uses. The approval marks a change for the Coastal Commission, an unelected body usually in the business of rejection.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4086/pub_detail.asp#8-13-2008_5:00:00_PMWed, 13 Aug 2008 17:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4126/pub_detail.aspPRI Ideas in Action - July 2008Policy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4126/pub_detail.asp#7-31-2008Thu, 31 Jul 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3985/pub_detail.aspIn 2006, at the end of his movie An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore offered a number of things that the average person could do to decrease their impact on global climate change. They could ride a bike or take mass transit, the former vice-president advised. They could drive a fuel-efficient car, and they could drive less. Two years later, people are evidently making those choices in large numbers. But it& rsquo;s not because of Mr. Gore, or Sheryl Crow, or Leonardo DiCaprio. It& rsquo;s because of rising gas prices.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3985/pub_detail.asp#7-15-2008_5:30:00_PMTue, 15 Jul 2008 17:30:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4064/pub_detail.aspPRI Ideas in Action - June 2008Policy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.4064/pub_detail.asp#6-30-2008Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3901/pub_detail.aspWith concerns mounting over global food supply and prices, and the potential impacts of climate change on the frequency of droughts or disease outbreaks, now& rsquo;s the time for using technology to our advantage in food production. With this in mind, the Bush administration included a directive in its proposed $770 million global food aid package that the U.S. Agency for International Development spend $150 million on development farming, including the use of genetically modified (GM) crops, in food-deprived countries. The package awaits congressional approval.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3901/pub_detail.asp#6-17-2008Tue, 17 Jun 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3876/pub_detail.aspSACRAMENTO & ndash; Tomorrow the Assembly Appropriations Committee considers AB 2058, & ldquo;Reducing Plastic Bags,& rdquo; by Lloyd E. Levine, a Sherman Oaks Democrat, which imposes on consumers a recycling & ldquo;fee& rdquo; of $.25 per bag. The committee, and all Californians, should also consider some facts about plastic bags and their alternatives.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3876/pub_detail.asp#5-21-2008_3:00:00_PMWed, 21 May 2008 15:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3858/pub_detail.aspOver the last decade, wind energy capacity in the United States has been increasing at a rapid rate. This surge is partly influenced by the attractive & ldquo;green& rdquo; aspects of wind energy, namely that it is carbon-free and nearly limitless. Something else, however, is also driving the surge in capacity & ndash; tax breaks to wind energy producers. These subsidies make it difficult to know if, or when, this industry will be able to stand on its own.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3858/pub_detail.asp#5-20-2008Tue, 20 May 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3780/pub_detail.aspAs this report and others like it have explored for more than a decade, environmental improvement in the United States has been substantial and dramatic, almost across the board.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3780/pub_detail.asp#5-19-2008Mon, 19 May 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3810/pub_detail.aspSACRAMENTO & ndash; Earth Day events here were rather different this year. Car dealers showcased their latest hybrids, hippies were little in evidence, and the crowd was more upscale. There was even, yes, valet parking for bicycles. The baleful note of past events was missing and for that there is some justification.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3810/pub_detail.asp#4-23-2008_9:30:00_PMWed, 23 Apr 2008 21:30:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3799/pub_detail.aspWhen rumors began circulating in late February that California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was about to issue an executive order to study options for a peripheral canal that would divert water from the Sacramento River around the delicate Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, legislators, environmentalists, and central valley farmers alike felt the sting of an old wound. The bitter history and potential future of the peripheral canal idea underscores the need for effective and efficient solutions to California& rsquo;s ever-growing problems of water supply.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3799/pub_detail.asp#4-15-2008_7:00:00_PMTue, 15 Apr 2008 19:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3724/pub_detail.aspThe water shortage in California is leading some farmers to sell their irrigation allotments to cities and other farmers in southern California, according to an Associated Press story. It is well within their rights to do so, but while those farmers may benefit, the taxpayers will end up paying the price.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3724/pub_detail.asp#3-19-2008Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3689/pub_detail.aspIn January, H. Lee Scott Jr., chief executive of Wal-Mart, announced that the company would begin working on its second wave of environmental conservation initiatives. The move follows Wal-Mart& #39;s 2005 plans to create less waste, reduce energy use at stores, and sell more environmentally friendly products, including organic produce.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3689/pub_detail.asp#2-19-2008_2:30:00_PMTue, 19 Feb 2008 14:30:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.297/blog_detail.aspThe AP reports that, & quot;Global warming issues took over lecture halls in colleges across the country Thursday, with more than 1,500 universities participating in what was billed as the nation& #39;s largest-ever & quot;teach-in.& quot;Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.297/blog_detail.asp#2-1-2008Fri, 1 Feb 2008 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.215/blog_detail.aspThe Pacific Research Institute argues that the science behind global warming is uncertain, but the negative impacts of alarmist policies on individuals are all too real.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.215/blog_detail.asp#10-26-2007Fri, 26 Oct 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.211/blog_detail.aspStudies suggest that changing your diet may significantly help the environment. Vegetarians and especially vegans boast lower & #39;greenhouse-gas& #39; emissions. Not per car, or house, or factory, but per person.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.211/blog_detail.asp#10-24-2007Wed, 24 Oct 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3383/pub_detail.aspSACRAMENTO & mdash; Last month, scientists installed monitors on a 2,000-foot television tower in Walnut Grove, near Sacramento, to gauge progress in reduction of emissions. These monitors will not supply all the answers, but respect for data is a good way to proceed in a field often governed by speculation. Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3383/pub_detail.asp#10-24-2007Wed, 24 Oct 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.206/blog_detail.aspHas environmental regulation led to lower crime? That& #39;s the thesis advanced by Jessica Wolpaw Reyes of Amherst College, and featured in today& #39;s NYT. (You can find Dr Reyes& #39;s original scholarly piece here.) The argument is that leaded gasoline systematically poisoned the minds (and hence the moral capacity) of America& #39;s youth: when regulatory action took the lead out of gasoline, average intelligence went up, and crime went down.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.206/blog_detail.asp#10-21-2007_11:38:00_AMSun, 21 Oct 2007 11:38:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3360/pub_detail.aspFinally, after a series of problematic rulings, the courts offer some sanity on greenhouse gas regulation. In September, a federal district court judge dismissed an emissions lawsuit filed by California& rsquo;s attorney general against General Motors, Ford, Toyota, Chrysler LLC, Honda, and Nissan.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3360/pub_detail.asp#10-16-2007Tue, 16 Oct 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.194/blog_detail.aspThe award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Al Gore and the IPCC is bizarre at best: whatever one's views of their work and their cause, it is difficult in the extreme to make the case that they have somehow advanced peace per se. (Much more appropriate would have been the underrecognized John Garang.) This isn't the first time the Nobel committee has gone off the rails, of course -- remember the endorsement of anticapitalist greenie Wangari Muta Maathai? -- but it does lend credence to the idea that the award is now merely a tactical expression of political sympathies, rather than a meaningful honor for men of peace.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.194/blog_detail.asp#10-12-2007_9:56:00_AMFri, 12 Oct 2007 09:56:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.199/blog_detail.aspThe news that Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize is worthy of attention for many reasons, principally that the former vice-president is not known for achieving peace among warring nations or factions. Neither is the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, with whom Al shares the prize. The news obscured another story about Al Gore& #39;s Oscar-winning documentary.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.199/blog_detail.asp#10-12-2007Fri, 12 Oct 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.200/blog_detail.aspPacific Research Institute& #39;s Josh Trevi& ntilde;o interviews Dr Amy Kaleita, PRI Environmental Studies Fellow and Assistant Professor of Agricultural Engineering at Iowa State University, about her new study, entitled & quot;Hysteria& #39;s History.& quot;Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.200/blog_detail.asp#10-9-2007Tue, 9 Oct 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.190/blog_detail.aspThe Pacific Research Institute is pleased to announce the release of a new Pacific Policycast. In it, I speak with Dr Amy Kaleita, PRI Environmental Studies Fellow and Assistant Professor of Agricultural Engineering at Iowa State University, about her new study, entitled & quot;Hysteria& #39;s History.& quot; The study is an incisive look at the misuse of science in the name of media-driven frenzies, including climate change, within living memory -- and it is a subject that Dr. Kaleita is well-placed to speak on. The main Pacific Policycast page, where the episode resides, is here. Finally, you may download & quot;Hysteria& #39;s History& quot; here.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.190/blog_detail.asp#10-6-2007_1:04:00_PMSat, 6 Oct 2007 13:04:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3303/pub_detail.aspListening to the global-warming alarmists, one gets the idea that humanity faces a critical and certain danger from the rising global temperature, which will raise sea levels and swamp major cities, reduce arable land to desert, impoverish billions, and end civilization as we know it.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3303/pub_detail.asp#9-27-2007Thu, 27 Sep 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3298/pub_detail.asp& ldquo;Mommy, will I always have asthma?& rdquo; The sad-looking child with the inhaler stands against a smoggy skyline on the internet banner ad. The ad then urges the reader to learn what he or she can do to combat, not asthma, but global warming. Sponsored by Environmental Defense and the Ad Council, the banner is part of a larger campaign launched in 2006 to & ldquo;motivate Americans& rdquo; to fight global warming.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3298/pub_detail.asp#9-18-2007Tue, 18 Sep 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.159/blog_detail.aspThe Russians have a new bomb, and it& #39;s a whopper: a thermobaric device with the putative power of a small nuclear weapon. One might assume this is an unusable weapon, but given the Russians& #39; record in Chechnya, we shouldn& #39;t assume that mere scruples would prevent its use. This not to say the Putin-era Russian state has no scruples -- they& #39;re merely environmental scruples! As the UK Telegraph story on the device reports: & quot;Despite its destructive qualities, the bomb is environmentally friendly, Gen [Alexander] Rushkin said.& quot; Well, there you go: it may vaporize several city blocks, but the environment will be fine. Thus, our era.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.159/blog_detail.asp#9-12-2007_12:15:00_AMWed, 12 Sep 2007 00:15:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3207/pub_detail.aspOn July 7, Al Gore and the & ldquo;Alliance for Climate Protection& rdquo; staged the multi-city, 24-hour Live Earth concert with the intent to raise & ldquo;awareness& rdquo; of global warming. But were the organizers and performers leading by example?Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3207/pub_detail.asp#8-21-2007Tue, 21 Aug 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3199/pub_detail.aspSACRAMENTO & ndash; On August 4, the temperature here was 104 degrees Fahrenheit. That& rsquo;s nothing unusual for California& #39;s capital in the summer, as residents know full well. What happened next proved unusual indeed.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3199/pub_detail.asp#8-15-2007Wed, 15 Aug 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3266/pub_detail.aspPRI Ideas in Action - July 2007Policy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3266/pub_detail.asp#7-31-2007Tue, 31 Jul 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3112/pub_detail.aspSACRAMENTO & ndash; Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has selected Mary Nichols, a veteran of several Democratic administrations, to head the California Air Resources Board. The pick, which requires confirmation, is being hailed by environmentalists, but senate Democrats have some questions. So should all Californians.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3112/pub_detail.asp#7-11-2007Wed, 11 Jul 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3086/pub_detail.aspOn June 21, the U.S. Senate passed a new energy bill that includes a requirement to produce 36 billion gallons of ethanol a year by 2022, a sevenfold increase over 2006 production. To be sure, alternatives and supplements to gasoline have benefits, but requiring ethanol production may result in more harm than good. For one thing, that amount of ethanol requires a commensurate increase in our production of feedstocks.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3086/pub_detail.asp#7-3-2007Tue, 3 Jul 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2965/pub_detail.aspOn April 2, the Supreme Court ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency has authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate emissions of carbon dioxide, one of the & ldquo;greenhouse gases& rdquo; linked to global climate change. Some journalists and talking heads wrongly construed this as a requirement that the EPA regulate CO2 emissions.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2965/pub_detail.asp#6-15-2007Fri, 15 Jun 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3002/pub_detail.aspLast week in Washington, D.C., Congress began debate over global warming legislation that would override state laws, including California& #39;s new measure to lower emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2020. This debate, and all others over global warming, should reference a recent exchange on the subject.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3002/pub_detail.asp#6-13-2007Wed, 13 Jun 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.96/blog_detail.aspAnyone who's ever walked through the city park near the Ferry Building (itself mere minutes from the PRI SF offices) has seen the San Franciscans merrily feeding and admiring the flocks of parrots who grace the city. Made famous by the documentary, "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill," the parrots are now an attraction unto themselves, and deservedly so: they are intelligent, engaging, and sociable animals. Now, however, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors is enforcing an end to the feeding of the parrots, apparently on the grounds that the feeding over-domesticates the birds. The proper responses are: 1) so what? and 2) is this a good use of the city's time and energy? The answer to the latter is an emphatic "no." Any urban environment has its population of adapted animals, from pigeons to rats to the famous San Francisco sea lions; and the parrots are no different. Given that their native habitat is apparently Ecuador, the idea that they ought to be preserved in their natural, "wild" state in the city of San Francisco(!) is absurd. Their world is already radically altered from what it once was. Let people feed the parrots if they wish. It's not just an issue of a petty freedom: they are our guests and neighbors -- and more to the point, there's no good reason not to.Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.96/blog_detail.asp#6-6-2007_7:49:00_PMWed, 6 Jun 2007 19:49:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.93/blog_detail.asp& quot;I have no doubt that a trend of global warming exists. I am not sure that it is fair to say that it is a problem we must wrestle with. To assume that it is a problem is to assume that the state of the Earth& #39;s climate today is the optimal climate, the best climate that we could have or ever have had, and that we need to take steps to make sure that it doesn& #39;t change.& quot; Michael Griffin, NASA administrator, said that on National Public Radio& #39;s May 31 & quot;Morning Edition& quot; program. NASA& #39;s Jim Hansen did not like his boss& #39;s statement. Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.93/blog_detail.asp#6-1-2007Fri, 1 Jun 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2970/pub_detail.aspThe US House of Representatives recently passed an intelligence authorization bill demanding that the nation& rsquo;s intelligence agency draft a National Intelligence Estimate to evaluate anticipated geopolitical effects of global climate change as a risk to national security. Though it is certainly within the scope of duties of the CIA to investigate issues of national security, the Agency should not be spending valuable time speculating on this kind of situation.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2970/pub_detail.asp#5-29-2007Tue, 29 May 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2963/pub_detail.aspWith increasing awareness of environmental issues, many people are searching for ways to & ldquo;green& rdquo; their lifestyle. Numerous celebrities and publications offer helpful and simple tips for becoming more environmentally friendly. But the truth is that the meaning of & ldquo;green& rdquo; is not well defined.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2963/pub_detail.asp#5-22-2007Tue, 22 May 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.87/blog_detail.aspIn a recently published supposed expos& eacute; entitled ExxonMobil& rsquo;s ExxonMobil& rsquo;s Continued Funding of Global Warming Denial Industry, Greenpeace USA had this to say about some of the activities from PRI this year: & ldquo;PRI Public Policy Fellow Dr. Amy Kaleita released a 2006 report urging governments to move slowly on carbon sequestration, claiming there& rsquo;s & quot;no conclusive proof of the effects of CO2 on climate change,& quot; and any efforts to capture carbon would hurt consumers.& rdquo;Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.87/blog_detail.asp#5-21-2007Mon, 21 May 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2890/pub_detail.aspAs it has done over the past dozen years, the Index shines a spotlight on, and deepens Americans& rsquo; understanding of, environmental progress& mdash;the side of the environmental story that is seldom told. Positive trends are occurring in key areas such as national forests, air quality, toxic chemicals, and biodiversity.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2890/pub_detail.asp#4-19-2007Thu, 19 Apr 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2905/pub_detail.aspFor many Americans organics may evoke nature and health but they also draw conflict. Consider the surge of wrangling over the organics label from the Cornucopia Institute, an environmental watchdog group.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2905/pub_detail.asp#4-3-2007Tue, 3 Apr 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2904/pub_detail.aspWhile Al Gore was receiving an Oscar last month in sunny southern California, bone-chilling cold still prevailed in much of the hinterlands. People could not be blamed for wondering how the cold temperatures conformed with the warm climate change hailed by the former Vice-President. That is a legitimate question but a standard answer may leave Americans puzzledPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2904/pub_detail.asp#3-20-2007Tue, 20 Mar 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2903/pub_detail.aspThe EPA ignores its own advice and targets farm dirt over urban pollution.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2903/pub_detail.asp#2-20-2007Tue, 20 Feb 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2902/pub_detail.aspCalifornia Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has announced a new Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) aimed at & ldquo;establishing a vibrant market for cleaner-burning fuels.& rdquo; The intent is to address emissions believed to cause climate change, but the LCFS itself could create several environmental problems.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2902/pub_detail.asp#1-23-2007Tue, 23 Jan 2007 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.1920/pub_detail.aspPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.1920/pub_detail.asp#12-19-2006Tue, 19 Dec 2006 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.1919/pub_detail.aspGenetically modified organisms (GMOs) have touched off much debate in the agricultural and environmental sectors. Vocal opponents of this technology believe it poses dire threats to the environment. Where these opponents are successful in scaring producers away from GMO crops, industry, rural communities and the environment suffer.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.1919/pub_detail.asp#11-21-2006Tue, 21 Nov 2006 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.476/pub_detail.aspThough there is no conclusive proof of the effects of CO2 on climate change, there is growing public concern that greenhouse gases are a potential cause of global warming. With carbon dioxide comprising more than 80 percent of the man-made greenhouse gas emissions, policymakers are looking toward carbon sequestration& mdash;the process in which carbon is captured before or after emission and stored long term& mdash;as one approach to decreasing CO2 emissions.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.476/pub_detail.asp#11-15-2006Wed, 15 Nov 2006 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.1918/pub_detail.aspCelebrities, politicians, and media pundits often speak of the scientific consensus on the issue of global warming. But this presumed consensus is not what some might have us believe.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.1918/pub_detail.asp#10-17-2006Tue, 17 Oct 2006 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.126/blog_detail.aspPRI& #39;s Josh Trevi& ntilde;o interviews Tom Tanton, vice president and senior fellow with the Institute for Energy Research and co-author of PRI& #39;s pamphlet & quot;Proposition 87 - All Pain, No Gain.& quot; They discuss the flaws in California Proposition 87, the & quot;Clean Alternative Energy Act.& quot;Bloghttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/blog/id.126/blog_detail.asp#10-2-2006Mon, 2 Oct 2006 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.1917/pub_detail.aspA recent report from the Public Policy Institute of California suggests that population growth in California& #39;s hot, dry, inland counties will put a strain on the state& #39;s water supply. The release of this report coincided with the USDA, in cooperation with the Irrigation Association, naming July & quot;Smart Irrigation Month& quot; to promote awareness of efficient irrigation. Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.1917/pub_detail.asp#9-12-2006Tue, 12 Sep 2006 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.1916/pub_detail.aspHybrid cars are increasingly popular with celebrities and those who want to demonstrate their commitment to a cleaner environment. Hybrid owners& #39; clubs may be springing up all over, but buyers and policy makers need to understand that these vehicles are not a good choice for everyone. A number of misperceptions cloud the issue:Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.1916/pub_detail.asp#9-1-2006Fri, 1 Sep 2006 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.1915/pub_detail.aspLast month the United States Supreme Court issued a 5-4 decision on a pair of cases involving the authority of the federal government to regulate wetlands. Some see the decision as an assault on the Clean Water Act but others regard it as a necessary check on expanding federal reach.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.1915/pub_detail.asp#8-3-2006Thu, 3 Aug 2006 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.1914/pub_detail.aspIn his movie, , Al Gore connects a series of dots leading to the heartbreaking conclusion that our delicate and beautiful blue marble of an Earth is in deep trouble, and that we are to blame. The problem is that not all Mr. Gore& rsquo;s dots are related to one another, and the film conveniently leaves many out.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.1914/pub_detail.asp#7-6-2006Thu, 6 Jul 2006 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.1913/pub_detail.aspWal-Mart recently announced that it will increase its offering of organic products, including dairy goods, produce, and fabrics. This has sparked an outcry from die-hard organics promoters who see Wal-Mart as uncooperative and not entirely earth-friendly. There is, however, room for some Wal- Martization of the organic market.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.1913/pub_detail.asp#6-7-2006Wed, 7 Jun 2006 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2803/pub_detail.aspThough 2005 offered a full plate of environmental episodes that riveted the world& rsquo;s attention, including environmental calamities in China, Hurricane Katrina, and the U.N. conference on climate change, the march of environmental progress continues, according to the 2006 Index of Leading Environmental Indicators, released today by the Pacific Research Institute (PRI) and the American Enterprise Institute (AEI).Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2803/pub_detail.asp#4-12-2006Wed, 12 Apr 2006 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3232/pub_detail.aspPRI& #39;s Quarterly NewsletterPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3232/pub_detail.asp#12-1-2005Thu, 1 Dec 2005 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2355/pub_detail.aspCAMBRIA, CA - Life on the central coast lives up to the clich& eacute;s of Lotus-land loopiness, starting with the story inthe paper this week about a couple who planned a sunset wedding out at the beach, except that the minister who was planning to perform the ceremony failed to show up. No problem: This is California.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2355/pub_detail.asp#8-10-2005Wed, 10 Aug 2005 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2349/pub_detail.aspSACRAMENTO, CA - California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger grabbed the spotlight at the recent U.N. World Environmental Day in San Francisco when he declared, & quot;the debate is over. We know the science, we see the threat, and the time for action is now.& #39;& #39; He ordered that California cut its emissions of greenhouse gases to 2000 levels by 2010, to 1990 levels by 2020, and by 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2349/pub_detail.asp#6-29-2005Wed, 29 Jun 2005 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2804/pub_detail.aspThis tenth edition of the Index of Leading Environmental Indicators is a good time to take stock of progress over the last decade. When the Index was launched, there were few efforts to develop environmental indicators or report trends in a useful way for the media or the public. Now there are dozens of worthy efforts in the public and private sector, many of them highly detailed and most available on the Internet. (An inventory of 86 Internet-accessible indicator sets is included in this edition.) As often as not, these efforts reveal how much we don& rsquo;t know about environmental conditions and trends, and point to the need to fill in the large gaps in our understanding.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2804/pub_detail.asp#4-19-2005Tue, 19 Apr 2005 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2336/pub_detail.aspSACRAMENTO, CA - As Earth Day approaches and gasoline prices rise, one legislator seems determined to make environmentally friendly transportation more costly for Californians.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2336/pub_detail.asp#3-23-2005Wed, 23 Mar 2005 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.170/pub_detail.aspHeat Advisory, a recent report from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), claims that increased temperatures resulting from global warming will cause higher ozone smog levels and therefore harm Americans& rsquo; health. In other words, in addition to other harms, NRDC claims global warming will cause future air pollution to be worse than current air pollution levels. For example, NRDC asserts that the number of days per year exceeding the Environmental Protection Agency& rsquo;s (EPA) 8-hour ozone standard will increase by an average of 60 percent in America& rsquo;s metropolitan areas.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.170/pub_detail.asp#3-1-2005Tue, 1 Mar 2005 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2322/pub_detail.aspSACRAMENTO, CA - Author Michael Crichton has given the phrase & quot;fear not& #39;& #39; a timely new application. In the December 5 issue of Parade magazine, he advises readers not to be frightened by the latest pseudo-scientific superstition. He cites plenty of examples.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2322/pub_detail.asp#12-22-2004Wed, 22 Dec 2004 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3230/pub_detail.aspPRI& #39;s Quarterly NewsletterPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3230/pub_detail.asp#12-1-2004Wed, 1 Dec 2004 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3229/pub_detail.aspPRI& #39;s Quarterly NewsletterPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3229/pub_detail.asp#6-1-2004Tue, 1 Jun 2004 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2805/pub_detail.aspThe ninth annual Index of Leading Environmental Indicators, released today by the Pacific Research Institute and the American Enterprise Institute, shows that the environment continues to be America& rsquo;s single greatest policy success. Environmental quality has improved so much, in fact, that it is nearly impossible to paint a grim, gloom-and-doom picture anymore.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2805/pub_detail.asp#4-21-2004Wed, 21 Apr 2004 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2764/pub_detail.aspDecember 2003 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2764/pub_detail.asp#12-31-2003Wed, 31 Dec 2003 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2268/pub_detail.aspIn a surprise announcement last week, the Bush Administration unveiled a plan to implement a sweeping new air quality regime. It is aimed at reducing the emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) through a system of tradeable emissions permits. Once fully implemented in 30 eastern states, the system will enable 90 percent of eastern regions currently out of compliance with the new ozone and particulate standards to reach compliance over the next decade. The measure will also reduce mercury emissions from power plants, and therein lies a tale.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2268/pub_detail.asp#12-10-2003Wed, 10 Dec 2003 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.174/pub_detail.aspThis paper summarizes the scientific evidence and relevant economic and political issues in the context of the recent legal efforts by several state Attorneys General and other groups to force the Environmental Protection Agency to impose regulatory controls on vehicle emissions of carbon dioxide.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.174/pub_detail.asp#12-1-2003Mon, 1 Dec 2003 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3228/pub_detail.aspPRI& #39;s Quarterly NewsletterPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3228/pub_detail.asp#12-1-2003Mon, 1 Dec 2003 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2263/pub_detail.aspWASHINGTON, DC -- Since I last wrote in this space a month ago (& quot;Bye-Bye Kyoto,& #39;& #39; October 8), there have been several new body blows to the global warming crusade.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2263/pub_detail.asp#11-12-2003Wed, 12 Nov 2003 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2258/pub_detail.aspWASHINGTON, DC - Gray Davis& #39;s political career isn& #39;t the only thing circling the drain this week. Remember the Kyoto protocol on global warming? Russia is about to flush it.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2258/pub_detail.asp#10-8-2003Wed, 8 Oct 2003 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2254/pub_detail.aspThe price of gasoline spiked sharply over the Labor Day weekend and prices remain high. Cruz Bustamante, the Lieutenant Governor who aspires to be Governor, wants to slap government price controls on gasoline. An intriguing response to this notion came in & ldquo;Bustamante& rsquo;s Folly: Gas Price Controls Would Bring Back Lines,& rdquo; an August 30 editorial in the liberal Sacramento Bee.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2254/pub_detail.asp#9-10-2003Wed, 10 Sep 2003 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2760/pub_detail.aspAugust 2003 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2760/pub_detail.asp#8-31-2003Sun, 31 Aug 2003 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2251/pub_detail.aspCAMBRIA, CA - Lost in the recall frenzy are a pair of ballot initiatives that voters will also see on October 7. There has been some media attention for Ward Connerly& rsquo;s Proposition 54, the Racial Privacy Initiative, but almost no notice paid to Proposition 53, which would dedicate three percent of the state general fund each year to infrastructure projects such as roads and water supplies.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2251/pub_detail.asp#8-21-2003Thu, 21 Aug 2003 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.468/pub_detail.aspAustralia has one of the worst records of mammalian extinction in the world, in large part because so many of its species evolved in isolation and were not well-equipped to deal with the introduced species that came with European settlement. In recent years, however, a focus on feral eradication and on protection of native species in feral-proof enclosures or sanctuaries has started to reverse this trend.Earth Sanctuaries, Ltd., a private company in Australia, has been at the forefront of this type of protection. It has played a significant role in the recovery of many species.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.468/pub_detail.asp#8-1-2003Fri, 1 Aug 2003 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2238/pub_detail.aspThe New York Times has been making headlines with the revelation that its star reporter, Jayson Blair, filed stories from places he had not been, freighted with quotes he made up, and filled with information either bogus or stolen from other writers. His work is in the tradition of Janet Cooke of the Washington Post, whose celebrated tale of a youthful junkie proved to be fiction, and fabulist Stephen Glass of The New Republic, now attempting to cash in on his fraud in a new book.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2238/pub_detail.asp#5-21-2003Wed, 21 May 2003 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.427/pub_detail.aspIn a dramatic turning point for environmental policy, the 2002 U.N. World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa affirmed that economic growth is a prerequisite for improving the world& #39;s environment. This should translate into a greater reliance on market-based policy solutions. However, many environmental issues remain as contentious as ever & mdash; climate change, sustainable development, food production, and urban growth.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.427/pub_detail.asp#4-1-2003Tue, 1 Apr 2003 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2228/pub_detail.aspNew legislation on air quality is the latest evidence that California legislators have a strange sense of priorities. It also marks an escalation in environmental and regulatory zealotry that could, in due time, lead to higher prices for food, or even food shortages. For decades a state law has blocked state and local regulators from enforcing parts of the Clean Air Act on farms. Now State Sen. Dean Florez, a Shafter Democrat, wants to change that with a sweeping 10-bill package, SB-700-709.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2228/pub_detail.asp#3-12-2003Wed, 12 Mar 2003 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2225/pub_detail.aspIn my last dispatch in this space three weeks ago I complained about the nuisance of the two inches of snow that had come down overnight. Today, after two feet of snow in the last 48 hours, I lay aside my snow shovel to resume worrying about global warming.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2225/pub_detail.asp#2-20-2003Thu, 20 Feb 2003 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2224/pub_detail.aspA deficit of more than $30 billion and a sluggish economy are excellent grounds for cuts in government. California was recently handed such a chance when a state appeals court ruled 3-0 that the state& #39;s Coastal Commission is unconstitutional because it violates the separation of powers. Besides being in the court& #39;s view illegal, the Commission is also inept and facilitates corruption. But instead of disbanding the Commission, legislators began working three shifts to save the body, in a defiance of common sense, democracy, and even environmental realities.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2224/pub_detail.asp#2-12-2003Wed, 12 Feb 2003 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2222/pub_detail.aspAnother two inches of snow fell in Washington Sunday night, and today& #39;s high temperature might reach 20 degrees. As the East Coast enters into its eighth week of temperatures more than 15 degrees below normal, skeptics of global warming are starting to change their mind and say that, whatever their doubts, they now hope global warming is indeed true. Another anomaly of recent days is the news that U.S. emissions of greenhouse gases (particularly CO2) declined by 1.2 percent in 2002, the largest decline in more than a decade.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2222/pub_detail.asp#1-29-2003Wed, 29 Jan 2003 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2219/pub_detail.aspThe big news around these parts of California& #39;s central coast is the state appeals court ruling that the California Coastal Commission is unconstitutional. The ruling is long overdue. The Coastal Commission, for you non-Californians, is one of those modern administrative agencies that combine bureaucratic ideology of near-Stalinist zeal with corruption of the worst kind. One commissioner, Mark Nathanson, served five years in prison for selling favors. But the Coastal Commission is merely the tip of the bureaucratic iceberg that has been sinking development in California for more than a generation.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2219/pub_detail.asp#1-8-2003Wed, 8 Jan 2003 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2214/pub_detail.aspThe inimitable Dick Morris, who predicted a Democratic sweep the weekend before the election, now argues that Democrats should push environmental issues as a means of regaining the political initiative. In fact, Morris says Al Gore would have won the 2000 presidential election had he pushed environmental issues harder. As the architect of Bill Clinton& rsquo;s political revival following the 1994 election, Dick Morris& rsquo;s political perceptions are not to be lightly dismissed. But one must wonder whether Morris has taken up his old toe-sucking habits, or whether he isn& rsquo;t in fact baiting the Democrats to further desuetude.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2214/pub_detail.asp#11-20-2002Wed, 20 Nov 2002 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2207/pub_detail.aspConservatives are used to being called callous and uncaring, wanting to throw grandmother out in the snow, starve school kids, cut down every tree in sight, poison all the rivers and lakes, bomb the Third World, lock up minorities, and so on. But up until now the full evil of conservatism has been successfully concealed: conservative rule makes more people want to kill themselves.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2207/pub_detail.asp#10-2-2002Wed, 2 Oct 2002 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2200/pub_detail.aspIn two weeks some 60,000 members of the international chattering class will assemble in Johannesburg, South Africa for the United Nations& rsquo; & ldquo;World Summit on Sustainable Development& rdquo; (WSSD). The unctuousness of U.N. gabfests can always prompt a smile, as they chiefly produce paperwork sufficient to supply several recycling plants in perpetuity. The U.N.& rsquo;s Environmental Programme (UNEP), for example, is about to conduct a study of environmental conditions in Palestinian territories. One wonders whether they will reach the bold conclusion that terrorism is incompatible with sustainable development.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2200/pub_detail.asp#8-14-2002Wed, 14 Aug 2002 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2195/pub_detail.aspCalifornia has a knack for showcasing how zealotry and dubious science fuels legislative laziness and unintended consequences. Consider the recently passed Assembly Bill 1493, at this writing awaiting a signature from Gov. Gray Davis.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2195/pub_detail.asp#7-9-2002Tue, 9 Jul 2002 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2192/pub_detail.aspLast week the Bush administration announced new regulations designed to speed up maintenance and upgrading of electric power plants to make them more energy efficient and expand generation capacity. And there followed the predictable result: all hell broke loose from environmentalists.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2192/pub_detail.asp#6-19-2002Wed, 19 Jun 2002 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2191/pub_detail.aspWilliam F. Buckley, Jr. once remarked that he got ideas for his newspaper column simply by opening to any page of the New York Times, where an outrage was sure to be found. This proved to be no hyperbole on Monday of this week, when the Times carried an outrage on seemingly every page.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2191/pub_detail.asp#6-4-2002Tue, 4 Jun 2002 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2186/pub_detail.aspBack in January the Foundation for Clean Air Progress conducted a poll that found that two-thirds of Americans believe that air quality in the U.S. has deteriorated over the last decade. This is a huge misperception. According to the EPA, the number of & ldquo;exceedences& rdquo; of the EPA threshold for & ldquo;unhealthful air& rdquo; in American cities fell by nearly 50 percent over the last decade, as reported in the most recent edition of PRI& rsquo;s Index of Leading Environmental Indicators.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2186/pub_detail.asp#5-1-2002Wed, 1 May 2002 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3268/pub_detail.aspAt the outset of 2002, Californians found low prices at the gas pumps and their state once again enjoyed a surplus of electric power. Given current circumstances, and with issues such as terrorism dominating the news, many have forgotten that barely one year ago the state& rsquo;s experience was quite different.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3268/pub_detail.asp#5-1-2002Wed, 1 May 2002 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2185/pub_detail.aspQuick guess, what is the biggest crop in the United States? Wheat? Corn? Oats? Nice try. Actually it& rsquo;s lawn. It& rsquo;s spring and many homeowners are out working on their lawn, which may soon bear the heavy bootprints of government. Consider, for example, developments north of the border.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2185/pub_detail.asp#4-24-2002Wed, 24 Apr 2002 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.426/pub_detail.aspWe are pleased to present the 7th edition of our annual review of environmental trends and issues in the United States. The shape of environmental discourse has changed dramatically since the first edition of this report was published in 1994.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.426/pub_detail.asp#4-1-2002Mon, 1 Apr 2002 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2180/pub_detail.aspFifty years ago a few of the leading intellectuals on the left, such as Lionel Trilling and Dwight MacDonald, began to perceive growing weaknesses in the dominant liberal ideology of the time, and began to look hopefully for the emergence of a reasonable, responsible conservatism. Today, the shoe is on the other foot, as conservatives wonder whether a reasonable, responsible left is possible.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2180/pub_detail.asp#3-22-2002Fri, 22 Mar 2002 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.362/pub_detail.aspSuperfund is a huge federal program with growing costs which in a decade might rival those of social security and defense. It is extremely complex, involving cleanups of scores of chemicals at thousands of sites. This book tells the story of one aspect of Superfund& mdash;its lead-in-soil cleanups.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.362/pub_detail.asp#2-1-2002Fri, 1 Feb 2002 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2160/pub_detail.aspFor a while now we have pondered the late-in-coming celebration of & ldquo;the greatest generation.& rdquo; & ldquo;Late-in-coming& rdquo; because the baby boomers of the 1960s& rsquo; & ldquo;youth movement& rdquo; proudly asserted that they were the greatest generation ever to grace the land of America. Further, the Establishment, and many of their parents, rushed to affirm this proclamation. Time magazine in 1967 went as far as to say that the youth movement & ldquo;will infuse the future with a new sense of morality, a transcendent and contemporary ethic that could enrich the & lsquo;empty society& rsquo;.& rdquo;Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2160/pub_detail.asp#10-11-2001Thu, 11 Oct 2001 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2157/pub_detail.aspSACRAMENTO, CA - By now you have likely reached the saturation point with commentary on what it all means and the possible dimensions of the war to come. So we won& rsquo;t add our thoughts on the terrorist attacks, which would be a mere echo of other well-spoken words.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2157/pub_detail.asp#9-19-2001Wed, 19 Sep 2001 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2155/pub_detail.aspMy Labor Day weekend is ruined every year by the annual convention of the American Political Science Association (APSA), but at least this year the nation& rsquo;s academic political scientists chose the Left Coast for their meeting place. Perhaps this is out of embarrassment.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2155/pub_detail.asp#9-6-2001Thu, 6 Sep 2001 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3269/pub_detail.aspCurrent proposals for avoiding a formal bankruptcy by Southern California Edison, as embodied in alternative draft legislative Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) now under consideration, explicitly will create a hierarchy of favored and less-favored creditors. This approach will create powerful incentives for those with lower priority to force Edison into bankruptcy immediately, in substantial part because of fiduciary responsibilities to their owners or shareholders. In short: Despite the ostensible purpose of the MOU in terms of avoiding a formal bankruptcy filing by Edison, this provision seems designed to force such a filing while shifting the attendant political responsibility to the less-favored creditors.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3269/pub_detail.asp#8-24-2001Fri, 24 Aug 2001 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3270/pub_detail.aspThe following provides key research findings from a forthcoming study by Dr. Benjamin Zycher, which the Pacific Research Institute will publish in fall 2001.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3270/pub_detail.asp#8-21-2001Tue, 21 Aug 2001 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2151/pub_detail.aspHere on California& rsquo;s central coast is the ideal place to escape the summer heat and take in the full measure of silliness that our fellow citizens elsewhere in the nation come to expect from the Golden State.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2151/pub_detail.asp#8-6-2001Mon, 6 Aug 2001 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3125/pub_detail.aspWith more blackouts occurring and with the California legislature passing his centerpiece $13.4 billion electricity bonds, Governor Gray Davis continues to find scapegoats for his disastrous energy policies. When Republican State Assembly members voted against the bond sale, Davis claimed that Republicans were obstructing the solution to the electricity mess. Sorry governor, if you want to see who& rsquo;s preventing a real solution, just look in the mirror. Take, for example, Davis& rsquo;s ill-conceived bond scheme.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3125/pub_detail.asp#5-10-2001Thu, 10 May 2001 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.370/pub_detail.aspWith rolling blackouts guaranteed as summer heat increases electricity demand over available supply, Californians are right to wonder how the state got into this mess and what will be the fallout of this government-created debacle. This briefing examines the causes of the disaster, Governor Gray Davis& rsquo;s policy responses, the political ramifications of the crisis, and practical solutions that could be implemented immediately.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.370/pub_detail.asp#5-1-2001Tue, 1 May 2001 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.330/pub_detail.aspPublic perception about the environment tends to run the gamut from alarm to hysteria. From most of the news headlines, the casual observer would think that we are doing everything wrong, and that nothing is going right. As Gregg Easterbrook wrote in his magisterial book A Moment on the Earth, & ldquo;Environmental commentary is so fogbound in woe that few people realize measurable improvements have already been made in almost every area.& rdquo; It is important that environmental trends be more widely understood and appreciated.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.330/pub_detail.asp#4-1-2001Sun, 1 Apr 2001 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.538/pub_detail.aspThe phenomenon of urban sprawl has become a pre-eminent controversy throughout the United States. Recently a number of scholars and writers, gathered at a conference about the issue at Lone Mountain Ranch in Big Sky, Montana by the Political Economy Research Center, decided to distill their conclusions into the following brief statement of principles. The authors have called this statement the & quot;Lone Mountain Compact,& quot; and have invited other writers and scholars to join in endorsing its principles. A partial list of signatures appears at the end.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.538/pub_detail.asp#3-1-2001Thu, 1 Mar 2001 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3460/pub_detail.aspCalifornians are well aware that they pay among the highest gasoline prices in the country, an average of $1.83 per gallon, and much higher in some areas, notably the Bay Area. When they gas up their cars, however, most motorists are unaware of the role federal, state, and local taxes have on prices.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3460/pub_detail.asp#10-5-2000Thu, 5 Oct 2000 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3457/pub_detail.aspEarlier this month Governor Gray Davis signed AB265 and AB970, the culmination of weeks of scrambling by lawmakers to provide relief from skyrocketing utility bills in San Diego. These measures, however, provide only temporary relief.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3457/pub_detail.asp#9-22-2000Fri, 22 Sep 2000 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.570/pub_detail.aspThis report is the first in a series of case studies on growth issues that the Pacific Research Institute is undertaking in several regions of California, Texas, and Florida.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.570/pub_detail.asp#9-1-2000Fri, 1 Sep 2000 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.329/pub_detail.aspThe Pacific Research Institute is pleased to present the fifth edition of the Index of Leading Environmental Indicators. The purpose of the Index is to provide policymakers and interested citizens with an annual checkup on environmental trends in the United States. It is especially propitious to do so this year, which marks the 30th anniversary of Earth Day on April 22.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.329/pub_detail.asp#4-1-2000Sat, 1 Apr 2000 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2080/pub_detail.aspCAMBRIA, CA& mdash;Readers of this space will recall a dispatch from last October (& quot;Mao-Maoing the GAO& quot;) concerning the report from the General Accounting Office that threw cold water on one of the favorite themes of the anti-sprawl crowd, i.e., that sprawl is massively & quot;subsidized& quot; by government.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2080/pub_detail.asp#2-23-2000Wed, 23 Feb 2000 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2747/pub_detail.aspDecember 1999 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2747/pub_detail.asp#12-31-1999Fri, 31 Dec 1999 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2071/pub_detail.aspNext week brings the end of the century, and also the completion of four years of Capital Ideas. This humble communique will continue into the next century, but we can& rsquo;t pass up a last shot at this one.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2071/pub_detail.asp#12-21-1999Tue, 21 Dec 1999 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3464/pub_detail.aspThe summary of the new 1997 National Resources Inventory (NRI) is just out from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It concludes that the rate of land being urbanized in the U.S. has increased rapidly in the 1990s, to more than three million acres a year, and is providing fresh fuel for those who see urban sprawl as a crisis requiring significant new land regulation.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3464/pub_detail.asp#12-13-1999Mon, 13 Dec 1999 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2068/pub_detail.aspThe SUV parked next to me at Home Depot sported a license plate frame reading: & quot;Where the Hell is Rescue?& quot; This must be a neighbor of mine, for & quot;Rescue& quot; is my new home town. For weeks I have been joking to my Beltway friends that I was returning to rescue California from my redoubt at & quot;Rescue, California,& quot; a burgh in the Gold Rush foothill country so small that even hummingbirds miss it if they blink. I& rsquo;d be tempted to say this is a commensurate metaphor about the difficulty of turning California around in the Age of Clinton, but ever since the Edmund Morris debacle, rescue metaphors have been ruined for everyone.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2068/pub_detail.asp#11-30-1999Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2746/pub_detail.aspOctober 1999 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2746/pub_detail.asp#10-31-1999Sun, 31 Oct 1999 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2063/pub_detail.aspDuring the heyday of Stalinism, George Orwell noted that some ideas were so stupid only an intellectual could believe them, a fitting summation of this century. California now offers its own variation, ideas so stupid only a politician could believe them. But politicians have the power to take stupid ideas and make them into stupid laws. That is especially true when the politician& rsquo;s party controls the assembly, the senate, and the governor& rsquo;s office.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2063/pub_detail.asp#10-26-1999Tue, 26 Oct 1999 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2062/pub_detail.aspOne of the great arguments of the urban sprawl controversy concerns the alleged subsidies that low density suburban growth receives. Suburban growth, it is said, does not pay its way. Maybe not, but this claim brings to mind the old saw about wife-beating: if suburban growth doesn& rsquo;t pay for itself, when did it stop paying for itself? How did all the suburbs of the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s get built if they weren& rsquo;t paying their way?Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2062/pub_detail.asp#10-19-1999Tue, 19 Oct 1999 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.247/pub_detail.aspA Review of Predictions and Prophecies for the Year 2000Excerpted from Dr. Steven Hayward& rsquo;s remarks at the Pacific Research Institute& rsquo;s 20th Anniversary Policy Workshop, San Francisco, October 30, 1999Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.247/pub_detail.asp#10-1-1999Fri, 1 Oct 1999 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2745/pub_detail.aspSeptember 1999 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2745/pub_detail.asp#9-30-1999Thu, 30 Sep 1999 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2056/pub_detail.aspMoviegoers may recall the scene from Barry Levinson& rsquo;s fine film Tin Men_, in which the feuding aluminum siding salesmen (played by Richard Dreyfus and Danny DeVito) momentarily set aside their enmity when both are hauled before the special & quot;Home Improvement Commission,& quot; which is investigating the deceptive sales practices of people like Dreyfus and DeVito. The film is set in Baltimore in 1962, and this bureaucratic commission befuddles our lead characters because it has the power to be judge, jury, and executioner. Both Dreyfus and DeVito lose their licenses in summary proceedings. & quot;What kind of government is this?& quot;, DeVito asks. & quot;I think it& rsquo;s the future,& quot; Dreyfus laconically replies.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2056/pub_detail.asp#9-8-1999Wed, 8 Sep 1999 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2744/pub_detail.aspAugust 1999 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2744/pub_detail.asp#8-31-1999Tue, 31 Aug 1999 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2743/pub_detail.aspJuly 1999 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2743/pub_detail.asp#7-31-1999Sat, 31 Jul 1999 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2051/pub_detail.aspYears ago I recall a cartoon in a lampoon issue of National Review that showed a pot-bellied Archie Bunker-type reading the newspaper and commenting to his wife-in-curlers: & quot;Sez here they& rsquo;ve taught chimpanzees to speak. Great--another Third World country in the U.N.& quot; Sure enough, on Monday came the news out of Georgia State University that researchers there have taught a chimp a vocabulary and grammar of about 3,000 words, and have & quot;conversed& quot; with the chimp by means of a Stephen Hawking-style voice box.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2051/pub_detail.asp#7-27-1999Tue, 27 Jul 1999 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.249/pub_detail.aspAlthough known as & quot;the Golden State,& quot; water is undoubtedly California& rsquo;s most precious resource. Beginning with the gold rush during the mid-1800s, water has guided California& rsquo;s settlement and defined its landscape. At the turn of the century as settlers turned to farming and ranching, they depended on irrigation to transform arid California into the country& rsquo;s most productive agricultural region. Today, California& rsquo;s growing population has led to increased urban and industrial demands, not to mention the constant need for water to keep California& rsquo;s rich environment healthy.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.249/pub_detail.asp#7-1-1999Thu, 1 Jul 1999 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2742/pub_detail.aspJune 1999 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2742/pub_detail.asp#6-30-1999Wed, 30 Jun 1999 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2741/pub_detail.aspMay 1999 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2741/pub_detail.asp#5-31-1999Mon, 31 May 1999 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.320/pub_detail.aspThe purpose of the Index of Leading Environmental Indicators is to provide policy makers and interested citizens with an annual checkup on environmental progress in the United States. & ldquo;The environment& rdquo; is a broad term, encompassing hundreds of discrete issues and concerns. The amount of data is overwhelming, making an exhaustive report truly exhausting for all but the dedicated specialist. It is for this reason that the Environmental Protection Agency& rsquo;s (EPA) annual reports on environmental issues tend to go unread by the public and unreported in the media.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.320/pub_detail.asp#4-1-1999Thu, 1 Apr 1999 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2739/pub_detail.aspMarch 1999 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2739/pub_detail.asp#3-31-1999Wed, 31 Mar 1999 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3487/pub_detail.aspThe concept that urban sprawl threatened the nation by gobbling up the nation& #39;s agricultural land first made its appearance during the 1960s but the threats of the scare failed to materialize. The nation is not being paved over.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3487/pub_detail.asp#3-29-1999Mon, 29 Mar 1999 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3132/pub_detail.aspThe aversion to rapid change is the dominant social fact behind the controversy over sprawl, and it is enhanced by a second powerful social fact: the increasing latitude for choice that people have today. Thirty years ago, for example, our phones were the property of the monopoly phone company; today we choose our long distance provider. While the main story line of modern life is expanding choice and opportunity, rapid urban growth is seen as narrowing our range of choice and diminishing our control over our own destiny.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3132/pub_detail.asp#3-17-1999Wed, 17 Mar 1999 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3226/pub_detail.aspPRI& #39;s Quarterly NewsletterPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3226/pub_detail.asp#3-1-1999Mon, 1 Mar 1999 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2738/pub_detail.aspFebruary 1999 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2738/pub_detail.asp#2-28-1999Sun, 28 Feb 1999 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2737/pub_detail.aspJanuary 1999 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2737/pub_detail.asp#1-31-1999Sun, 31 Jan 1999 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2736/pub_detail.aspDecember 1998 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2736/pub_detail.asp#12-31-1998Thu, 31 Dec 1998 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.193/pub_detail.aspSince the mid-1990s, California& rsquo;s state spending has been increasing at an impressive pace. Governor Gray Davis& rsquo;s most recent budget proposal is $102 billion& mdash;almost eight percent higher than last year& rsquo;s proposed budget& mdash;and does not fully account for changing economic conditions and the state& rsquo;s electricity crisis. Figure 1 in this study breaks down the governor& rsquo;s proposed budget by spending area.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.193/pub_detail.asp#12-1-1998Tue, 1 Dec 1998 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3223/pub_detail.aspPRI& #39;s Quarterly NewsletterPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3223/pub_detail.asp#12-1-1998Tue, 1 Dec 1998 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3246/pub_detail.aspAt the United Nations conference on global warming in Buenos Aires in early November, developing countries greeted the Kyoto Protocol with a virtual deep freeze, rejecting its proposal for voluntary controls to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But that rejection, beyond what the pundits expected, didn& rsquo;t stop the Clinton Administration from signing a flawed agreement based on faulty science and which, if implemented, would leave all the heavy lifting to developed countries like the United States.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3246/pub_detail.asp#11-20-1998Fri, 20 Nov 1998 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2734/pub_detail.aspOctober 1998 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2734/pub_detail.asp#10-31-1998Sat, 31 Oct 1998 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2733/pub_detail.aspSeptember 1998 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2733/pub_detail.asp#9-30-1998Wed, 30 Sep 1998 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3222/pub_detail.aspPRI& #39;s Quarterly NewsletterPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3222/pub_detail.asp#9-1-1998Tue, 1 Sep 1998 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2732/pub_detail.aspAugust 1998 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2732/pub_detail.asp#8-31-1998Mon, 31 Aug 1998 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3241/pub_detail.aspGovernor Pete Wilson and Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt recently announced that CALFED, the federal-state task force responsible for developing a water supply plan for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay-Delta, will not reach a decision until late 1999, one year later than scheduled. The delay gives policymakers time to get to the heart of the issue: California& rsquo;s water shortage problem is not one of supply, but one of poor allocation.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3241/pub_detail.asp#8-10-1998Mon, 10 Aug 1998 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2731/pub_detail.aspJuly 1998 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2731/pub_detail.asp#7-31-1998Fri, 31 Jul 1998 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2730/pub_detail.aspJune 1998 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2730/pub_detail.asp#6-30-1998Tue, 30 Jun 1998 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.154/pub_detail.aspThe California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is among the most significant environmental laws on the books in the United States. Its best attribute is that it included for the first time explicit consideration of the environment in the planning process. But CEQA, in addition to being unreasonably costly in practice, may not actually protect the environment very well. The process of CEQA has come to dominate the substance of CEQA, and hence too many environmental reviews result in 1000-plus page reports whose primary purpose is to avoid litigation rather than to aid agency decision-makers in their deliberations.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.154/pub_detail.asp#6-1-1998Mon, 1 Jun 1998 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.230/pub_detail.aspThe terms of the global warming treaty that the Clinton-Gore Administration agreed to in Kyoto, Japan last December would, if implemented, commit the U.S. to severe restrictions in & ldquo;greenhouse gas& rdquo; emissions. Targets set for sharp cutbacks & ndash; which the Administration has promised to achieve by the period 2008 to 2012 & ndash; would be the first step in the Administration& rsquo;s plan for long-term reductions in emissions. As explained in this report, these actions would adversely affect every individual, family, organization, and community in California. Less energy would be available for Californians or prices of energy would rise dramatically, or both.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.230/pub_detail.asp#6-1-1998Mon, 1 Jun 1998 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2729/pub_detail.aspMay 1998 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2729/pub_detail.asp#5-31-1998Sun, 31 May 1998 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2728/pub_detail.aspApril 1998 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2728/pub_detail.asp#4-30-1998Thu, 30 Apr 1998 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.325/pub_detail.aspModem public attention to the environment dates roughly from the first Earth Day in 1970. But despite a generation of concern, public opinion about envi& shy;ronmental issues remains confused and contradictory, and as a consequence public policy on the environment is highly contentious and unsettled. Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.325/pub_detail.asp#4-1-1998Wed, 1 Apr 1998 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3220/pub_detail.aspPRI& #39;s Quarterly NewsletterPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.3220/pub_detail.asp#3-1-1998Sun, 1 Mar 1998 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2726/pub_detail.aspFebruary 1998 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2726/pub_detail.asp#2-28-1998Sat, 28 Feb 1998 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.546/pub_detail.aspIn California, traffic congestion worsens every year. The economic and environmental costs that accompany this congestion pose a serious threat to the quality of life for all citizens. Mass transit, road expansion, and other traditional congestion relief programs are expensive, environmentally questionable, and ineffective in alleviating the problem, leaving transportation officials, legislators, and individual drivers to seek innovative solutions.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.546/pub_detail.asp#2-1-1998Sun, 1 Feb 1998 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2725/pub_detail.aspJanuary 1998 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2725/pub_detail.asp#1-31-1998Sat, 31 Jan 1998 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2724/pub_detail.aspDecember 1997 PRI Ideas in ActionPolicy Update and Monthly Impact ReportPublicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.2724/pub_detail.asp#12-31-1997Wed, 31 Dec 1997 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.322/pub_detail.aspThe environment is a source of widespread anxiety and pessimism among the public and policy makers alike. Even though by most measures environmental quality has improved dramatically over the last 20 years, public opinion polls consistently show large majorities of the public are pessimistic about environmental quality. Leading politicians and environmental organizations, both of whom have a self-interest in being & quot;crisis entrepreneurs,& quot; actively promote the idea that our future is in doubt. Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.322/pub_detail.asp#4-1-1997Tue, 1 Apr 1997 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.576/pub_detail.aspThis report argues that the property tax shift beginning in FY 1992-93 has introduced significant new distortions into the public-private decision making process. The property tax, as a relatively static revenue source, has been a problematic aspect of California& #39;s fiscal composition since the passage of Proposition 13. The property tax shift, which created the ERAF (Educational Revenue Augmentation Fund) fund for schools, has exacerbated this already serious problem, especially for counties.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.576/pub_detail.asp#6-1-1996Sat, 1 Jun 1996 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.321/pub_detail.aspOpinion polls consistently show that Americans believe the environment has deteriorated during their lifetimes, and will continue to get worse in the future, with detrimental consequences for public health and well being. Much of the public& #39;s perception of what ails the environment is driven by the relentless accumulation of anecdotes and the & quot;crisis entrepreneurs& quot; who exploit environmental problems. In fact, many aspects of environmental quality have improved dramatically since the first Earth Day in 1970. While genuine environmental problems should not be slighted, false impressions about environmental quality can contribute to mistaken priorities and bad policy.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.321/pub_detail.asp#4-1-1996Mon, 1 Apr 1996 00:00:00 ESThttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.250/pub_detail.aspVice President Gore& rsquo;s best-selling book Earth In the Balance is the most extensive examination of environmental issues by an American politician to date. In it, Mr. Gore examined the host of issues raised by & quot;the environmental crisis,& quot; ranging from the political and scientific to the moral and spiritual elements. Well received by the national press, Earth in the Balance presented many politically popular ideas about the environment. Unfortunately, relatively little critical attention was paid to it at the time, and the nation missed an ideal opportunity to examine the fundamental issues in environmental politics and policy today.Environmental Gore seeks to do just that, by presenting a broad ranging critique of Earth in the Balance.Publicationshttp://liberty.pacificresearch.org/publications/id.250/pub_detail.asp#4-5-1994Tue, 5 Apr 1994 00:00:00 EST