Often, conservation discussions focus on rural and undeveloped areas. When cities come up, it’s largely in the context of reducing…
How free market environmentalism can help us reach peak farm land?
Technological innovation holds vast potential to improve environmental outcomes, by allowing us to make more with less. That process can…
Can property owners be barred from seeking restoration against neighboring polluters? The Supreme Court will soon decide.
Over a century, a copper smelter in Opportunity, Montana emitted thousands of tons of toxic metals, polluting its neighbors’ properties…
Will the Supreme Court decide whether the Clean Water Act applies to groundwater?
In February, the Supreme Court agreed to decide whether the federal Clean Water Act regulates pollutants that migrate through groundwater.…
Environmental markets work best when they incentivize compliance, rather than relying on enforcement
Last week, ProPublica published an article questioning whether carbon credits for forest preservation are “worse than nothing.” The article cites…
This Endangered Species Day, we should celebrate species’ recovery and imagine innovative ways to encourage more recoveries
Today is the thirteenth Endangered Species Day, a day marked by Congress to celebrate the efforts of a wide variety…
A bug’s life: the American burying beetle’s recovery should be a cause for celebration, not alarm
Should a species’ improvement be a cause for celebration or concern? That question is posed by the response to this…
A market to convert flooded neighborhoods to wetlands
This month, the Mississippi River has experienced a prolonged, historic flood. The images of the flood recall other recent floods,…
If federal authority ebbs, will states take the lead on regulating upstream water quality?
Since 1972, the Environmental Protection Agency has regulated discharges of pollution to “waters of the United States.” The meaning of…
How can we better capture the option value of conservation?
Is it better to pump oil today, tomorrow, or never? Is a tree more valuable if harvested now, in a…
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