Environment
Commentary
Investigate CARBifornia
In early April, UCLA will decide whether to fire epidemiologist James Enstrom, a fixture in the UCLA Department of Public Health since the 1970s. If UCLA does give him the boot, Assemblyman Dan Logue has threatened to hold hearings. Whatever happens to Enstrom, legislators have good reason to investigate. Enstrom ...
K. Lloyd Billingsley
March 23, 2011
Business & Economics
Carl’s Jr. chewed up by California
California has changed dramatically since 1941, when Carl and Margaret Karcher scraped together about 325 bucks to start a hot dog cart in Los Angeles – a precursor to a drive-through restaurant they opened in Anaheim and which grew into the Carl’s Jr. fast-food empire. The Karchers were household names ...
Steven Greenhut
March 18, 2011
Health Care
Has the Fight Against Obamacare Morphed into a Fight Against Government-Run Health Care?
The previous congressional majority managed to jam Obamacare down the throats of an increasingly resistant nation. Now the fight against Obamacare may have delivered a shock to the system that goes beyond the battle cry of repeal and replace. Serious health care reformers, however, still face some unpleasant realities. Public-opinion ...
John R. Graham
March 9, 2011
Business & Economics
Obama should abandon energy fables and deal with facts
After a bruising battle over cap and trade last year, President Obama has set his sights on another target — oil and natural gas companies. Vilifying “big oil” might be good politics, but it’s bad policy. If we’re going to get serious about energy solutions, we first need to separate ...
Lawrence J. McQuillan
February 25, 2011
Commentary
Car-tastrophe: How federal policy can help, not hinder, the greening of the automobile
San Francisco—Many policies aiming to “green” the American car culture may do just the opposite, according to a new study from the Pacific Research Institute (PRI), a California-based free market think tank. Car-tastrophe: How federal policy can help, not hinder, the greening of the automobile, by Amy Kaleita, Ph.D., PRI ...
Amy Kaleita
February 14, 2011
Commentary
Sustaining Environmental Quality and Economic Growth
A few weeks ago, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) revoked a permit for one of the largest mountain-top coal mining projects in the United States. That left West Virginia’s politicians up in arms over what they consider major regulatory overreach by the federal government. The action also highlighted key issues ...
Julie Kaszton
January 26, 2011
Climate Change
New Website for the Unconventional Environmentalist
San Francisco— Today the Pacific Research Institute (PRI), a California-based public policy think tank, launched www.EnvironmentalTrends.org, an interactive website for the unconventional environmentalist. The website features expert analysis on current environmental issues and customizable data on environmental trends. “If you’ve ever wanted to get beyond the conventional wisdom of today’s ...
Steven F. Hayward
January 4, 2011
Climate Change
The EPA and the Alarmist Narrative
This month the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency turns 40. That calls for a look back at environmental conditions then and now. The president of the time was Richard Nixon, a Republican later of Watergate fame, and he favored the establishment of a federal environmental agency. That followed the first Earth ...
Julie Kaszton
December 22, 2010
Agriculture
Courting Confusion on Climate Change
Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case on utilities companies being sued for emitting carbon dioxide. That the case has reached the Supreme Court indicates how confused our judicial system is on the subject of climate, but it is even more troubling that that the ...
Amy Kaleita
December 21, 2010
Business & Economics
Jerry Brown’s game of chicken
SACRAMENTO – We’re about to witness a new twist on Sacramento’s annual high-stakes budget game. Many Capitol observers believe that incoming Gov. Jerry Brown and his fellow Democrats, who no longer need GOP budget support thanks to the Nov. 2 passage of Proposition 25, which allows budget approval with a ...
Steven Greenhut
December 17, 2010
Investigate CARBifornia
In early April, UCLA will decide whether to fire epidemiologist James Enstrom, a fixture in the UCLA Department of Public Health since the 1970s. If UCLA does give him the boot, Assemblyman Dan Logue has threatened to hold hearings. Whatever happens to Enstrom, legislators have good reason to investigate. Enstrom ...
Carl’s Jr. chewed up by California
California has changed dramatically since 1941, when Carl and Margaret Karcher scraped together about 325 bucks to start a hot dog cart in Los Angeles – a precursor to a drive-through restaurant they opened in Anaheim and which grew into the Carl’s Jr. fast-food empire. The Karchers were household names ...
Has the Fight Against Obamacare Morphed into a Fight Against Government-Run Health Care?
The previous congressional majority managed to jam Obamacare down the throats of an increasingly resistant nation. Now the fight against Obamacare may have delivered a shock to the system that goes beyond the battle cry of repeal and replace. Serious health care reformers, however, still face some unpleasant realities. Public-opinion ...
Obama should abandon energy fables and deal with facts
After a bruising battle over cap and trade last year, President Obama has set his sights on another target — oil and natural gas companies. Vilifying “big oil” might be good politics, but it’s bad policy. If we’re going to get serious about energy solutions, we first need to separate ...
Car-tastrophe: How federal policy can help, not hinder, the greening of the automobile
San Francisco—Many policies aiming to “green” the American car culture may do just the opposite, according to a new study from the Pacific Research Institute (PRI), a California-based free market think tank. Car-tastrophe: How federal policy can help, not hinder, the greening of the automobile, by Amy Kaleita, Ph.D., PRI ...
Sustaining Environmental Quality and Economic Growth
A few weeks ago, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) revoked a permit for one of the largest mountain-top coal mining projects in the United States. That left West Virginia’s politicians up in arms over what they consider major regulatory overreach by the federal government. The action also highlighted key issues ...
New Website for the Unconventional Environmentalist
San Francisco— Today the Pacific Research Institute (PRI), a California-based public policy think tank, launched www.EnvironmentalTrends.org, an interactive website for the unconventional environmentalist. The website features expert analysis on current environmental issues and customizable data on environmental trends. “If you’ve ever wanted to get beyond the conventional wisdom of today’s ...
The EPA and the Alarmist Narrative
This month the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency turns 40. That calls for a look back at environmental conditions then and now. The president of the time was Richard Nixon, a Republican later of Watergate fame, and he favored the establishment of a federal environmental agency. That followed the first Earth ...
Courting Confusion on Climate Change
Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case on utilities companies being sued for emitting carbon dioxide. That the case has reached the Supreme Court indicates how confused our judicial system is on the subject of climate, but it is even more troubling that that the ...
Jerry Brown’s game of chicken
SACRAMENTO – We’re about to witness a new twist on Sacramento’s annual high-stakes budget game. Many Capitol observers believe that incoming Gov. Jerry Brown and his fellow Democrats, who no longer need GOP budget support thanks to the Nov. 2 passage of Proposition 25, which allows budget approval with a ...