Publications -- Environment
Mar 22, 2004 |
BA #469 – Malthus ReconsideredIn An Essay on the Principle of Population , first published in 1798, Thomas Malthus stated his aphorism that the geometric growth of population must eventually exceed the arithmetic growth of resources. Malthus is most often invoked in the context of acrimonious ideological debates on human population growth and its effect on the natural environment. Environmental advocates, including Paul Ehrlich, Harvard University 's Club of Rome and the United Nations, decry human population growth, claiming that it causes intolerable pollution and will result in a scarcity of key natural resources and mass starvation. Others have called for international programs to slow or reverse population growth and for governmental controls on natural resource use. However , Malthus' arguments, upon which some of these fears are based, are rarely scientifically analyzed. |
Feb 23, 2004 |
BA #467 – Wind Power: Red Not GreenEnvironmentalists have long argued that renewable energy sources (such as wind, solar, and geothermal power, and the burning of biomass), are preferable to fossil fuels (oil, natural gas and coal). Historically, fossil fuels have been relatively abundant and significantly less costly; however, in recent years the price of alternative energies, particularly wind power, has fallen. Under certain conditions, wind power has become cost competitive with conventional fossil fuel energy. |
May 28, 2003 |
BA #440 – Energy Bill Mistakes: Let’s Call the Whole Thing OffThe ultimate goals of a new "National Energy Policy" should be economic growth and consumer freedom of choice. Unfortunately, versions of the energy bill currently being debated in Congress include some economically harmful proposals designed to appease certain politically powerful constituencies. |
Apr 10, 2003 |
BA #434 – Shaping a Progressive Energy Policy: Natural GasNational energy policy is a more prominent issue now than at any time since the "energy crisis" of the 1970s. Congress is debating legislation that would create a new national energy policy in response to electric industry deregulation, rising and wildly fluctuating energy prices, deteriorating relations with energy exporting countries, energy implications of the war with Iraq and various environmental concerns. |
Jan 29, 2003 |
BG #159 – Are We Running Out of Oil?Over the past 150 years, geologists and other scientists often have predicted that our oil reserves would run dry within a few years. When oil prices rise for an extended period, the news media fill with dire warnings that a crisis is upon us. Environmentalists argue that governments must develop new energy technologies that do not rely on fossil fuels. The facts contradict these harbingers of doom. |
May 16, 2002 |
BA #396 – Limitations of Climate Models as Predictors of Climate ChangeWorld leaders are making critical decisions based upon predictions of General Circulation Models or Global Climate Models (GCMs) that humans are causing global climate change or global warming. |
Mar 21, 2002 |
BA #390 – Breathe Easier on Asthma-Air Pollution LinkSome past studies have shown that air pollution can aggravate pre-existing lung ailments. But pollution-control advocates are mistakenly citing a study published in the February 2nd issue of The Lancet, a prestigious British medical journal, to justify ever more intrusive air pollution regulations. The study, which focused on children in southern California, reports that frequent, strenuous, outdoor exercise, combined with high levels of ozone air pollution, can more than triple children's risk of developing asthma. It is also the first work of its kind to conclude that air pollution might actually cause asthma, not just aggravate it. |
Feb 13, 2002 |
BA #388 – CAFE's Three Strikes - It Should be OutThe federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standard was enacted during the 1975 energy crisis. It required auto manufacturers to meet certain mileage standards, measured in Miles Per Gallon (mpg), across a manufacturer's entire fleet of vehicles. CAFE was originally proposed as a means of reducing America's dependence on foreign oil. |
Dec 18, 2001 |
BA #386 – S. 556: A Backdoor Attempt to Implement the Kyoto ProtocolThe Clean Power Act of 2001 (S. 556) is sponsored by Sens. Jim Jeffords, Joseph Lieberman and John McCain. Its supporters say it will reduce emissions of air pollutants from the nation's power plants. However, the inclusion of carbon dioxide (CO2) as one of the "pollutants" to be reduced raises questions concerning the true goal of the bill. Regardless of any other merits of or problems with S. 556, many analysts view the inclusion of CO2 as a regulated pollutant as an attempt to placate environmental lobbyists and certain international allies and to embarrass the president by implementing the Kyoto Protocol without Senate ratification. |
Nov 12, 2001 |
BA #378 – Science vs. Spin: Government Warming ReduxEvery five years the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) publishes a massive three-volume report on global climate change. The first volume of the newest publication, the Third Assessment Report, reviews the immense body of climate change literature and attempts to present a consensus view of the current understanding of the scientific basis of climate change. |