Bottom-Up Environmentalism |
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Environment Probe champions the use of property rights, markets, and decentralized decision making to empower individuals and communities to protect the environment. |
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Central planners necessarily deal with aggregate data. Because most of the information that is time and place specific is lost in the process of aggregation, decisions are based on incomplete and inaccurate knowledge. Moreover, government controls typically apply to broad categories. For example, federal regulators have incentives to establish rules, such as water quality standards, that apply nationwide. But a rule that may make sense in a watershed or part of a watershed in one section of the country may make very little sense in another watershed. Private Property Rights as the Basis for Free Market Environmentalism (1998) |
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What's New
07/15/2010 The Ontario government has introduced legislation to conserve water resources, sustain municipal water infrastructure, and support Ontario's water industry. In its submission on the proposed act, Environment Probe points out that it overlooks the role that pricing must play in achieving all three goals. The proposed act will be inefficient, ineffective, and even counter-productive. Its provisions are weaker than those in legislation that was passed in 2002 – legislation that has not yet come into force, since successive governments have refused to proclaim it. read more » |
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07/05/2010 In the July-August issue of Water Canada, Mira Shenker asks whether a competitive water market could help allocate water in Canada, lead to better service, and encourage consumers to use water more efficiently. She quotes Environment Probe's Elizabeth Brubaker: "In the best of all possible worlds, consumers would choose their water from a number of suppliers offering different qualities, services, and prices." read more » |
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05/17/2010 Environment Probe's submission to Environment Canada concerning the federal government's proposal to regulate wastewater under the Fisheries Act. Probe raises four concerns about the proposed regulations: They will relax existing standards; they will dis-empower the public; they will allow some municipalities to pollute for another 30 years; and there is no guarantee that they will be enforced. read more » |
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04/23/2010 Elizabeth Brubaker writes in the National Post: Hamilton is often held up as an example of why not to privatize the operation of water and wastewater systems. Before jumping on the anti-privatization bandwagon, however, those concerned about costs and accountability would do well to look at Hamilton's experience with public operations. read more » |
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04/14/2010 Jonathan Williams examines the environmental policies of Danielle Smith, leader of Alberta's Wild Rose Alliance. He explores the seminal influence of Elizabeth Brubaker's Property Rights in the Defence of Nature. "If one wants to understand where Danielle Smith is coming from on the environment one would say that Brubaker might be a good place to start." read more » |
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