Public Interest Group To Honor Houston Energy Expert

Washington, D.C., May 8, 2002— The Competitive Enterprise Institute is proud to announce Robert L. Bradley Jr. as the recipient of the second annual Julian Simon Memorial Award.  The Award will be presented at CEI’s annual dinner, May 22, in recognition of Bradley’s career as an energy historian, author, and policy analyst.  The late Dr. Simon called energy “the master resource” and was particularly interested in energy and energy-environmental issues.

Dr. Bradley is president of thein Houston and a senior research fellow at the University of Houston.  He is also an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute in Washington.

“By extending Simon’s work in the crucial area of energy, Bradley has become a leading voice for energy sustainability,” said Fred L. Smith, president of CEI.  “His thorough scholarship has also blazed the trail for new voices to promote energy realism in place of hyperbole in today’s contentious policy debates.”  Rita Simon, the widow of the late Julian Simon, praised Bradley as “the foremost carrier of the Simon message on energy-related issues today.”

Bradley is author of the magisterial two-volume Oil, Gas, and Government: The U.S. Experience as well as The Mirage of Oil Protection.  His interest in Simon’s sustainability ideas resulted in Bradley’s most recent book, Julian Simon and the Triumph of Energy Sustainability.

Bradley is currently completing Energy: The Master Resource, a primer on the history, economics, technology, and politics of energy.  Bradley has also published major essays and actively lectured on the energy sustainability issues of depletion, pollution, security, and climate change.  His conclusion: “In market settings, the average person produces more energy than he or she consumes and improves the environment more than he or she despoils it.”

Bradley received a B.A. in economics with honors from Rollins College, a M.A. in economics from University of Houston, and a Ph.D. in political economy with distinction from International College.