The Open Market Blog

• By: Fran Smith
• 02/27/2007

Well, the food-or-fuel debate has now been recognized by the mainstream media, previously salivating over the wonderful tax benefits and subsidies for corn…

• By: Fran Smith
• 02/27/2007

John Tierney does it again.  In Tierney’s profile today of Stewart Brand — a staunch environmentalist and the man who gave us the…

• By: Iain Murray
• 02/27/2007

Some global-warming related stories you may have missed: The EU’s rapidly rising transport emissions mean that they won’t meet their Kyoto targets “without additional…

• By: Christine Hall
• 02/27/2007

Does Al Gore believe energy conservation is for the little people, the hoi polloi? The Tennessee Center for Policy Research, as reported by the…

• By: Christopher C. Horner
• 02/26/2007

How cute, Environmental Defense is declaring that “news just broke”—wink, they just now heard of it too!—that Texas Utilities (TXU)…

• By: Fred L. Smith, Jr.
• 02/26/2007

I recently testified before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. One of the other witnesses was Peter Darbee, CEO and President of PG&E Corporation.

• By: Fred L. Smith, Jr.
• 02/26/2007

On C-SPAN last night, I was watching “Prime Minister’s Questions”—the wonderful British institution in which the Prime Minister answers questions, both from his sometimes…

• By: Hans Bader
• 02/26/2007

Americans eat more junk than many other peoples, although the gap is diminishing, and many other Western countries are beginning to catch up to the…

• By: Christopher C. Horner
• 02/26/2007

In the latest installment of what has become an increasingly sorry drama, the European Union's Ambassador to the United States, former Irish Prime Minister John Bruton,…

• By: Angela Logomasini
• 02/26/2007

Today’s Globe and Mail reports that Canadian environmental groups may soon succeed in getting the Province of Ontario to ban the use of lawn…

• By: Iain Murray
• 02/25/2007

Freeborn John (good name for a good blog) has a post up remembering the excesses of British labor unions before Thatcher. As he notes,…

• 02/23/2007

A story in the Washington Post sports section points out that General Motors VP Brent Dewar is pushing NASCAR to switch from gasoline to…

• By: Iain Murray
• 02/23/2007

Tyler Cowen has a good piece in the New York Times today about American cultural exports. He makes one particularly imprtant point: “Culture is…

• By: Iain Murray
• 02/23/2007

Steve McIntyre finds something fishy happening with NASA’s records of historical temperatures. This deserves investigation.

• By: Fran Smith
• 02/23/2007

In the Wall Street Journal today (subscription required), Dorothy Rabinowitz takes a probing look at a recent “Law and Order” episode that transforms…

• By: Christopher C. Horner
• 02/23/2007

Otherwise quite-sound South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford has weighed in on the political “global warming” sweepstakes with an op-ed in today’s Washington Post. To…

• By: Ivan Osorio
• 02/23/2007

Fred Smith’s presentation at Guatemala’s Universidad Francisco Marroquin on how markets can help protect antiquities is now available online.

• By: John Berlau
• 02/22/2007

Intrepid Journalist Kevin Mooney of CNSNews.com just filed a can’t-miss story on Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth”. On the verge of the Academy Awards,…

• By: Iain Murray
• 02/22/2007

A Guardian correspondent attempts to defend his admitted alarmism over global warming. In the comments, climate change economist Richard Tol dismantles his arguments: First,…

• By: Fran Smith
• 02/22/2007

First we had anti-globalization activists calling for “fair trade.” Now it seems not just trade is the problem but capitalism itself. Harold Meyerson in…

• By: Iain Murray
• 02/22/2007

There are signs that caring about the environment is becoming a little passe. This is from an uber-cool British gossip email: Having nearly as bad…

• By: Angela Logomasini
• 02/21/2007

Editorial writers in today’s Orlando Sentinel say they oppose Department of Homeland Security regulations that attempt to beef up security at the nation’s chemical…

• By: Iain Murray
• 02/21/2007

Have you got a minute for Greenpeace’s youth wing? [youtube]BY7875_rv1s[/youtube] I think he wants your lunch money as well.

• By: Richard Morrison
• 02/21/2007

The endless list of calamities laid at the feet of global warming just got a little longer – witness the invasion of France by…

• By: Angela Logomasini
• 02/21/2007

The Contra Costa Times reports today that minorities in the San Francisco Bay area suffer disproportionately from air pollution coming from industrial plants. The…

• By: Iain Murray
• 02/21/2007

British web-based advocacy group/ think tank/ TV station has released an ad on ‘A World Without America.‘ It makes the case for technological adaptation…

• By: Iain Murray
• 02/21/2007

I listened to this podcast on my way in today and I don’t think there’s a better introduction to our regulatory issues, especially to…

• By: Ivan Osorio
• 02/21/2007

I’m quoted in today’s Investor’s Business Daily on organized labor’s struggle to remain relevant in the private sector, where its numbers have been declining…

• By: Fred L. Smith, Jr.
• 02/20/2007

“Convention Center Not Living Up To Lofty Goals!” appeared as a headline in today’s Washington Post and should serve to remind everyone that the…

• By: Fred L. Smith, Jr.
• 02/20/2007

I recently received my Phi Beta Kappa magazine. Phi Beta Kappa is the standard “honor” society for students scoring well in college. I became a…

• By: Gregory Conko
• 02/20/2007

For years, we at CEI have warned that the European Union was using multilateral environmental agreements not just to defend its trade-obstructing precautionary regulation from…

• By: Fred L. Smith, Jr.
• 02/20/2007

Last week ago, I was asked to testify before the Environment and Public Works Committee, now chaired by Senator Barbara Boxer of California. Testifying is an interesting…

• By: Angela Logomasini
• 02/16/2007

In 2004, the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency issued warnings to pregnant women. They said that trace levels of methyl…

• By: Fran Smith
• 02/16/2007

I couldn’t resist this article in the Washington Times today — “Chinese ant scammer gets death.” Seems a Chinese entrepreneur was selling ant kits…

• By: Fran Smith
• 02/15/2007

It’s been called the Brazilian “miracle” — and Brazil’s ethanol program has been touted as a model for the U.S. and other countries to follow.

• By: Angela Logomasini
• 02/15/2007

The New York Times reports today that many consumers are turning to “green” cleaning products. If people are willing to pay more for these…

• By: Iain Murray
• 02/15/2007

Well, I never. China admits it failed to meet any of its environmental goals for 2006: China’s environmental watchdog admitted Monday the country had…

• By: Fran Smith
• 02/15/2007

Inserting more stringent labor provisions into U.S. free trade agreements was a major focus at a House Ways and Means Committee hearing yesterday. Chairman…

• By: Iain Murray
• 02/15/2007

If global warming is the greatest and most urgent threat facing the planet, you’d think Greenpeace would be happy when a government takes steps to…

• By: Clyde Wayne Crews
• 02/15/2007

Gotta love the Net Neutrality ScareTicker: “It has been… 1548 days 12 hours 40 minutes … without a “net neutrality”…

• By: Fran Smith
• 02/14/2007

Each year the U.S. Department of Agriculture releases 10-year commodity projections to provide figures for the budget and to estimate the cost of farm programs.

• By: Angela Logomasini
• 02/14/2007

Today, Reps. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) and Hilda Solis (D-Calif.) and Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) reportedly will introduce the Toxic Right-to-Know Protection Act, which would reverse…

• By: John Berlau
• 02/14/2007

The news media is sending a scary Valentine to American couples. They’re claiming that Valentine’s Day roses imported from Colombia may have been “dipped in…

• By: Clyde Wayne Crews
• 02/14/2007

The Progress and Freedom Foundation’s Scott Wallsten notes the urgency of franchise reform as the path to greater broadband access and availability. The FCC’s recent…

• By: Iain Murray
• 02/14/2007

CEI Senior Fellow Christopher Horner was on “The Daily Show” last night to promote his excellent new book, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Global…

• By: Ivan Osorio
• 02/13/2007

A relatively flexible labor market has long been one of America’s great economic strengths — as well as of Great Britain relative to Continental Europe.

• By: Angela Logomasini
• 02/13/2007

An Associated Press story today warns that the roses you get for Valentines Day could be lethal.  In places like Columbia, they are “sprayed, rinsed…

• By: Iain Murray
• 02/13/2007

Socialist Senator Bernie Sanders lamented how, despite the corporate welfare Detroit has received over the decades, it is lagging behind Toyota in technological development. Hmmm.

• By: Richard Morrison
• 02/13/2007

It has been brought to my attention that Open Market’s own Chris Horner is currently bounding up the Amazon bestseller list with his new book,…

• By: Iain Murray
• 02/13/2007

Senator Bond is making the connection between Enron and cap and trade quite explicitly.

• By: Iain Murray
• 02/13/2007

There is considerable confusion among the Democratic Senators as to whether or not the U.S. has signed Kyoto. Senator Lautenberg stated the U.S. has not…

• By: Iain Murray
• 02/13/2007

Bill Lash admitted in answer to a question from Sentor Klobuchar that an upstream cap and trade system is just like a cap. He did…

• By: Iain Murray
• 02/13/2007

Senator Klobuchar has just suggested that we might not be getting “the truth” out of Government scientists. If she is so concerned about politicization of…

• By: Iain Murray
• 02/13/2007

Senator Carper asked the PG&E spokesman what his motivation was. He replied that because PG&E’s business model “decouples” its revenues from its sales, cap and…

• By: Iain Murray
• 02/13/2007

Fred is speaking now, underlining that CEI is pro-market, not pro-business necessarily. He is warning against the carbon cartel, the creation of a rationing sytem…

• By: Iain Murray
• 02/13/2007

Kevin Hook, an energy analyst speaking in a personal capacity, points out that some of the CAP’s suggestions could raise national gasoline bill by over…

• By: Iain Murray
• 02/13/2007

Steve Elger from BP America is now speaking. I wonder if he’ll mention BP’s safety record while it has been saving the planet?…

• By: Iain Murray
• 02/13/2007

At the EPW hearing on the Climate Action Partnership, Jonathan Lash of the World Resources Institute talks about how his group’s target is 450 –…

• By: Iain Murray
• 02/13/2007

The CEO for energy company PG&E, a company that does not use any significant amounts of coal, is setting out an admirable program of efficiency…

• By: Iain Murray
• 02/13/2007

At a Senate hearing today to discuss the rent-seeking cartel masquerading as the Climate Action Partnership, Fred Smith will present the testimony here. Senator…

• By: Jody Clarke
• 02/13/2007

CEI President Fred Smith is testifying before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee this morning on the Climate Action Partnership and the effects…

• By: Ivan Osorio
• 02/12/2007

This week’s new episode of  the Fox animated series”King of the Hill” centers around a great — and hilarious — illustration of the public…

• By: Richard Morrison
• 02/12/2007

Ivan has an excellent take on the unintended consequences of raising the minimum wage (below), so I’ll limit myself to highlighting a recent…

• By: Richard Morrison
• 02/12/2007

Open Market readers may have seen this already, but I wanted to point out one interesting development from last night’s Grammy awards. The award for…

• By: Ivan Osorio
• 02/12/2007

It shouldn’t be surprising. In Arizona, the state’s minimum wage hike, which went into effect last month, has led to teenagers being laid off,…

• By: Christopher C. Horner
• 02/12/2007

So, as I ponder the massive pressure group assault against passenger aviation and comparative per capita emissions (the city of Aspen having wonderfully shown us…

• By: Marlo Lewis, Jr.
• 02/12/2007

At a Capitol Hill policy briefing on February 9 for congressional staff and media, sponsored by the Competitive Enterprise Institute, Dennis Avery of the Hudson…

• By: Richard Morrison
• 02/11/2007

In the least surprising headline of the weekend, Drudge alerts us: “Socialist candidate in France unveils far-left platform…” Je suis l’état…

• By: Ivan Osorio
• 02/11/2007

In the weekend Wall Street Journal, Stephen Moore, quotes former CEI Warren Brookes Fellow Tim Carney from his book The Big Ripoff: How…

• By: Ivan Osorio
• 02/09/2007

My good friend and fellow radical for capitalism — and former Warren Brookes Fellow — Brian Doherty (now with Reason magazine) will discuss his new…

• By: Hans Bader
• 02/08/2007

On February 6, a panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco reinstated a multi-billion dollar class action lawsuit against Wal-Mart in…

• By: Sam Kazman
• 02/08/2007

The growth in air travel is one of the culprits behind the alleged global warming crisis. (See, for example, Cheap Air Travel Adding to…

• By: Richard Morrison
• 02/07/2007

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a woman so passionate about the cause of global warming that she created a new select committee dedicated exclusively to…

• By: Ivan Osorio
• 02/07/2007

Deroy Murdock writes about ethanol in National Review Online today, specifically on the effect on food prices, as the Mexican tortilla crisis illustrates: Existing…

• By: Jody Clarke
• 02/07/2007

Pollster Michael McKenna just released his latest survey on what Americans think about enviro issues, particularly global warming. Some interesting findings: 1.  Environmental issues as…

• By: Jody Clarke
• 02/07/2007

Robert Samuelson has a great column on the global warming issue in today’s Washington Post. He hits the nail on the head when it…

• By: Clyde Wayne Crews
• 02/07/2007

While the big telecom firms and some free speech and civil liberties groups may clash over issues like net neutrality, they agree over the fact…

• By: Ivan Osorio
• 02/07/2007

After much anticipation, Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, has introduced the Orwellian-monikered Employee Free Choice Act (H.R.800).

• By: Gregory Conko
• 02/06/2007

Sure, everyone’s heard that a US Department of Agriculture regulation governs the size of the holes in Swiss Cheese. But, did…

• By: Iain Murray
• 02/06/2007

An avian flu outbreak in the UK has had that country’s media in a predictable panic.  The Times’ Mick Hume has a rational response:…

• By: Iain Murray
• 02/06/2007

If you live in Texas, you’ll have heard about how the coal-based energy utilities want to build a lot of new power plants to meet…

• By: John Berlau
• 02/06/2007

Former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani has all but declared himself a Republican presidential candidate by filing an official “statement of candidacy” and saying he is “in…

• By: Iain Murray
• 02/06/2007

Here is a graphical representation of EU energy policy: Translation: Lisbon – the EU require energy to keep its industries running; it has to…

• By: Iain Murray
• 02/06/2007

At the cost of 10,000 jobs, but that’s a small price to pay for a slight reduction in the rate of global warming.  I’m…

• By: Fran Smith
• 02/06/2007

  For those who don’t think trade is in trouble and is being used as the big stick to solve all global problems, the World…

• By: Iain Murray
• 02/05/2007

Opinion research guru Bob Lichter has a good dissection of the problem with the Union of Concerned Scientists study on federal interference with science that…

• By: Iain Murray
• 02/05/2007

Greg Mankiw notes that President Bush is considering some form of road pricing to reduce congestion. London has a congestion charge which deeply divides…

• By: Fran Smith
• 02/05/2007

Today’s New York Times has a funny op-ed (both funny ha ha and funny odd for the NYT). It’s a spoof by Rick…

• By: Ivan Osorio
• 02/04/2007

Also worth reading in the weekend Journal is an article by Philip Stott, professor emeritus of biogeography at the University of London, in which…

• By: Ivan Osorio
• 02/03/2007

Today’s Journal also features an op ed by Coca-Cola CEO E. Neville Isdell, on his company “corporate social responsibility” policies. He cites some specific examples…

• By: Ivan Osorio
• 02/03/2007

Today’s weekend Wall Street Journal features a favorable editorial on CEI’s national survey of orthopedic surgeons, which was released earlier this week. As…

• By: Myron Ebell
• 02/02/2007

Representative Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, this week launched an investigation of the several charges that the…

• By: Marlo Lewis, Jr.
• 02/02/2007

Today, in a press release timed to coincide with publication of the Summary for Policymakers of Climate Change 2007, also known as the…

• By: Iain Murray
• 02/02/2007

Well, it turns out that the report on which I based my previous two posts on IPCC temperature projections was hideously garbled. The reporter had…

• By: Jody Clarke
• 02/02/2007

Last night CEI’s John Berlau was a guest on Libertarian Politics Live to talk about his new book, Eco-Freaks. The entertaining interview starts about 7:30…