While some improvements has been made nationally in both air pollution and water cleanliness, both laws have resulted in the most complex, comprehensive, and costly environmental laws in existence.
Additionally, environmental improvements in both areas began to improve prior to the 1970s when both laws were enacted. Through pragmatic regulatory reform of both laws, the Competitive Enterprise believes Americans can have clean water and improved air quality without submitting to undue regulations that strangle industry and harm our economy.
Featured Posts
News Release
EPA tailpipe rule an abuse of power, consumer freedom
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today released its final rule on vehicle tailpipe emissions, which mirrors the proposed rule on the expected percentage of…
Blog
Spending bills fail to provide checks on Biden’s energy and environmental abuses
Over the weekend, House and Senate appropriations released the text of six final fiscal year (FY) 2024 spending bills: Energy and Water, Agriculture, Military…
Blog
EPA’s Scientific Integrity Policy is unscientific, lacks integrity
The Environmental Protection Agency recently released a draft update to its “Scientific Integrity Policy,” which aims to ensure the agency’s science-based decisions and…
Search Posts
Newsletter
Stimulus Redux, Benefits of Bottled Water and the Pro-Poverty Left
Senators consider a second round of taxpayer-financed economic stimulus. Bottled water producers attempt to work constructively with environmental groups that have called for additional taxes…
Newsletter
Banning Bottled Water, Disaster Insurance and the Mortgage Meltdown
The U.S. Conference of Mayors votes to endorse banning the sale of bottled water across the country. Florida’s Hurricane Catastrophe Fund could face a shortfall…
News Release
Campaign Targets Unfair Political Assault on Bottled Water
A new petition drive demands that politicians not continue plans to ban the product for safety workers and consumers. The campaign comes in the wake of…
Newsletter
Hurricane Recovery, Union Politics and Disaster Insurance
Residents of the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast are being advised to avoid taps and drink only bottled water. Unions increase their spending on campaign advertisements and…
Op-Eds
Activists Hit the (Plastic) Bottle Again
Anti-chemical activists opened a new front in their jihad against the plastics chemical bisphenol-A (BPA) this week.
Newsletter
Stem Cells, Regulating Lawn Mowers and Standing up to the SEC
The National Academy of Sciences argues for continued use of embryonic stem cells. The Environmental Protection Agency requires that new gas-powered lawn mowers come with…
Newsletter
Fewer New Laws, Disability Regulations and Bottled Water Bans
The current Congress has passed the fewest number of new laws in twenty years. The U.S. Justice Department finds that more than 100,000 apartments in…
News Release
Environmental Policies Need Overhaul, Says New Study
A new book scrutinizes crucial environmental policy areas in need of change, from global warming to free-market environmentalism, biotechnology, chemical risk, and more.
Newsletter
Drug Approval at the FDA, Childhood Obesity and the War on Bottled Water
Industry analysts characterize the Food and Drug Administration’s drug approval process as especially “conservative.” An anti-obesity advertising campaign targeted at children generates controversy. Local government…
Op-Eds
‘Poisoned Profits’: Recycled Junk Science
Former New York Times environmental reporter Phil Shabecoff is so green he even recycles debunked health scares.
Newsletter
Video Gamers Win in Court, Free Speech on Campus and the Impact of Biofuels
The state of California is ordered to pay video game makers $280,000 in legal fees over an unconstitutional law that sought to restrict game sales.
National Review
The Pill As Pollutant
Newsletter
Bottled Water, Government Bonds and Wind Power
California’s attorney general threatens to sue Nestlé over a bottled water plant’s alleged environmental impacts. House Financial Services Committee chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) champions legislation…
Human Events
The Wastefulness of Ethanol
Human Events discusses the efficiency of ethanol compared to gasoline with Iain Murray. Moreover, that one gallon of ethanol that is produced through…
Op-Eds
Georgia Gets Green ‘Justice’
Vicki Lawrence’s 1972 hit "The night the lights went out in Georgia" may become the official state song thanks to what passes for justice in…
Newsletter
Affordable Housing, Banning Bottled Water and National Security
Congress considers a housing bailout bill that includes provisions for more federal spending on “affordable” housing. The U.S. Conference of Mayors calls for a phased-in…
News Release
Environmental Disasters and Inconvenient Truths
In the new book The Really Inconvenient Truths, Competitive Enterprise Institute Senior Fellow Iain Murray brings to light an especially inconvenient future: environmental activists…
Op-Eds
The Pill as Pollutant
In 2002, thanks to soccer star David Beckham, the world was introduced to the “metrosexual.” Two years later, and with less mainstream-media…
Study
The Really Inconvenient Truths
From the Inside Flap Al Gore is bad for the planet… Talk about really inconvenient truths–that's one of the many you'll find in Iain Murray's…
News Release
New Legal Brief Argues Against Regulation of Greenhouse Gases
Washington, D.C., March 21, 2008—Today the Competitive Enterprise Institute is filing an amicus brief against a Sierra Club petition demanding…
Human Events
Affordable Energy
News Release
House Committee Probes Legal Status of Greenhouse Gases
Should the EPA Regulate Carbon Dioxide?…
Human Events
CEI’s Ad Campaign
Letters
Letter to President Bush on CO2 Endangerment Proceeding
Full Document Available in PDF The Honorable George W. Bush…
Products
CEI Planet: November – December 2007
Full Document Available in PDF The Tiger at a…
News Release
New Video: Cheers to Repeal Day!
Washington, D.C., December 4, 2007—The Bureaucrash Activist Network is releasing a new video just in time to celebrate the repeal of Prohibition…
Op-Eds
Greens are all wet on bottled water
Thanks to environmental activists and busybody lawmakers, bottled water may soon be more expensive and less accessible. They say bottled water is…
Op-Eds
Greens are all wet on bottled water
Thanks to environmental activists and busybody lawmakers, bottled water may soon be more expensive and less accessible. They say bottled water is…
Op-Eds
Living up to green ‘standards’
In his HGTV show “Living with Ed,” actor and environmentalist Ed Begley Jr. shows his viewers how to live green. Begley certainly more…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. ENVIRONMENT International aid agencies continue to criticize the expanded use of biofuels as harmful to the environment and the…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. LEGAL Several states prepare to sue the federal government over regulation of greenhouse gas emissions. CEI…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. ENVIRONMENT The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee holds a hearing on a bill to restrict greenhouse gas…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. CONGRESS The Senate holds hearings on ratification of the controversial “Law of the Sea” treaty. …
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. AUTOMOBILITY Anti-car activist prepare to celebrate “World Car-Free Day.” CEI Expert Available…
News Release
Honk If You Support DC Car-Free Day
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. INTERNATIONAL Microsoft suffers a legal setback in Europe where it has been accused of anti-competitive practices.
Study
The Green Regulatory State
Full Document Available in PDF Over the years, the environmental lobby has advanced a considerable…
Op-Eds
Argument is all wet
Why would lawmakers deny firefighters bottled water? And why would churches feel the need to condemn this commodity?…
Newsletter
Cooler Heads Digest
1. The Week in Global Warming News 2. CEI's Insider Information 3. Issue of the Week: Appliance Efficiency Standards4.
Study
Gone with the Wind
As part of comprehensive legislation to raise energy prices, the Senate is once again considering proposals to set a renewable portfolio standard (RPS) for electric…
Op-Eds
The Details Of Kyoto
The June 5 World News article “China Outlines Modest Environmental Goals” asserted that the “Bush administration has refused to ratify” the Kyoto Protocol.
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /> Issues in the News 1. LEGAL…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. REGULATION Maryland lawmakers approve a statewide ban on smoking in bars and restaurants.
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Farm experts warn of increasing price volatility as U.S. farmers plant more corn to meet the demand for ethanol. CEI Expert…
News Release
Supreme Court Split Decision Opens Door to EPA Power Grab
The Supreme Court today, in a 5-4 decision, overturned EPA’s decision not to regulate carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from new vehicles. EPA must now…
News Release
CEI Experts Available to Comment on Supreme Court C02 Decision
The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, today overturned the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision not to regulate carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from new vehicles.
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues In the News: 1. REGULATING THE REGULATORSSupreme Court Tells EPA to Re-Consider its Decision Not to Regulate C02…
Study
This Liberal Congress Went to Market: a Bipartisan Policy Agenda for the 110th Congress
DO…
Op-Eds
Top Ten Junk Science Moments for 2006
It’s time again for JunkScience.com’s review of the most notable junk science events of the year – a “top 10” list that may sometimes…
Op-Eds
Homeland Bureaucracy?
Writer P.J. O'Rourke once quipped: “Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.” It seems…
News Release
CEI Responds to Scientist’s Criticism of Global Warming Ad Campaign
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /> Contact: Jody Clarke, 202.331.2252 [email protected]…
Op-Eds
Defining Virtue
by Isaac Post | May 21, 2006 David Vogel’s The Market for Virtue: The Potential and Limits of Corporate Social Responsibility offers…
News Release
President Bush’s Call For Higher Fuel Economy Standards–A Lethal Regulatory Fix
<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Washington, DC, April 28, 2006—The Competitive Enterprise Institute today called President Bush’s request for higher fuel…
Study
Stay Cool; Stay Very Cool: A Commentary on Time’s “Special Report” on Global Warming
The cover of Time magazine’s April 3, 2006 issue tells readers to “be very worried” about climate change. The issue features a “special report” on…
Op-Eds
Top Ten Junk Science Stories of the Past Decade
My web site JunkScience.com celebrated its 10th anniversary on April 1, 2006. To mark the event, this column spotlights…
Op-Eds
Senate Sets Up Lopsided Global Warming ‘Debate’
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will kick off a legislative effort to address global warming next…
News Release
Senate Shuts Out Dissent on Greenhouse Gas Limits
<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Washington, D.C., March 29, 2006—Next week’s scheduled Senate hearing on mandatory greenhouse gas emissions limits…
Op-Eds
EPA Whips Up Air Pollution Scare
The air pollution scare industry is at it again — in a very timely manner to help the Environmental Protection Agency impose more dubious…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. SAFETY Congress considers legislation to standardize food labeling and safety warnings. CEI Expert…
News Release
On First Anniversary, Kyoto’s Future Looks Bleak
<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” /> Contact: <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /> Richard Morrison, 202.331.2273…
Study
An Assessment of Montreal COP/MOP 1
Full Document Available in PDF The December 2005 Montreal “COP-MOP” Kyoto…
Op-Eds
Gutting Kyoto
The worldwide press hailed the December negotiations in <?xml:namespace prefix = u1 /><?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Montreal over the Kyoto…
Op-Eds
No Future in Kyoto Dreaming
In 1977, the punk rock band the Sex Pistols shocked England with their nihilist anthem “God Save the Queen,” where they declared there was “No…
News Release
Frist Should Cancel Senators’ Christmas Vacations
Contact: Richard Morrison, 202.331.2273 Washington, D.C., December 20, 2005— Statement of Myron Ebell, Director of Global Warming & International Environmental Policy at the Competitive…
Op-Eds
Enviros Exaggerated Montreal Summit
A world historical event occurred in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Montreal in the hours before dawn on December 10. What? …
News Release
Bill Clinton’s Shifting Policy on Climate Change
Contacts: Marlo Lewis, 202.669.6693 (Montréal) Myron Ebell, 202.320.6685 (<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Washington, D.C.)…
News Release
Senator Bingaman’s Bogus Climate Proposal
Contacts: Myron Ebell, 202.320.6685 (<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Montreal) Richard Morrison, 202.441.9652 (Montreal)…
Op-Eds
Global Warming Blues
The 11th annual meeting of global warming enthusiasts in Montreal isn’t turning out to be a very happy event. Even though this is the…
News Release
Judges Deny Rehearing of Greenhouse Gas Lawsuit
Washington, D.C., December 2, 2005—The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has turned away an appeal from state authorities and environmental groups which sought…
Op-Eds
Dubai The Model?
Westerners who travel to the Middle East often pass through Dubai and sigh deeply. “If only the rest of the Muslim Middle East were as…
News Release
Misspending, Abuses Marks Tobacco Settlement Anniversary
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /> Contact: Christine Hall, 202.331.2258 Washington, D.C., November 28,…
News Release
Misspending, Abuses Marks Tobacco Settlement Anniversary
Christine Hall, 202.331.2258 Washington, D.C., November 28, 2005—Seven years ago this month, the states signed the biggest settlement deal in history with major tobacco…
News Release
Federal Judge Dismisses Greenhouse Gas Lawsuit
<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Washington, D.C., September 15, 2005—A federal judge today dismissed a lawsuit brought by several states and…
Op-Eds
On a Different Coast, New Orleans Jazz Plays On
“Well I had to come out and work, because there was housing.” That's what <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />New Orleans…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. HURRICANE KATRINA Sen. Trent Lott calls on the federal and Mississippi state government to cut the…
News Release
Free Market Leaders Praise Decisive EPA Action on Energy Affordability
<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Washington, D.C., August 31, 2005—Today representatives of five national public policy groups sent an open letter to…
Op-Eds
A Law Unto Themselves
It’s always an ambitious task to argue that a seemingly technical abuse of the Constitution is responsible for much of what is wrong with American…
Op-Eds
All Cost, No Benefit
Tomorrow, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on Sen. Jeff Bingaman's (D-N.M.) Climate and Economy Insurance Act. Originally…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. AUTOMOBILITY The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposes new fuel economy rules based on car…
News Release
Federal Court Deals Blow to Climate Alarmists
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /> Contact: Richard Morrison, 202.331.2273 Washington,…
Op-Eds
Trillion-Dollar Radiation Mistake?, by Steven Milloy
A federal research panel last week concluded that there is no safe exposure to radiation. It’s a conclusion based on assumptions about cancer…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT The G8 nations propose a new aid package for Africa. CEI Expert Available…
Op-Eds
Hybrid Hubris?
<?xml:namespace prefix = u1 />The <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Commonwealth of Virginia is faced with an unpleasant problem with its…
Newsletter
Cooler Heads
Politics Kyoto Goes into Force On February 16, 2005, the Kyoto Protocol came into force internationally. Thirty-four nations are now committed to reducing…
Study
The Environmental Source
NOTE: A new edition of The Environmental Source has been published. The new version of this essential reference book on environmental policy is available in…
Op-Eds
New York Summer Without New York Smog?
Summer is over, and it was a very good one for air quality in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />New York…
Op-Eds
We’re Lucky to Have Clean Air, but it’s not all Due to Luck
Summer is more than half over, and, thus far, it has been a very good one for air quality in the Chicago metropolitan area. By…
Op-Eds
Smog Shrinkage
Summer is more than half over, and thus far it has been a very good one for air quality in theWashington, D.C. metropolitan area. By…
Op-Eds
If You Really Want to Reduce Gas Prices, Here’s How
Despite claims to the contrary, there is not much the federal government can do about high oil and gasoline prices in the short-term. Indeed, given…
Op-Eds
EPA Launches Costly New Smog Standard
On April 15, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched its new plan to tighten the national ambient air quality standard for smog. Policy experts warn the…
Op-Eds
Sensible Policy Lost in Smog
The Environmental Protection Agency recently launched its massive new plan to fight smog. Get ready for another <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Washington mandate that will do more economic harm than environmental good. Ozone, the primary constituent of smog, is a lung irritant caused by motor vehicle and industrial pollution as well as natural emissions. Smog was perhaps the single biggest reason for the 1970 Clean Air Act, and has been heavily regulated since. According to EPA, it has declined more than 30 percent in the last three decades. Outside several trouble spots in California, virtually the entire nation now is in or near compliance with existing ozone air quality standards. And, due to measures already in the works (new motor vehicle emissions standards starting with the 2004 model year, new control requirements for power plants), those areas not yet in compliance are on their way toward it. Despite lack of evidence the existing ozone standard was deficient, the Clinton administration decided to tighten it. EPA's Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee concluded this tougher standard would not be “significantly more protective of public health,” and called the change a “policy judgment.” The agency's own cost-benefit analysis found the modest marginal benefits of the new standard outweighed by its costs. Nonetheless, EPA went ahead with the rule, sparking several years of legal challenges, all the way to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court essentially deferred to EPA's judgment, and upheld the new standard. However, the legal delays meant this Clinton administration's rule, first promulgated in 1997, would have to be implemented by its successor. And George Bush's EPA Administrator Michael Leavitt now has obliged. Mr. Leavitt estimates compliance costs of $50 billion over the next 15 years. The specific control measures for the 474 counties currently violating the new standard will depend on the extent of noncompliance in each county. The possibilities include more stringent requirements on new or substantially modified industrial facilities, restrictions on highway construction projects, measures affecting small businesses, and more onerous vehicle inspection programs. Each of the 31 states with non-attainment areas must submit a compliance plan for EPA approval by 2007. These plans will likely remain in effect many years after. The expense will affect employment, traffic congestion, and the cost of living. Even gasoline prices may be pushed up. Areas violating the new smog standard may have to use one of the costly specialized gasoline blends that have proliferated in recent years. And many refiners now will have more difficulty obtaining approval for much-needed capacity increases. Of course, EPA's announcement of the rule gave the impression the U.S. smog problem is worsening. Nothing could be more untrue. But while the benefits of this new standard may prove hard to identify, the costs almost certainly will not.
Newsletter
Vol. VIII, No. 8
Politics Candidate Kerry on Kyoto and Global Warming The campaign web site of Senator John Kerry (D—Mass.) only briefly mentions what…
Op-Eds
Driving Away Pollution
Your next new car or truck will be the cleanest-burning one you've ever owned. And it means the end to the already-diminishing problem…
Op-Eds
A Clear Mistake
The Clear Skies Initiative, President Bush's big environmental bill targeting power plant emissions, appears to be stalled in Congress. In an effort to…
Op-Eds
The Air Gets Cleaner, While Environmental Politics Gets Dirtier
The way the administration’s environmental critics tell it, you can’t see your hand in front of your face anymore because of all the pollution…
Op-Eds
Who Should Have Air Supremacy?
The Clean Air Act (CAA), perhaps the federal government's most powerful environmental tool, concedes in its very first section, “air pollution control at…
News Release
Study Reports Good News on U.S. Air Quality
<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Washington, D.C., October 2, 2003—Air quality in the United States is good and will continue to…
Op-Eds
Are Small Particles Such a Big Problem?
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, small particles in the air pose the greatest threat that it or any other regulatory agency is…
Op-Eds
D.C. Air Quality Levels
Another Washington summer is over, as is another season of Washington smog. While this summer's air quality was typical of recent years, many residents…
Newsletter
Vol. VII, No. 17
Politics Blackouts Mean Uncertainty for Energy Bill The massive power outage that affected much of the northeastern…
Staff & Scholars
Sam Kazman
Counsel Emeritus
- Antitrust
- Automobiles and Roads
- Banking and Finance
Marlo Lewis, Jr.
Senior Fellow
- Climate
- Energy
- Energy and Environment
Ben Lieberman
Senior Fellow
- Climate
- Energy
- Energy and Environment
Angela Logomasini
Adjunct Fellow
- Chemical Risk
- Consumer Freedom
- Energy and Environment
Fred L. Smith, Jr.
Founder; Chairman Emeritus
- Automobiles and Roads
- Aviation
- Business and Government