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…
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Newsletter
Vol. VII, No. 15
Politics Senate Ready to Debate Climate Amendments to Energy Bill Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) has scheduled all…
Newsletter
Vol. VII, No. 14
Politics Democratic Presidential Candidates Debate Environment The Democratic contenders for the White House focused on health issues at an…
News Release
New! CEI’s Politically Correct Periodic Table Mousepad
Preview of the mousepad available in pdf format. Learn the “new” chemistry from this mousepad guide to…
Newsletter
Vol. VII, No. 13
Politics NY Times Accuses White House of Censoring EPA Report In a front-page story on June 19 and an…
Newsletter
Vol. VII, No. 12
Politics Scientists Revive Debate in Canada An open letter published in Canada’s National Post on June 4 urges Paul…
News Release
Attorneys General Sue to Force Unauthorized Regulation of Carbon Dioxide
Contact for Interviews: <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /> Richard Morrison, 202.331.2273 <?xml:namespace prefix…
News Release
Iain Murray Joins CEI Global Warming Project
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /> Contact for Interviews: Richard Morrison, 202.331.2273…
News Release
Clean Air Trust Refuses CEI Challenge to Debate State of Air Quality in U.S.
Contact for Interviews: <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /> Richard Morrison, 202.331.2273 Washington, D.C.,…
News Release
“State of the Air” Report Deserves Failing Grade
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /> Contact for Interviews: Jody Clarke, 202.331.2252…
News Release
Attempt To Force EPA To Regulate CO2 A “Power Grab”
Washington, D.C., March 4, 2003—In a study published today, Competitive Enterprise Institute Senior Fellow Marlo Lewis challenges the arguments of several state…
News Release
Boost Your Environmental IQ Online
Washington, D.C., February 7, 2003—The Competitive Enterprise Institute is launching a new online feature, the "e-class" quiz, this week. The quiz, developed by CEI’s…
News Release
Success Of New Book Shows: Many Americans Don’t Believe Gloom And Doom Theories
Washington, D.C., January 14, 2003—The Competitive Enterprise Institute is celebrating the success of its latest book on environmental issues,…
News Release
Environmental, Other Regulations Under Scrutiny
Washington, D.C., December 20, 2002—From energy conservation standards for washing machines to labels on genetically modified food, many federal regulations are coming…
Products
November/December 2002 Edition of CEI Update
Full Document Available in PDF Articles in this edition: “FDA’s Pediatric Rule…
Study
Does the Bush Administration Have Legal Authority to Award Regulatory Credits for Greenhouse Gas Reductions?
Full Document Available in PDF This paper examines the Electric Power Industry Climate Initiative’s (EPICI’s) attempted rebuttal of the Natural Resources…
Op-Eds
Clearing the Air on President Bush’s New Clean Air Plan
Whether you support President Bush’s new air pollution reforms depends on one thing: whether you believe firms should be encouraged or discouraged from modernizing…
Op-Eds
The Anti-Power Act: A Jeffords Special
Thursday, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will vote on whether to approve S. 556, “the Clean Power Act,” proposed by James Jeffords,…
Op-Eds
Multi-Pollutant Madness
Today the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hold its fourth hearing on the “Clean Power Act” (S.556) proposed by Sen. James…
Study
“Multi-Pollutant” Regulation Of Carbon Dioxide: Shrewd Politics, Bad Policy
Full Document Available in PDF Although President Bush…
Op-Eds
“A” for Alarmism & “F” for Facts
Every year, the American Lung Association (ALA) releases its annual report card on smog, and every year it gives an “F” to over half…
Op-Eds
Regulatory Route To Your Wallet
As if home prices weren’t high enough, an upcoming rule regulating radon in drinking water might raise the cost of your next home. Oddly, a…
News Release
Senators Snowe, Collins to Ask Poland Spring Water be Registered as “Climate Change Pollutant”
Washington, D.C., April 24, 2002 — Senate staffers cite Maine Republicans Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins as supporting legislation calling…
Op-Eds
Clearing The Air On Industrial Plant Emissions
The federal permit program that governs industrial emissions is seriously broken. Within the next few weeks, the Bush administration will release its plan for revamping…
Study
Modeling Increases In CAFE Standards Proposed By Senator Kerry
Full Document Available in PDF General Motors has asked me to use the model I have developed of CAFE standards to model the…
Op-Eds
Breathe Easy, But Not for Long
America's air quality continues to get better. A recently released Environmental Protection Agency report concludes that "since 1970, aggregate emissions of six principal pollutants tracked…
Op-Eds
Let’s Clear The Air About Air Pollution Levels
America's air quality continues to get better, with particularly strong progress in the Chicago area. A recently released Environmental Protection Agency report concludes that…
Products
An A For Alarmism And An F For Facts: The American Lung Association’s Phony War on Smog
From the June 2001 CEI UpDate Every year, the American Lung Association (ALA) releases its annual report card on smog,…
Study
The Ongoing Clean Air Debate: The Science Behind EPA’s Rule on Soot
Full Document Available in PDF The Environmental Protection Agency’s 1997 standard for fine particulate matter is perhaps the most controversial environmental…
News Release
The Debate over Clean Air: Does Exposure to Soot Lead to Illnesses?
Washington, DC, May 30, 2001—As the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues to review the science behind its proposed rule to regulate fine particles…
Op-Eds
Blame EPA for Oil Companies’ “Price-Gouging”: Lieberman Op-Ed
Distributed by Bridge News Service Distributed by Bridge News Service April 5, 2001 WASHINGTON–Last June, drivers in Chicago…
Products
Now, Who’s to Blame?
California Governor Gray Davis and the state’s Democratic legislature are starting to seize control of the energy industry in Next to the…
News Release
CEI Disappointed in Supreme Court Clean Air Act Decision
Washington, DC, February 27, 2001 – The Competitive Enterprise Institute today announced its disappointment with the Supreme Court’s decision concerning the Clean Air…
Products
The Great Global Gasoline Crunch of 2000
From the October/November issue of CEI UpDate High motor fuel prices are now a major issue, both in America…
Products
Supreme Decisions on Clean Air
From the October/November issue of CEI UpDate The most important case in the 30 year history of the Clean Air…
Products
From the Pumps to the Polls
WILL THIS SUMMER’S HIGH GAS PRICES HELP SHAPE THE NOVEMBER ELECTIONS will this summer’s High Gas Prices help shape the November…
Study
The Clean Air Act’s Contribution to Higher Gas Prices
Labor Day weekend will bring the 2000 summer driving season to a close, and it has been an expensive one for America’s car owners. Federal…
Op-Eds
Internet, EPA and Terrorism? Logomasini Op-Ed in Washington Times
You know things are seriously wrong when taxpayers underwrite the costs of collecting and disseminating information that will Published in the Washington…
Op-Eds
Is Your Washer Politically Incorrect
The federal government thinks your clothes washer is contributing to global warming and is going to make you do something about it. Over the past few…
Study
Ecology, Liberty & Property
Ecology, Liberty & Property: A Free Market Environmental Reader Publication Date: Spring 2000Price: $16.95ISBN #1-889865-02-8 Are free markets and environmental protection compatible? Is…
Op-Eds
Introduction to ‘Ecology, Liberty, and Property’
The book "Ecology, Liberty, and Property: A Free Market Environmental Reader," edited by Jonathan H. Adler, was published by the Competitive Enterprise Institute in 2000.
Products
Utility Futility at the EPA
Last November, the Environmental Protection Agency announced a wave of lawsuits against 17 electric power plants in the Midwest and South. The agency claims…
Products
Kemp: Clean Up the Planet with Sound Science: The Earth Day Crowd Has It All Wrong
Is mankind the greatest threat to the earth, as Vice President Gore and Greenpeace would have us believe, or the best hope for stewardship?…
Products
What I Saw At Earth Day 2000
CEI sent Kendra Okonski to roam the Mall in Washington, DC, on Earth Day 2000. Here is her dispatch from the front…
News Release
EPA Follows CEI Advice…7 Years Late
Washington, DC, March 20, 2000 – In January 1993, the Competitive Enterprise Institute warned the Environmental Protection Agency that the plan to increase the…
Products
The Counterproductive Clean Air Act
Both the Clean Air Act and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that implements it are now almost thirty years old. A flawed approach from…
Products
EPA in Need of Adult Supervision
After Carol Browner was confirmed as Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator, one of her first actions was to promulgate new rules governing reformulated gasoline.
Study
Kyoto Lite: Credits for Early Action to Reduce CO2
(REPRINTED FROM THE JUDICIAL/LEGISLATIVE WATCH REPORT OF THE NATIONAL LEGAL CENTER FOR THE PUBLIC INTEREST) An old joke tells of a young…
Study
Regulating Greenhouse Gases: Will EPA Take a Dive?
The International Center for Technology Assessment (ICTA) wants the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate carbon dioxide. This fall, ICTA, an anti-technology group…
Study
Earth Report 2000
Earth Report 2000: Revisiting the True State of the Planet Date: 1999 Edited by: Ronald Bailey Published by: McGraw-Hill Earth Report 2000 is a…
Study
First Do No Harm: EPA’s New Rules Will Worsen Smog
On May 13, 1999, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed new rules tightening motor vehicle emissions, including those from light trucks, a category of…
Study
Running On MTBE: Closing The Pumps On The Oxygen Content Requirement
Debate is raging in Congress and in many state legislatures regarding the federal Clean Air Act’s reformulated gasoline (RFG) program, which requires the addition…
News Release
Institute Blasts Clinton Proposal For Costly New Rules For SUVs And Minivans: May Worsen Air Pollution
Washington, DC, December 21, 1999 – President Clinton today finalized new Environmental Protection Agency rules for motor vehicles and gasoline. These so-called Tier 2/sulfur…
Citation
Down With the Potty Police
Study
The Data Access Law: Promoting Accountability and Privacy
With the passage of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in 1966, our society decided to promote government transparency: what is done in government’s name…
Products
Court Invalidates EPA Rules
With a pro-regulation White House and a timid Republican Congress, the judicial branch currently stands as the only real roadblock to federal regulatory excesses.
Op-Eds
Politically Incorrect Washing Machines
Federal government officials think your clothes washer is contributing to global warming—and they are going to do something about it. Over the past few years,…
Study
The Data Access Law: Decreasing Secret Science While Increasing Accountability
As the federal bureaucracy grows and Congress delegates more of its power to the agencies, the need for agency accountability increases. In October…
Study
Clean Air, Congress and the Constitution: Why The Delegation Ruling Was Correct
View Full Document as PDF On May 14, 1999, in American Trucking Associations v. United States Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Court…
Study
The Clean Air Act’s Federal Terrorist Assistance Program
View Full Document as PDF In recent years the United States has experienced the horrors of the terrorist attack of a…
Study
Clearing the Air on EPA’s New Emissions Proposal
Care to spend $2 billion or more a year on a health measure with no detectable health benefits? The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)…
News Release
CEI Attacks New EPA Auto Emissions Proposal: A Black Hole, Sucking In Money While Emitting Zero Health Benefits
Washington, DC, April 30, 1999 – The Competitive Enterprise Institute today denounced the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) forthcoming auto emissions proposal as an incredibly…
Study
The First Family’s Asthma Problems
View Full Document as PDF Both Bill and Hillary Clinton are taking actions that will affect the nation’s six million asthmatic…
Study
Save Methyl Bromide
A battle is raging in Washington between farmers and environmental regulators. At issue is the chemical methyl bromide, and the outcome could affect…
Op-Eds
Challenging DC Over Potty Politics
Appeared in The Detroit Free Press, The Akron Beacon Journal, The Orange County Register, The Sacramento Bee, and Lima News Of all the bills now…
Study
EPA’s Asthma Miasma
Is the Environmental Protection Agency a friend or enemy of asthmatic children? It all depends on which issue the agency is peddling.
Study
The Common Law Approach to Pollution Prevention
Full Document Available in PDF The Cuyahoga River may not catch fire…
Products
Air Rules Challenged In Court
The Congressional leadership is unwilling to challenge the Environmental Protection Agency’s new air quality standards. But this does not mean the standards will last. As…
Products
Asthma, Roaches And Regulations
They are repulsive and annoying, multiply rapidly, scurry off in unexpected directions, and harm human health. Cockroaches and bad federal regulations have more in common…
Products
EPA’s Hazy Air Rules
In the first major environmental effort of the Clinton Administration's second term, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed new rules tightening the nation's standards for two…
News Release
Institute Clears the Air on EPA Regulations
WASHINGTON, DC, March 12, 1997 The Environmental Protection Agency's proposals to tighten air quality regulations are likely to do more harm than good, according…
Study
Title V Of The Clean Air Act: Will America’s Industrial Future be Permitted?
Full Document Available in PDF…
Op-Eds
Making the Polluters Pay
Environmentalists often call for a world with zero pollution. The response from industry and professional economists is disbelief. Who is right? That depends…
Study
The True State Of The Planet
The True State of the Planet: Ten of the World’s Premier Environmental Researchers in a Major Challenge to the Environmental Movement Date: 1995 Edited…
Op-Eds
The Market and Nature
(Originally appeared in The Freeman, September 1993) Many environmentalists are dissatisfied with the environmental record of free economies. Capitalism, it is claimed, is…
Study
The Clean Fuels Myth and the Market Alternative: Mobile Sources Emissions Charges
Full Document Available in PDF…
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