Since our founding in 1984, the Competitive Enterprise Institute has sought to reform and reduce environmental regulation of land, shrink the federal estate, and unlock federal lands for private ownership.
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Happy birthday, Smokey Bear! Let’s fight forest fires the right way
Smokey Bear, the famous US Forest Service (USFS) mascot, celebrated his 81st birthday this past Saturday, August 9. Smokey Bear was created in 1944…
News Release
EPA proposes rule to overturn regulatory finding justifying major restrictions on consumer choice: CEI analysis
Today, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the agency’s proposed rule that would overturn the 2009 endangerment finding. For 16 years, this finding has been…
Blog
Congress should support the Grizzly Bear State Management Act
Tomorrow, the House Natural Resources Committee will meet to consider 12 pieces of legislation that have been introduced in the 119th Congress. One of…
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Blog
The New Organic and Out-of-the-Box Thinking
Congratulations to Pamela Ronald, a UC Davis plant pathology professor, on winning one of this year's Science in Society Journalism Awards, sponsored by the National…
Op-Eds
‘Racist, Communist’ Green Jobs Czar Van Jones Resigns
Obama’s racist, communist, America-bashing Green Jobs Czar, Van Jones, has resigned after revelations that he was a 9/11 “Truther,” who believed that George Bush…
Blog
Video Evidence Suggests Chevron Lawsuit Riddled With Corruption, Santacruz Comments on the Case
A major scandal has arisen in the biggest environmental lawsuit in history - the $27 billion lawsuit against Chevron oil company brought by a lawyer…
News Release
Consumer Reports Becomes National Snitch
CONSUMER REPORTS BECOMES NATIONAL SNITCH Turns High-Performing Showerhead Over to EPA for Exceeding Water-Flow Limit Washington, DC, August 31, 2009 – CEI today…
Washington Examiner
Greens Threaten American Indian Prosperity
Navajo Nation, the largest tribe in the United States, has faced a number of enemies in its long history: Anasazi warriors, Andrew Jackson and now,…
Blog
Freegom Isn’t Free
Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal, a new book by British author Tristram Stuart, will soon be hitting shelves in the UK and…
Products
CEI Planet: May – June 2009
To view this issue of the CEI Planet, please click here to download the PDF file. Below are selected articles…
Blog
The Environment’s “Odd Couple”: Sustainable Use and Private Management
Chaffee County, Colorado currently has the opportunity to engage in an advantageous business partnership, but environmental groups are attempting to derail this proposition that…
Blog
Penn and Teller on Organics
The irreverent and hilarious comedians Penn and Teller have produced another episode of their television show Bullshit about organic foods. Friends of CEI, Ron Bailey…
Blog
Food Safety Bills Moving Through Congress
With all out attention diverted to the government's attempted takeover of the half of US health care that isn't already nationalized, the attempted destruction of…
Blog
Obama Health-Care Plan Destroys Cheap Health-Care Options, Raises Taxes, Breaks Promises
In 2008, Obama promised not to raise taxes on anyone making less than $250,000 a year. But he is now breaking that promise by…
Newsletter
Chevron in Court, Health Care in Congress and California’s Budget in Crisis
Chevron continues to fight a lawsuit alleging environmental damage done in Ecuador. Republicans go on the offensive against President Obama’s proposed health care plan. Governor…
Washington Examiner
Toxic Revenge
A $27 billion lawsuit brought by an Ecuadorian attorney against Chevron-Texaco blames the oil company for crude spills that have polluted Ecuador’s formerly pristine…
Newsletter
Big Labor in Congress, Private Conservation and White House Science Policy
Potentially dramatic changes in U.S. labor law make their way through the legislative process. Efforts to eliminate E. coli contamination on farms leads to unintended…
Blog
E. coli Happens
This story in the San Francisco Chronicle just shows the insanity of the conventional wisdom these days advanced by greens and anti-corporate farmers. They…
Blog
Rep. McClintock and “California’s Meltdown”
CEI and the Pacific Research Institute recently co-hosted a Capitol Hill briefing on “California’s Meltdown” – the unprecedented combination of flawed economic, energy…
Newsletter
Paulson’s Testimony, Ken Burns on National Parks and Obama’s Surgeon General Nominee
Former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson testifies before the House Government Reform Committee on his handling of the banking crisis. Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns announces his…
Blog
Regulation of the Day: Endangered Snails
The sixteenth in an occasional series that shines a bit of light on the regulatory state. Today’s Regulation of the Day comes to us from…
Blog
America’s Worst Idea?
I’m very sorry to see that Ken Burns’ new film series is to be entitled The National Parks: America’s Best Idea. As I detail…
Newsletter
White House Science Czar, Catfish Imports and Gingrich’s “Real” Stimulus
Critics question the controversial beliefs of White House science adviser John Holdren. U.S. catfish producers try to block inexpensive fish imports from Vietnam. Former House…
Blog
Harsanyi on Holdren
Today, Denver Post columnist David Harsanyi shines a light on Obama “science czar” John Holdren’s disturbing past pronouncements — which Marc Scribner wrote…
Blog
Fishy Politics May Harm US Consumers
The various US attempts to hobble the Vietnamese farmed-catfish industry is no less underhanded. And, in order to prevent a trade war with Vietnam, it…
Blog
Obama’s Anti-Science Czar
Last week, Michelle Malkin posted on the disturbing past of Obama’s Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, Director of the White House…
Washington Examiner
Peak Oil, Peak Water?
Watering the lawn in the summer can be expensive. And that might be a good reason to consider alternative landscaping. But it you…
Blog
Regulation of the Day: The Price of Shrimp
The ITA has been upset for some time that a Thai shrimp exporter is selling shrimp cheaply; hungry consumers have had no complaints.
Blog
UnderMining Prosperity
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p691OaOKUE8 285 234]…
Newsletter
Burning Rivers, Broadband Price Controls and Beach House Bailouts
Residents of Cleveland observe the 40th anniversary of the infamous Cuyahoga River fire. Congress considers a bill to regulate the pricing of broadband Internet service.
News Release
On 40th Anniversary of Cuyahoga Fire, Myths Loom Larger Than Reality
Today is the 40th Anniversary of the famous Cuyahoga river fire in Cleveland, Ohio. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is celebrating the anniversary, because it…
Blog
Senators Act on Clean Water Restoration Act
Yesterday, in a mere one hour and seventeen minutes, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee sailed through S. 787—the Clean Water Restoration Act…
Blog
Misinformation Won’t Save Species
If we want to help save species, we need to start getting the facts right about what problems we need to address. Unfortunately, the press…
Newsletter
Broadband Stimulus, Fiat Takes Over Chrysler and the UN’s World Oceans Day
Business and advocacy groups flood the Federal Communications Commission with comments on the agency’s proposed national broadband plan. Italian automaker Fiat…
News Release
New Ideas for World Oceans Day
This week the United Nations is observing World Oceans Day. The Competitive Enterprise Institute believes this makes it an appropriate time to think about realistic…
Blog
Danson in the Dark
Actor and noted intellectual Ted Danson has a piece on CNN.com entitled "World's Biggest Fish Are Dying." To his credit, it is not about whales.
Newsletter
Windmills in Danger, Record Unemployment and Hurricane Season
A wind power development in Wyoming may be derailed by the Endangered Species Act. The unemployment rate rises to 9.4%. Residents in the southeastern U.S.
Blog
Green Power Collides with Endangered Species
The greens are getting a taste of their own medicine. For years, they have used the Endangered Species Act to regulate use of private and…
Blog
Save the Economy, Save the Environment
Whole Foods profit has fallen 32 percent, reflecting changes in consumer demand during economic hard times. It appears that organic food becomes a luxury…
Newsletter
Chrysler’s Future, Chevron in Ecuador and Flex-Fuel Cars on the Road
A bankruptcy judge approves Chrysler’s request to start spending $4.5 billion in government loans. Ecuador sues Chevron for $27 billion over alleged environmental damage from…
Blog
David, Goliath and Chevron
How is little Ecuador going to collect from big Chevron? In 2007, investigative reporter Greg Palast posed the question to Ecuador’s president Rafael Correa regarding…
Newsletter
Healthy Eating, Big Labor Fights Itself and the War on Mining
A new Food and Drug Administration study sparks debate over the health benefits of eating fish. Factions of the labor union known as UNITE-HERE fight…
Newsletter
Celebrating Earth Day, the FDA Drags Its Feet and Health Scares Debunked
CEI releases a new video titled “Humans Make Earth Day Better.” Promising anti-cancer drug Provenge languishes in the federal approval process despite mounting evidence of…
Washington Examiner
The war on mining: Fighting back
Gold has become a safe haven as jittery investors move away from weakened stock markets, and currencies are threatened by inflation. But the allure of…
Michelle Malkin
Humans make Earth Day better
Blog
People Make Earth Day Better
This year, we at the Competitive Enterprise Institute are suggesting that those who will be celebrating Earth Day remember the challenges presented by living in…
Blog
Kids Know a Bucket of S**t When They See One
I’ve always been a fan of Lewis Black’s take on things, even when it’s obvious we disagree politically, but this take on the way TV…
Blog
Between the Headlines:”Sustainability” Means Sustainably Poor
“Mars Sets Goal for Sustainable Cocoa Sources” Another Washington Post story suggests that “sustainability” –whatever it may mean — still can…
News Release
VIDEO: People Make Earth Day Better
This year, the Competitive Enterprise Institute urges those celebrating Earth Day to remember the challenges presented by living in the natural world, and the inspiring ways that human…
Michelle Malkin
An Activist Tea Party to Reverse Founding Principles
When activist groups recently held a “reverse tea party”—dumping bottled water into the Boston Harbor—their goal was not to dilute the harbor.
Blog
Trojan Horse “Food Safety” Law
A misguided bill, the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009, may shut down farmer’s markets and “drive out of business local farmers and artisanal,…
Blog
One Down, Six to Go!
Oh the Worries of Our Modern Malthusians! In Washington this week, the Anarctica and Arctic Councils met for…
Newsletter
Green Tariffs, Foreign Aid and The End of Environmentalism
India warns the U.S. and EU not to enact “green” tariffs on products that create carbon dioxide emissions. President Obama’s foreign aid policy receives criticism…
Blog
Rise of the Luddites
When it comes to things such as environmental policy, the Progressives have been rather successful at promoting their world view. They realized that it would…
Michelle Malkin
Learning From Cameron’s Mistake
Learning from Cameron’s Mistake Embracing trendy green policies did not help the British Tories. By Iain Murray & Matthew Sinclair…
Blog
Bad News: Scientists Make Cheap Gas from Coal
This funny headline is the title of a column in the March 26 issue of Wired Science. “Scientists have devised a new way to…
Blog
Post-Modern Food Fetish
There’s very little that’s romantic about keeping a big backyard garden, and less still about the actual practice of producing meaningful amounts of food. But,…
Newsletter
Toxic Assets, NIMBYs and Fish Pedicures
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner unveils a plan to sell off “toxic assets” as part of the federal bank bailout. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce launches…
Letters
Bipartisan Civil Liberties Coalition Letter Against New Federal Crimes in Omnibus Land Managment Bill
Dear Speaker Pelosi, and Minority Leader Boehner, Our respective organizations have diverse viewpoints, but we share a deep and abiding belief in due…
Blog
Human Achievement Hour
This week CEI announced the creation of Human Achievement Hour (HAH) to be celebrated at 8:30pm on March 28th 2009 (the same time and…
Blog
Alarmists turn blind eye to global warming benefits–again
Tomorrow, the House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on the national security threats from melting Arctic ice. Greenwire (subscription required), the Online environmental news…
Michelle Malkin
Silvia’s Ecuador Trip Diary: Entry Two
The conference began with remarks from Gustavo Pinto, president of the Geologists Association, who commented on the need to develop mining in mineral-rich Ecuador,…
Newsletter
Stocks Rise, Fossil Felonies and Reforming Online Gambling
Stock values make their biggest one-day gains since last November. Congress considers a land management bill that could punish paleontologists and rock collectors with arrest…
Blog
Ironic Snowfall for Resource-Rich Greenies
Environmentalists characterize themselves as petite Davids battling gargantuan corporate Goliaths in order to grab media attention. But hundreds of green activists demonstrated today to raise…
Newsletter
Toilet Papers Wars, New Powers for the EPA and Bottled Water Hypocrisy
Environmental groups attack the use of soft, comfortable toilet paper. President Obama proposes a 34% increase in the budget for the Environmental Protection Agency. Cities…
Michelle Malkin
Mr. President, End this Farm Subsidy Boondoggle
Before taking office, President Barack Obama pledged to cut government waste: “We cannot sustain a system that bleeds billions of taxpayer dollars on programs…
Michelle Malkin
The Release of Global Mining FInance
Newsletter
Bottled Water Wars, Stimulus Disaster and Offshore Oil
Activists urge local governments to enact policies opposing the sale of bottled water. The Dow Jones Industrial Average drops dramatically as President Obama signs a…
News Release
New Study Debunks Myths About Bottled Water
Recent activist campaigns against bottled water have been filled with myths and half-truths, and have been motivated more by environmentalist ideology than evidence, according to a new study released…
Blog
What would it mean to have no “environmental footprint”?
Maybe to have no life. As this article over at the Ayn Rand Institute points out, the more “eco-friendly” you try to live, the…
Newsletter
Stimulus Upon Us, Lethal Wildfires Down Under and Satellite Radio Takes a Hit
Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress reach a deal to spend $789 billion in taxpayer money on “economic stimulus.” The death toll from wildfires in…
Blog
Environmental Policies Kill – Again!
One of the main themes of my book, The Really Inconvenient Truths, is that misguided environmental policies often lead to humanitarian and environmental disaster.
News Release
CEI Unveils Agenda for Congress
Washington, D.C., January 26, 2009—With the incoming Obama administration and the opening of the new Congress, the House and Senate are…
Newsletter
Inauguration, Western Lands and the New “Climate Czar”
Barack Obama prepares to be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States. The Senate passes a bill that would bring millions of…
Newsletter
EPA Confirmation Hearings, Obama’s Stimulus and Ken Salazar for Interior
Lisa Jackson responds to questions during her confirmation hearing to become the next head of the Environmental Protection Agency. President-elect Obama proposes a massive economic…
News Release
Statement on Interior Secretary Nominee Ken Salazar
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News Release
Statement on Nomination of Tom Vilsack to be Agriculture Secretary
Washington, D.C., January 13, 2008—President-elect Obama’s choice for Agriculture Secretary has a troubling record on agriculture and consumer issues, according to an…
News Release
Statement on Nomination of Lisa Jackson as EPA Administrator
Washington, D.C., January 13, 2008—President-elect Obama’s choice for EPA Administrator drew criticism from CEI experts for her record on hazardous waste clean up and global warming, respectively. The…
Newsletter
Union Scandal in California, Alternative Energy Promises and Short-Selling on Wall Street
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) finalizes a controversial merger of its California locals into one state-wide “superlocal”. President-Elect Obama promises to double the nation’s…
News Release
Senate Land Grab Bill Would Lower Energy Production
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Michelle Malkin
The Mining Law
Translated from Spanish to English by Ecuador Mining News and can be read here. The United States president-elect, Barack Obama, dismissed his…
Michelle Malkin
Country Profile: Ecuador
Document Availabe in PDF Despite Ecuador’s metallic mineral wealth dating to before the Inca Empire (600 B.C. to 400 A.D.),…
Michelle Malkin
Latin American Round Up
Document Availabe in PDF Fueled by escalating precious and base metal prices, exploration companies around the world earmarked 25% of…
Newsletter
Fed Chairman in Trouble, Kids’ TV Goes Green and Google Goes Edge-Caching
Critics of the financial bailout allege that the federal government has exceeded its Constitutional powers. The Nickelodeon TV network for kids begins an environmental awareness…
News Release
Obama Interior, Agriculture Appointees Complete Anti-Energy Team
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Newsletter
Endangered Species, International Trade and the Auto Bailout
President Bush pardons a Missouri farmer found guilty of accidently causing the deaths of bald eagles under the Endangered Species Act. Barack Obama considers Rep.
Newsletter
Ethanol Subsidies, Sarbanes-Oxley and Bottled Water
A broad-based coalition calls on Congress to phase out subsidies for ethanol production. A federal Appeals Court rules on a Constitutional challenge to the Sarbanes-Oxley…
Newsletter
A Second Stimulus, Federal Lands and Al Gore’s Failure
Obama’s transition team denies rumors of a political fight over a second federal stimulus plan. Lawmakers prepare to vote on a bill to bring more…
Letters
Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2008
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid recently announced his plans to call back the Senate for a lame duck session to pass a massive land grab…
Newsletter
Taxing the Rich, the Costs of Ethanol and the Fed’s Loose Money Policy
Joe “The Plumber” Wurzelbacher becomes a national campaign personality. The Federal Reserve lowers a key interest rate in hopes of reviving investment. Environmentalists debate the…
Michelle Malkin
the hidden costs of ethanol
News Release
Ethanol Fuel Mandates Cause Massive Food and Land Costs, Says New Report
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Newsletter
Credit Card Settlements, Wireless Networks and What’s ‘Killing the Earth’
Visa and MasterCard reach a $2.75 billion settlement with Discover Card over an antitrust complaint first brought in 1998. Cox Communications plans to roll out…
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…
Op-Eds
Greens Aim to Take Us Forward to the Past
If you need more evidence that the Greens intend to destroy our standard of living, you need not look further than the Oct.
Newsletter
Horrible Mortgage Ideas, Environmental Non-Disasters and Defending Delaware’s Honor
Senators spar over a plan for the federal government to buy up “distressed” mortgages. The Capital Research Center releases the “Doom List,” a litany of…
Michelle Malkin
Ecuador taking control of more mining concessions, Petrobas oil field
Michelle Malkin
Ecuador Should End WFT Double-speak
In the midst of congratulating the Ecuadorian government on its landmark decision to eliminate the proposed 70 percent windfall tax on mining…
Newsletter
Renewable Energy, Anti-Whaling Protesters, and Fed Chairman Bernanke
The state of Colorado expands requirements for the use of renewable power. Japanese authorities plan to arrest anti-whaling protesters from the group Sea Shepherd. Federal…
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.
Michelle Malkin
Ecuador Mining
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.
Newsletter
Air Travel Taxes, Illegal Produce and Hybrid Subsidies
Global warming taxes on airline travel mean fewer visitors to Amsterdam’s airport. European Union inspectors force a produce seller in the UK to throw out…
