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
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…
Op-Eds
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…
Op-Eds
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…
Op-Eds
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…
Citation
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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Op-Eds
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…
Op-Eds
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.),…
Op-Eds
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…
Citation
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…
Citation
Ecuador taking control of more mining concessions, Petrobas oil field
Op-Eds
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.
Citation
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…