Executive Summary
- The environmental movement had its genesis in gloom-and-doom scenarios of global pollution.
- These dire views tapped a common-sense appreciation for the value of our natural surroundings.
- Human needs disappeared from apocalyptic “green” perspectives.
- A critical understanding of environmental solutions that exclude people is growing.
- The response of traditional “greens” to this development has often been hysterical and unfair.
- A new consensus, both “smart” and “green,” integrates the actions of our species with ecological health.
- Fundamental to it is an emphasis on an unbiased scientific evaluation of data.
- Modern environmentalists insist that collective actions produce real results, not just good feelings.
- A key element in the new approach is a healthy appreciation for the environmental benefits of wealth creation.
- It entails abandonment of the precautionary principle and the use instead of rational cost/benefit analysis.
- Government action to improve the environment works better when it engages incentives to change behaviour.
- Advanced technology is the friend, not the enemy of environmental quality.
- We are learning that public sector conflicts of interest are a major cause of environmental damage.
Seven Principles for Making Policy “Smart and Green”:
- 1. Rely on unbiased science
- 2. Focus on measurable results
- 3. Recognize wealth creation as the wellspring for environmental improvement
- 4. Substitute risk and cost benefit analysis for the precautionary principle
- 5. Focus on incentives via property rights
- 6. Embrace environmentally friendly technology
- 7. Eliminate public sector conflicts of interest by separating resource ownership from regulation