The Thoreau Institute
Articles, Speeches, and Op-Eds

Articles

The New Conservationists

Randal O'Toole speculates that the movement is fragmenting into its pre-1970 configuration of "conservationists" and "preservationists."

Comments on "The New Conservationists"

Comments from a variety of sources on a draft of the New Conservationist paper.

Better Incentives for Public Lnads

How lands are managed is more important than who owns them.

Building an Environmental-Libertarian Alliance

Can libertarians work together with environmentalists? Published in Liberty magazine.

Fixing the ESA

Article published in the FSEEE newsletter, Inner Voice.

The Coming War on the Automobile

Why some people want to turn cars into the next social evil, written for Liberty magazine.

Neotraditionalism

A critique of Neotraditional or New Urban planning, written for Liberty magazine.

Beware Metro

Problems with metropolitan planning, written for Liberty magazine.

Speeches

Reforming Public Land Management with New Incentives

A speech given at Colorado University shows why it is more important to reform incentives than to replace top officials or transfer land ownership.

Recreation Fees: The American Experience

A speech given at a conference in Montreal shows how recreation fees can play an important role in reforming public land management.

Incentives for Protecting Biodiversity

Speech given at a Smithsonian conference on biodiversity on April 22, 1995.

Recreation Fees: The American Experience

A speech given at a conference in Montreal shows how recreation fees can play an important role in reforming public land management.

Op-Eds

Purity Weakens Greens

Some environmental groups thrive by attacking other environmentalists. Published in the Denver Post (1-4-98) and elsewhere.

Private Ownership to Save Species

A proposal for fixing the ESA published in the Arizona Daily Star (1-5-98) and several other papers.

Should Congress Give the Federal Lands to the States?

A summary of a lengthy report of the same name that Randal O'Toole prepared for the Cato Institute.

Solve Park Controversies with User Fees

How user fees can help restore the national parks.

Fixing the Recreation Fee Program

Reveals a significant flaw in the recreation fee demonstration program.

Packing Them In

Critique of Metro planning in Portland published in the Oregonian (11-15-97).

Comments on Packing Them In

Responses published in the Oregonian (12-22-96) written by University of Puget Sound economist Hart Hodges and the Coalition for a Livable Future, with replies by O'Toole.

Coming Soon to a City Near You

Warning other cities of the perils of Portland's New Urban planning process, published in the Las Vegas Sun (9-21-97) and several other papers.

Rail Not the Solution

A critique of ISTEA and light rail published in the Houston Chronicle (9-21-97) and Detroit News.

The Solution to Congestion

How to fix congestion without spending a fortune.

Electronic Drummer