Sea Food Map for All the Ocean’s Fish and Mammals
Plants and bugs are food for land animals and birds. Out in the world’s oceans, plankton are the common food for everything up the ocean food chain. A map of the world’s ocean plankton...
Economic Thinking Posts on Debate Topics
What if Clean Water Act Really Applied to Government Pollution?
So the headline reads: “Sewage leak closes some Westchester, N.Y. beaches.” The article I checked online didn’t say who was responsible for the sewage leak. As a general rule, a private firm caught polluting...
Market Failures, Government Failures, and Federal Election Law Failures
Much of modern mainstream economics focuses on “market failures” and ways government regulations and agencies can try to correct them. When Microsoft was believed to have too much market share, and Microsoft Explorer was...
Farming to the Rescue Again: This time for Coral Reefs
Property rights matter. When the only way to establish ownership of coral is by pulling it from the ocean floor, then the private coral trade will continue to deplete coral reefs around the world....
Underwater World: Coming to a Waterfront Resort Near You
Rebuilding seascapes for underwater tourists, marine entrepreneurs are on the job developing coral condos. Reef Worlds is one firm expanding across underwater ecosystems, according to a Jamaica Observer article: “Our team was shocked,” Wallace...
Swordfish: Gladiators of the Deep
After reading the June 15-16 WSJ “Gladiator of the Deep” review of Richard Ellis’s Swordfish: Biographer of an Ocean Gladiator, I looked forward to reading and writing about the book. The hardcopy is nearly $20,...
Allowing Term Limits Without Limiting Terms
This University of Missouri at Kansas City page reviews term limits efforts, Supreme Court decisions and the Constitution on federal election law. Term limits may well be a good idea for returning to a...
Sharks Can Kill Suddenly and Maybe Slowly Too
Today’s Daily Mail shocker headline: “Taking omega-3 fish oil supplements may increase the risk of aggressive prostate cancer by 70%” I tend not to rely on the Mail for science and health news, but...
The Good News and Bad News on Campaign Finance Reform
The good news for affirmative debaters is that virtually no one is happy with current federal campaign finance regulations. So there would seem to be many opportunities for reforming the system. The bad news...
Rivers and Coastal Waters: Better Measurement Finds More Pollution
For past debate topics on environmental issues, I have shown students data on the steady reductions in air, water, and land pollution across the United States. Pollution discharges into America’s rivers, lakes, streams, and...