“Population: The Ultimate Resource” (2000): Introduction by Barun Mitra

“It is ironic that many environmentalists who would herald similar growth in population of some of the endangered species as a very good indicator of the environmental health of the planet, see the success of man as a harbinger of environmental doom. Even many economists usually consider an increase in production of steel or birth of an additional calf, as positive addition to the national output or Gross Domestic Product, but view the birth of a human child to have a negative impact on GDP.“

The twentieth Century has witnessed unprecedented demographic changes. For the first time in history, the world population almost quadrupled from about one and a half billion in 1900 to six billion in the span of just hundred years.  Likewise, Indian population too crossed the one billion level in May 2000, from about 238 million at the beginning of the Twentieth century.…

HumanProgress.org (Julian Simon Lives! at the Cato Institute)

“While we think that policies and institutions compatible with freedom and openness are important factors in promoting human progress, we let the evidence speak for itself. We hope that this website leads to a greater appreciation of the improving state of the world and stimulates an intelligent debate on the drivers of human progress.”

– HumanProgress.org (Cato Institute)

Kudos to Cato for their new website portal, HumanProgress.org, which brings into one place the statistics of human welfare with reference to the socio-economic conditions responsible for it. The mission and status of this new website is discussed below.

A Julian Simon Institute?

I often lamented the absence of a Julian Simon Institute to tackle the area of ‘sustainability’ or “sustainable development,’ which covers so many things relating to population and progress. …

MasterResource on Break (back September 2nd)

… and already looking forward to the November release of Alex Epstein’s historic, timely call to national/international debate.

Early Praise ….

 “With more politicians in climate science than scientists, the refining fire of debate has devolved into the burning of heretics. Alex Epstein’s The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels may make your blood boil, but his cool reason and cold, hard facts will lead us beyond hysterics to a much better future.”

–Peter Thiel, entrepreneur and investor (cofounder of PayPal)

“If you want to see the power of fine logic, fine writing, and fine research, read Epstein’s book. In my long career, it is simply the best popular-market book about climate, environmental policy, and energy that I have read. Laymen and experts alike will be boggled by Epstein’s clarity.”

–Patrick J.…

James Hansen: “I Struggle to Sleep” (with current energy trends, energy policy)

Desrochers on Food: Politically Incorrect, Economically and Environmentally Correct

Glenn Schleede’s (Polite) Reality Check to an Idealistic DOE Intern

Bill Gates on “The Bet” (Julian Simon’s continued march into the mainstream)

Hansen Warns Against ‘Cap-and-Tax’ (Steyer and California, are you listening?)

Milton Friedman Day (some energy quotations on the occasion of his 102nd birthday)

Who Is Charles Koch? (Senator Reid vs. Mother Jones’s Daniel Schulman)