Property and Environment Research Center

The Property and Environment Research Center, or PERC, is a Montana-based free market environmentalist think tank. Established in 1982, PERC is primarily funded by foundations[1]. PERC is dedicated to original research on capitalist approaches to resolving environmental problems.

Principles

PERC's free market environmentalism is based on the following tenets[2]:

• Private property rights encourage stewardship of resources.
• Government subsidies often degrade the environment.
• Market incentives spur individuals to conserve resources and protect environmental quality.
• Polluters should be liable for the harm they cause others.

Outreach

PERC analysts have published numerous books and articles sharply critical of popular U.S. environmental laws such as the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act. PERC claims that government policy is the root cause of much environmental degradation. The Dust Bowl Reconsidered, for instance, blames the federal Homestead Act for accelerating erosion problems by limiting claims of newly settled land to 160-320 acre parcels[3]. According to this article, fragmented land ownership reduced the incentives for implementing erosion countermeasures and made it difficult for farmers to negotiate contracts for voluntary soil conservation.

PERC seeks to influence public policy by publishing guides for Congressional staff and organizing weeklong seminars for promising undergraduates. The organization's monthly publication, PERC Reports, regularly features articles questioning assumptions that form the basis of U.S. federal environmental law.

The organization defies easy categorization, because unlike many other think tanks critical of environmental laws enacted by Democrats, PERC does not even indirectly support Republican candidates. In October 2004, shortly before the U.S. Presidential election, PERC released a report card giving President George W. Bush a "D-" in organic pollutant control and an "F" in air quality regulation[4].

Although PERC's free market environmentalist theories are similar to the Cato Institute's, PERC has not drawn the same amount of ire from liberal environmental groups. The reason is probably that PERC has preferred to focus on education and analysis, rather than criticizing the Worldwatch Institute and similar environmental organizations[5].

References

• The Property and Environment Research Center.
• Who Funds PERC.
• The Dust Bowl Reconsidered, Daniel K. Benjamin, 2004.
• PERC report gives admin passing grade, Alex Kaplun, Greenwire.
• The State of the World: Doom or Boom?, Jerry Taylor, Cato Institute, Jan. 27, 1999.
• A Whirlwind of Troubles - Environmental, Operational, and Financial Problems, Thomas Tanton, 2004.