Randal O'Toole/libertarian resource management/urban planning

Christine Petersen ottilie at hotmail.com
Wed Sep 5 08:28:28 PDT 2001


Someone here in the bay area was interested in urban planning, if I'm not mistaken. AT UC Berkeley, Randal O'Toole of the Thoreau institute is a visiting scholar and has been sending out announcements for his seminar where he bribes people with a 'free lunch'. He wrote a book criticizing Portland, Or's urban planning (I like Portland), and he has been on NPR and other news

outlets representing a libertarian perspective. I don't like incentibe based

resource management as far as I understand it. It has an underlying assumption that most people earn about the same middle class income and will

allocate their money based on their needs and willingness to sacrifice. But in reality, if we were to set up roads and transportation based on tolls, then that would clear up the toll lanes for the wealthy Ford expedition drivers who hardly flinch at the cost, meanwhile when they scrap the subways

and buses (he criticizes Portland heavily for its rail system), the poor people can't get to work and everyone else ends up stewing in traffic. They say that suburban shopping strips and street grids represent the free-market

chosen design that everyone has collectively chosen, because it would not be

logical for mall builders to use designs that are anything other than the optimum that makes their customers the happiest.

The Thoreau institute emphasizes 'the government that governs best, governs least', but I really focus more on the fact that he shirked work. Anyway, they're getting into urban planning on Dec. 6 and it seems like there is an invitation to some members of the public. I would like to see someone who knows urban planning take up the debate: http://www.teleport.com/~rot/urban.html

Christine -------------- Date: Tue, 4 Sep 2001 12:55:28 -0700 From: Randal O'Toole <rot at ti.org> Come see Andy Stahl talk about spotted owls and changes in the Forest Service and get a FREE LUNCH!

Mr. Stahl will be speaking at 12:30 to 2:00 pm on Thursday, September 6 in 132 Mulford. He played a pivotal role in the Northwest spotted owl debate and now oversees Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics' efforts to improve national forest management.

The title of his presentation will be "The Spotted Owl's Idelible Revolution."

The seminar is open to public but only the first thirty who make advance reservations will get a free lunch. To make your reservations, reply to this email and specify whether you prefer vegetarian or non-vegetarian (or have other dietary restrictions).

The Free-Lunch Seminar is presented by ESPM/RIPM.

See you,

Randal O'Toole Visiting Scholar College of Natural Resources ESPM/RIPM UC Berkeley Mail to: 135 Giannini Hall Berkeley, CA 94937 ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, 4 Sep 2001 11:11:55 -0700 From: Randal O'Toole <rot at ti.org> To: Recipient List Suppressed: ; Subject: Incentive-Based Conservation

INCENTIVE-BASED CONSERVATION -- A ONE-CREDIT SEMINAR

Incentive-based conservation, a seminar offered by ESPM/RIPM, will give you an opportunity to:

* Meet an Assistant Secretary of the Interior; * Travel to the Plumas National Forest and visit with the Quincy Library Group; * Learn about wolf reintroduction into Yellowstone National Park; * Visit with managers of Collins Pine and Sierra Pacific Industries; * Debate recreation fees with Andy Stahl, of Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics; * Discuss Aldo Leopold's land-management philosophy with Brent Haglund, manager of the Aldo Leopold Reserve in Wisconsin; * Debate urban sprawl and wildfire management with Randal O'Toole, author of Reforming the Forest Service and The Vanishing Automobile and Other Urban Myths; * Learn about the use of incentives in fish, wildlife, and land conservation from a variety of other guest lecturers.

The seminar takes place on Thursdays from 3:30 to 5:00 pm in Mulford 30874. For ESPN 298 (grad students), choose section 1, CCN 31168. For more information, see the course description below or reply to this email.

Randal O'Toole Visiting Scholar ESPN/RIPM 126 Giannini ________________

Incentive-Based Conservation

Incentive-Based Conservation will look at how incentives work on public and private lands and for wildlife and other natural resources. Each week will cover a case study examining how incentives influence that issue and how reforms can improve incentives. The trip will also include a field trip to visit Collins Pine and the Quincy Library Group. Advance readings will be provided each week. Classes held Thursdays from 3:30 to 5:00 pm. For more information, email rot at ti.org.

Seminar Schedule

Date Case Study Speaker September 6 Forest Service Andy Stahl September 13 Forest Service Doug Crandall September 14-16 Field trip Quincy, CA September 20 Forest Service Randal O'Toole September 27 Institutional change Randy Simmons September 27 Institutional change Randy Simmons October 4 BLM & range issues Randal O'Toole October 11 State lands Sally Fairfax October 18 Park Service Randal O'Toole October 25 Private lands Brent Haglund October 31 Endangered species Greg Schildwachter November 8 Fisheries Michael DeAlessi November 15 Endangered species Hank Fischer November 29 DC Land Politics Lynn Scarlett December 6 Urban sprawl Randal O'Toole

* Randal O'Toole is senior economist with the Thoreau Institute and visiting scholar at UCB. * Andy Stahl is the director of Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics. * Doug Crandall is the director of the National Forest Foundation. * Randy Simmons chairs the Political Science Department at Utah State and co-author of Beyond Politics: Markets, Welfare, and the Failure of Bureaucracy. * Sally Fairfax is a professor in the UC Berkeley College of Natural Resources and co-author of State Trust Lands: History, Management, and Sustainable Use. * Brent Haglund is the executive director of the Sand County Foundation and caretaker of the Aldo Leopold Reserve in Wisconsin and author of Wild Wisconsin. * Greg Schildwachter is with the Idaho Governor's Office of Species Conservation. * Michael De Alessi is the director of the Center for Private Conservation in San Francisco and author of Fishing for Solutions. * Hank Fischer was, until recently, the Northern Rockies Field Director for Defenders of Wildlife.

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