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1. False Alarm over the Retreat of the Himalayan Glaciers

Author:
Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar and Vijay K. Raina
Publication Date:
05-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Many activists and journalists warn that rapidly melting Himalayan glaciers due to global warming will have catastrophic consequences. The glaciers have been melting since the end of the last ice age 11,700 years ago, but the melting has not worsened recently. Satellite studies suggest that the vast majority of glaciers in the Himalayas are stable, a minority are shrinking, and a few are advancing. The retreat of the Gangotri Glacier, the source of the Ganges River, has decelerated in recent decades to 10 meters (33 feet) per year, at which rate it will last 3,000 years.
Topic:
Climate Change, Environment, and Glaciers
Political Geography:
Himalayas

2. Slippery Fish: Enforcing Regulation under Subversive Adaptation

Author:
Andres Gonzalez-Lira
Publication Date:
04-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Correcting market failures and improving economic efficiency often require curbing undesirable behaviors of market agents who act to maximize their private benefits. Examples include actions that affect ecosystems, such as deforestation, pollution, and overexploitation of natural resources; actions that affect community health, such as drunk driving and open defecation; or actions that undermine government performance, such as corruption and tax evasion. Enacting and enforcing regulations is the most direct strategy to deter such behaviors. Implementing this strategy requires strong institutions to enforce laws, plus sophisticated policing to track agents’ reactions to enforcement so that rules are robust enough to curb the undesirable behavior even when regulated agents try to game the new system.
Topic:
Environment, Government, Markets, Regulation, and Adaptation
Political Geography:
Global Focus

3. The Intended and Unintended Consequences of Disposable Bag Regulation

Author:
Tatiana Homonoff, Lee-Sien Kao, Javiera Selman, and Christina Seybolt
Publication Date:
11-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Many recent government and corporate policies aimed at reducing a variety of negative externalities include regulations that ban the provision of externality‐​generating products. However, these policies often ban only a narrow subset of products associated with the underlying externality. For example, the U.S. Department of Justice banned bump stocks, which assist in rapid‐​fire shooting, after a Las Vegas mass shooting rather than placing stricter regulations on all assault weapons. Similarly, Starbucks recently banned the distribution of plastic straws at its stores to reduce environmental waste, and New York City attempted to pass a restaurant ban on sugar‐​sweetened beverages over 16 ounces to curb obesity.
Topic:
Environment, Government, Regulation, and Corporations
Political Geography:
Global Focus