Quantcast
728 x 90
728 x 90
728 x 90
728 x 90
728 x 90



Energy and Environmental Policy (E2P) at the Independence Institute

By all measures, life is better. Because of our ability to safely, responsibly and efficiently develop natural resources, our standard of living is up, life expectancy is up, and our environment is cleaner. Individuals prosper while also enjoying a healthy planet. If we create an atmosphere where human potential flourishes and we dare to imagine, then everyone can reap the benefits of affordable, reliable, abundant, and safe power and revel in the beauty of a thriving environment.

Our Vision

Access to affordable, reliable, abundant, safe energy and a clean environment are not mutually exclusive. At E2P we envision a Colorado where every person is in control of his or her own energy and environmental destiny. Private property owners are in the best position to protect their land and environment, and the choice of energy resources and how they are utilized should come from the demands of an innovative and free market.

What is the role of government? To remain neutral, let markets work, let individuals innovate, limit regulations, and refrain from picking winners and losers.

Our Principles

  • People first
  • Celebrate prosperity
  • Innovation over regulation
  • Commonsense conservation
  • Primacy of private property rights
  • Results over rhetoric
  • Reject cynicism

 

Free Market Energy and Environmental Policy

  • Embraces our entrepreneurial spirit and optimism that we can have affordable power, responsible domestic energy development, and a clean environment.
  • Puts individuals in the driver’s seat and allows them to control their own energy future.
  • Lets the choice of energy resources come from the demands of the free market, and not from the preferences of policymakers, lobbyists, or special interest groups.
  • Champions private property rights.
  • Challenges the 80-year-old, monopoly utility model of electricity generation and distribution.
  • Puts states ahead of Washington, D.C.
  • Encourages limited and consistent regulations.
  • Rejects taxpayer funded subsidies.
  • Doesn’t pick winners and losers.
  • Welcomes transparency.

 

Latest Posts

  • The Faulty Economics of Colorado's Climate Change Action Plan: A Peer Review

    • February 10, 2008

    IP-1-2008 (February 2008) Author: Benjamin Powell PDF of full Issue Paper Scribd version of full Issue Paper Executive Summary “Climate change is our generation’s greatest environmental challenge. It threatens our economy, our Western way of life and our future. It will change every facet of our existence, and unless we address it and adapt to

    READ MORE
  • Governor Bill Ritter Climate Change Action Plan

    • January 10, 2008

    OE-1-2008 (January 2008) Author: Energy Policy Center PDF of full Option Editorial Scribd version of full Option Editorial Executive Summary “Climate change is our generation’s greatest environmental challenge. It threatens our economy, our Western way of life and our future. It will change every facet of our existence, and unless we address it and adapt

    READ MORE
  • Dark Sky Ordinances: How to Separate the Light from the Darkness

    • March 31, 2006

    In many areas of the United States it is difficult to view the stars in the sky at night. The International Dark Sky Association2, has successfully lobbied state and local governments to pass restrictive ordinances on the type of lighting private property owners may use. These “Dark Sky laws” aim to reduce “light pollution” so as to make stargazing easier. Many of these laws, such as the City of Aspen’s, impose unfairly short deadlines in forcing property owners to replace their current lighting. Excessively severe Dark Sky laws overlook the role that lighting plays in deterring crime.

    READ MORE
  • Let Colorado Water Markets Work

    • March 12, 2006

    For 150 years, Colorado Water Law has been devel- oped with a healthy respect for property rights – protecting the prior rights to water use established by the hard work of those who came before. Most attempts to centralize water resources in Colorado have failed, although there have been repetitive attempts to implement “Soviet style” statewide water planning in Colorado. The drought of 2002 created a new wave of demands on the Colorado General Assembly to “do something” about water. But many of those demands appear to be based
    on little knowledge about how Colorado water law works. Current attacks on private property water rights include proposed county “tariffs” and other restrictions on water transfers, as well as applica- tions of the “public trust doctrine”, and proposed “anti speculation” restrictions on the use of ground- water not subject to the appropriation doctrine.

    READ MORE
  • Wasted in Denver Abstract of Study Brief on Denver's Contract for Waste Disposal

    • June 10, 2004

    IB-2004-O (June 2004) Author: Beth Skinner PDF of full Issue Backgrounder Scribd version of full Issue Backgrounder Executive Summary Across the nation, cities that have switched from monopolies to open market systems for solid waste collection and disposal have, almost without exception, enjoyed better service, lower prices and a better-compensated workforce. On December 22, 1997,

    READ MORE
  • Let Colorado Water Markets Work

    • March 10, 2004

    IP-6-2004 (March 2004) Author: J. Craig Green PDF of full Issue Paper Scribd version of full Issue Paper Introduction For 150 years, Colorado Water Law has been developed with a healthy respect for property rights – protecting the prior rights to water use established by the hard work of those who came before. Most attempts

    READ MORE