"Read this book and learn the diverse ways in which organized interest groups, and prominent individuals, have sought to impose their idealizations of nature as ecological equilibrium on the rest of us. There is no such thing as nature undisturbed, and bureaucratic bad management is often the unintended consequence of our limited knowledge of ecosystem complexity. Improvement, if attainable, must be more marginal, more decentralized, and focused on learning because no one can know final right answers." -- Vernon L. Smith , Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences; George L. Argyros Endowed Chair in Finance and Economics and Professor of Economics and Law, Chapman University "In the well written and highly informative book, Nature Unbound , Simmons, Yonk, and Sim develop the twin concepts of political ecology--the idea that in Washington science is politics--and political entrepreneurship--the notion that every significant political action provides an opportunity for special interest groups to steer the action in their direction. They apply the concepts as they scan the last 40 years of the U.S.
environmental saga, stopping occasionally to do in-depth analyses of intentions and outcomes. Theirs is not a normative anti-environment cry for deregulation, but rather a carefully reasoned and documented effort to explain how environmental actions based on faulty but popularized notions of science lead inevitably to botched outcomes that fail to redress true environmental concerns. Nature Unbound should be read, studied and debated by all who take the environment seriously." -- Bruce Yandle , Dean Emeritus, College of Business and Behavioral Science, Clemson University; Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Economics, Mercatus Center, George Mason University " Nature Unbound provides a fascinating look at bureaucracy and environment in the context of a new view of ecology. The new ecology rejects the ideologically based concept of a ''balance of nature'' and recognizes variability is fundamental in ecological systems whether or not humans are involved. The book examines the role of politics and entrepreneurship in environmental policy, in the context of the new ecology, and provides an absorbing narration of natural resource legislation, legal activities and court decisions as well as management policies. The book concludes with five principles for redesigning and incentivizing institutions to be applied to specific individual resource and environmental programs." -- Roger A.
Sedjo , Senior Fellow, Resources for the Future "In striving to improve our environmental stewardship, it is important to take off our rose-colored glasses and contemplate the imperfections in our system. In Nature Unbound , Simmons, Yonk, and Sim focus on identifying and explaining deficiencies in long-standing environmental laws. Some readers may find the analysis uncomfortable because it challenges so many deeply ingrained perspectives. Whatever one''s view of the authors'' criticisms, this book is thought-provoking; it forces us to re-examine the basic incentives and motivations underlying our environmental policies." -- Gale A. Norton , former Secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior " Nature Unbound is a most timely and important book.
We are currently in the grip of a revived regulatory utopianism whereby various ''market failures'' will be eliminated by diligent, well-informed regulators who have only our best interests at heart. This belief system has recently transformed government policy toward financial services, healthcare--and the environment, which is the subject of this book. In a lively tour through the history of environmental regulation, the authors show how all the elements of the reigning belief are wrong. They tell us how the regulators face information distorted by the interests of the adversaries before them, then how they use the information to pursue personal and bureaucratic interests that ultimately have little to do with improving the environment. I would recommend Nature Unbound to anyone interested in the environment and especially to those inclined to support further expansion of environmental regulation." -- Sam Peltzman , Ralph and Dorothy Keller Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of Economics, Booth School of Business, University of Chicago; Editor, Journal of Law and Economics " Nature Unbound is a comprehensive discussion of our environmental laws and policies that are conflicted with fallacies and contradictions that cause a reduction in economic output and a damaged natural environment as well. The authors utilize many conceptual tools, but two do much of the intellectual heavy-lifting that drives their analyses and conclusions: ''equilibrium ecology'' and ''political entrepreneurship.'' This is an important book that hopefully will become influential in producing the legal and legislative improvements needed to increase the environmental quality that will benefit us all.
" -- B. Delworth Gardner , Professor Emeritus of Economics, Brigham Young University "Environmental policies are ultimately about the human relationship with nature. American environmental thinking about this matter has been characterized by wide intellectual misunderstanding and confusion. Combined with the normal dysfunctions of the American political system, the result has been broad environmental policy failure in the United States. Read the outstanding book Nature Unbound to get the details." -- Robert H. Nelson , Professor of Public Policy, University of Maryland "In Nature Unbound , Yonk and his co-authors offer a devastating critique of federal environmental policy by scrutinizing it through the lenses of biological ecology and political ecology. The book makes us rethink environmental objectives.
It aligns incentives with goals and affirms the notion that human beings are an integral part of the natural order and merit no less consideration than Earth''s other treasures. Nature Unbound likewise makes a good case for abandoning the balance of nature myth and rethinking the environmental laws aimed at maintaining the mythical balance. This thinking was present in passing the Clean Air Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Wilderness Act, and, more recently, a slew of renewable energy legislation - even though laws often fail to meet their stated environmental goals and may lead instead to worse environmental and economic outcomes." -- Illinois Review " Nature Unbound warns that the frequent use of fear-based, emotional science can have the same effect on humans as a deer caught in the headlights. Simmons, Yonk, and Sim offer an escape from this trap and a step forward for Mother Nature. This book is a must read for those seeking an honest and pragmatic path toward improved environmental quality." -- Laura E. Huggins , Chief Executive Officer, Montana Prairie Holdings LLC " Nature Unbound will provide the critical, innovative, and careful evaluation so needed to raise issues and encourage debate over environmental issues, which hopefully will lead to more reasoned addressing of environmental concerns.
" -- Gary D. Libecap , Donald Bren Distinguished Professor of Corporate Environmental Management, Bren School of Environmental Science and Management and Department of Economics, University of California, Santa Barbara " Nature Unbound is a revealing and disturbing book. The authors examine the unintended consequences of five major environmental statutes passed by Congress since the 1960s. They outline the ways in which ''political ecology'' and ''political entrepreneurship'' have channeled the behavior of actors both in and out of government in directions that are opportunistic, costly, and disconnected from legitimate environmental concerns. Simmons, Yonk, and Sims offer principles by which each statute can be amended to more efficiently and effectively address the concerns prompting the initial passage of these laws." -- John C. Brätland , Senior Economist, U.S.
Department of the Interior "The U.S. Postal Service is scorned for its inefficiency. Other agencies, such as the EPA, are similarly inept, but it is harder for citizens to observe their poor performance. As the authors explain, we have a ''political ecology.'' Politics, not pure environmental science, determines environmental policy. In all areas of the environment--air, water, and land--politicians and bureaucrats play on misguided sympathies to generate support for more of the same. The environment, like society, is dynamic, but government policy is rooted in a mythical environmental notion of static purity.
Whether your concern is environmental or economic, Nature Unbound is indispensable for anyone to understand the destructive impact of environmental politics." -- Roger E. Meiners , Goolsby Distinguished Professor of Economics and Law, University of Texas, Arlington "Why is it that one of America''s most iconic places is now more wilderness-like than it was before our great westward migration and the beginning of the industrial era? You will find the answer to that question within the pages of Nature Unbound . Authors Randy Simmons, Ryan Yonk, and Kenneth Sim give readers a synoptic view of America''s sprawling environmental protection bureaucracy: its assumptions, its numerous players, its frequently perverse incentives and often bizarre results. The book, in short, is a valuable corrective to the notion that the federal government has done a splendid job of protecting us from environ.