- Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment
The Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment (FREE), based in
Bozeman, Montana , is a think-tank that promotesfree-market environmentalism . FREE emphasizes reliance onmarket mechanisms and privateproperty rights, rather than on environmentalregulation , for protection of the environment. Its chairperson,John Baden , a past member of theNational Petroleum Council , stressesdecentralization : a shift of control from what he calls "Green platonic despots" in the federal government to "local interests". [ [http://www.free-eco.org/articleDisplay.php?id=192 "More environmental Gore"] , John Baden, April 26, 1999] Citing conservation efforts such as those involving the Rocky Mountain Elk,Pheasants Forever , andTrout Unlimited , Baden asserts that the ideas FREE promotes have become "the norm among progressive, intellectually honest and successful environmentalists". [ [http://www.free-eco.org/articleDisplay.php?id=147 "What was once radical now becoming mainstream"] , John Baden, May 9, 2001, originally published in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.]One of FREE's current projects is the "Charter Forest" project [ [http://www.ti.org/sacharter.html Charter Forest] ] , in which control of
national forests would be devolved to local trusts. The plan was endorsed by the Bush administrationFact|date=June 2008, but has yet to be put into effect.Since 1992, FREE has offered expense-paid seminars in itsphilosophy to federal
judge s. [ [http://www.free-eco.org/programs_judges.php "A Conference Series for Federal Judges, State Supreme Court Justices, & Law Professors"] , FREE's website.] These seminars, held primarily at resorts and private ranches inMontana Fact|date=June 2008, with good access to recreational activities such astrout streams andgolf coursesFact|date=June 2008, have included such topics as "Environmental Protection: The Role of Community-Based Solutions to Environmental Problems", "The Environment: A CEO's Perspective" [ [http://www.free-eco.org/agendas/agenda_seminar_judges_sept17_1996.html "The Environment: A CEO's perspective"] , FREE website, 1996] , and "Liberty and the Environment: A Case for Judicial Activism". In the late 1990s, FREE says that nearly a third of the federaljudiciary had either attended or were seeking to attend its seminars. The group also offers expense-paid courses for university faculty and students, these reportedly taught on the campus ofMontana State University .Between
August 14 and 19, 2004, FREE hosted the 2004 general meeting of the Mont Pèlerin Society at the Grand America Hotel inSalt Lake City, Utah .Among the members of FREE's Board of Directors is George M. Gray, the executive director of the
Harvard Centre for Risk Analysis.Funding
According to FREE's website, in 2005 funding of $10,000 or more came from the following foundations:
* The Ajax Foundation
* The Carthage Foundation
*Castle Rock Foundation
* The Chase Foundation
* TheEarhart Foundation
* The Pierre F. and Enid Goodrich Foundation
* The Harold and Reta Haynes Family Foundation
* The Kanzanjian Foundation
* The Claude R. Lambe Foundation
* TheLilly Endowment
* The M. J. Murdock Charitable Trust
* The John William Pope Foundation
* The Walker Foundationas well as from the following corporations:
*ExxonMobil
* GE Fund
* John Deere & Co.
* Port Blakely Tree Farms
* Tindley Corp.References
ources
* This article uses material from the
Disinfopedia article on [http://www.disinfopedia.org/wiki.phtml?title=Foundation_for_Research_on_Economics_and_the_Environment Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment] .
* [http://www.free-eco.org Official website] of the Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment.
* [http://www.free-eco.org/funding.php Funding information] , accessed January 2004.
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