Knowledge Base
Where can I go to learn more about this topic?
Justthefracts.org is an interactive website that explores these videos in more depth. In addition to the video content, the website has informative infographics and a link to the full report on alternatives for hydraulic fracturing entitled Fret or Fete: Property Rights Policy Alternatives for Hydraulic Fracturing Oversight.
Where can I learn more about the authors?
Terry Anderson is the John and Jean De Nault Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and the William A. Dunn Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Property and Environment Research Center (PERC), a free-market environmentalism think tank based in Bozeman, Montana. His research launched the idea of free-market environmentalism and has prompted a public debate over the proper role of government in managing natural resources. A link to his full bio can be found here.
Carson Bruno is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, who primarily studies California’s public policy, electoral politics, and public opinion landscapes. He writes and speaks extensively on California’s drought and water system, its energy portfolio and climate change actions, and California’s economic environment. Carson became interested in the topic of hydraulic fracturing during the 2013 debate surrounding how California should regulate the process, which resulted in the passage of SB 4. A link to his full bio can be found here.
Was this project funded by the oil and gas industry?
No, the authors of this project did not receive any funding nor were commissioned by the oil and gas industry.
Are there other Hoover Institution resources I can explore on the topic of hydraulic fracturing?
Yes; Richard Epstein – the Peter and Kirsten Bedford Senior Fellow – wrote Thomas Friedman’s Fracking Fallacy in August 2012, Fear of Fracking in October 2011, and The Fracking Panacea in June 2011; Gary Libecap – a Hoover Institution research fellow – wrote Three Cheers for Fracking in March 2014; the late Gary Becker examined the topic in his April 2012 piece Fracking and Self-Sufficiency in Gas and Oil; and the John and Jean De Nault Research Fellow Russ Roberts hosted Gregory Zuckerman in a June 2014 episode of EconTalk dedicated to the rise of hydraulic fracturing.
What is free-market environmentalism?
Free-market environmentalism is an approach to environmental problems that focuses on improving environmental quality using property rights and markets. It emphasizes three important points: 1) markets, property rights, and the rule of law are fundamental to economic growth, and economic growth is fundamental to improving environmental quality; 2) property rights make the environment an asset rather than a liability by giving owners an incentive for stewardship; and 3) markets and the process of exchange give people who have different ideas and values regarding the use of natural resources a way of cooperating rather than fighting. Learn more here.
What are property rights?
Property rights are the right or ability – as determined by law – for individuals, associations, or governments to control, benefit from, enforce ownership of, and transfer property. In most cases, property rights protect the owner from taking another’s without due compensation. In order for strong property rights to exist, there must be an incorruptible system in place to clearly define, consistently monitor, and strictly enforce the right.