science

November 1, 2013

Liberal Voices. A Response to the EC Public Consultation on Sustainable Buildings

The European Commission wants to gather views and additional information on the possible introduction of EU wide measures to achieve better environmental performance of buildings.
November 1, 2013

Liberal Voices. A Response to the EC Consultation on Sustainability of the Food System

A growing number of analyses question the long-term sustainability of the current trends in the production and consumption of food. Many of today´s food production systems compromise the capacity of Earth to produce food in the future.
April 1, 2013

On Our Way to 9 Billion: Can Europe Afford to Lose Out on the Potential of GMOs?

By 2050 the world will need to produce almost twice as much food and feed in the same agricultural area as today. Modern genetic engineering – with crops that use water, nutrients, energy, and land more efficiently – is one of the keys.
June 1, 2012

A World Waiting for Antibiotics: Six Reasons Why Antibiotics Resistance Plagues the World

Every year, between 180 and 260 people in Sweden die as a result of antibiotic resistance. Responsibility for increasing antibiotic resistance is often placed on doctors and consumers. It is argued that customer-oriented physicians and self-serving patients are driving the problem through increased prescribing.
March 1, 2012

Peak Whale, Peak Oil: On Oil and the Role of Private Property in Natural-resource Conservation

There are no historical examples of a raw material running out. Even if the available amount of certain raw materials is very limited and the demand for many of them, such as gold, has been high over the millennia, they have not run out. The price mechanism has ensured that supply met demand.
March 1, 2012

The Energy Revolution is Already Here… But It Did Not Come From Where It Was Expected

Hydraulic fracturing, or ‘fracking’, has revolutionised world energy markets, making the United States into a net exporter of natural gas and drastically reducing its dependence on foreign oil. Because of the widespread availability of shale gas, many other countries could experience the same dramatic transformation.
June 1, 2011

Germany Says Goodbye to Nuclear Energy… for the Second Time

The cost of Ms Merkel’s decision to close all nuclear power stations by 2022 will be paid by all consumers. And it remains to be seen how German businesses will adapt so as not to endanger their international competitiveness.
May 1, 2011

LFMI Response to Public Consultation Permit Granting Procedures for Energy Infrastructure Projects

It should be understood that even the best sounding initiatives can be bogged down by the intricate legislation. Imposing time limits is a good idea, but measures must be taken that they do not create negative effects on their own.
May 1, 2010

Are Green Jobs Real Jobs? The Case of Italy

The European Union has committed itself to increase the share of renewable energy up to 20% of the final consumption by 2020, from 9.2% in 2006 (EC 2009). The same political wave is mounting in several other countries, most notably the United States.