Policy Papers and Longer Essays

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Over 200 op-eds and columns in, among others, The Wall Street Journal, Le Monde, Salon, The Daily Beast, Quillette, Breakthrough Journal, PERC Reports, Spiked!, New Geography, Master Resource, AIER and nearly all generalist and many specialized (primarily energy and food) Canadian outlets (both English and French).

Jump to: Food Policy; Environmental Debates; Urban and Economic Development; Energy Policy

Food policy

Desrochers, P. 2022. “Maine’s Mysterious New ‘Right to Food.’ Is this addition to the state’s constitution a libertarian advance or a Trojan horse?” Regulation, vol. 45, no. 1 (Spring): 6-9 (with Pierre Lemieux).

Desrochers, P. 2022. Regenerative Agriculture and the Denial of Comparative Advantage: Part 3 – Agricultural Productivity and Standards of Living Econlog (January 23).

Desrochers, P. 2022. “Regenerative Agriculture and the Denial of Comparative Advantage: Part 2: Public Granaries.” Econlog (January 12).

Desrochers, P. 2021. “Regenerative Agriculture and the Denial of Comparative Advantage. Recreating Old Problems? Part 1: Food Security.” Econlog (December 24).

Desrochers, P. 2021. “Ancient Wisdom as Antidote to the Local Food Activists’ Hatred of Intermediaries.” Online Library of Liberty (Reading Room) (November 16).

Desrochers, P. and Szurmak, J. 2021. “Opinion: Food ‘self-sufficiency’ is a recipe for disaster.” Financial Post (August 18).

Desrochers, P. and Szurmak, J. 2019. “Five Myths Propagated by Local-Food Activists.” American Institute for Economic Research (articles) (November 14).

Desrochers, P. 2019. “‘Eat Local’ Food Movement Doomed to Fail in Ontario and Beyond.” AfroNews (October 25).

Desrochers, P. 2019. “It’s Not the End of Agriculture as We Know It.” American Institute for Economic Research (articles) (August 13).

Desrochers, P. and Brookes, K. 2018. “Canadian Food Policy – Let supermarkets keep innovating.” Montreal Economic Institute (November 14) (French version).

Desrochers P. and Vester, K. 2018. “Dialogue: Should Food Come from Near or Far?” Alberta Views (May 23).

Desrochers, P. 2018. “‘Local Food’ revolution is No Solution.” Telegraph-Journal (May 8).

Desrochers, P. 2016. “The Madness of Locavorism.” Grains West (June).

Desrochers, P. 2014. “The Latest Culinary Fad: Famine Food.” Spiked! (September 17) (French version).

Desrochers, P. 2014. “On the Pitfalls of Urban Food Production.” New Geography (September 6).

Desrochers, P. 2014. “On Earth Day, Celebrate the Green Benefits of Our Globalized Food Supply Chain.” iedm.org (April 29) (French version).

Desrochers, P. 2013. “The Locavores Delusion. Truer Advertising for the Local Food Debate.” Fair Observer (September 21).

Desrochers, P. 2013. “Locavorism Vs Resource Efficiency.” MasterResource (July 18).

Desrochers, P. 2013. “Les souverainistes alimentaires font fausse route.” iedm.org (March 25).

Shimizu, H., and Desrochers, P. 2013. “Beyond Locavorism: Food Diversity for Food Security (carbon-fuel transport remains essential).” MasterResource (February 22). (French translation)

Shimizu, H., and Desrochers, P. 2012. “Locavores or Loco-vores?” The American Magazine (September 18).

Shimizu, H., and Desrochers, P. 2012. “Huile de palme : pas si mauvaise que ça.” La Tribune (September 13).

Shimizu, H., and Desrochers, P. 2012. “Liberated from gruel and mush.” Spiked (August 23).

Shimizu, H., and Desrochers, P. 2012. “Book Excerpt: Why eating ‘global’ is more sustainable than eating ‘local’.” National Post (August 22).

Shimizu, H., and Desrochers, P. 2012. “Debating Locavores: Food to Energy to Smart Action (response to critics).” MasterResource (August 10).

Shimizu, H., and Desrochers, P. 2012. “Manger local est-il raisonable? Pas évident!” International Center for Research on Environmental Issues – ICREI (August 6).

Shimizu, H., and Desrochers, P. 2012. “Local food movement leads to less security.” TheStar.com (July 8).

Guest Blog Post. Sand and Feathers (Lenore Newman). July 8, 2012. (Reply to Deconstructing The Locavore’s Dilemma: A response to Pierre Desrochers. Sand and Feathers, July 8, 2012).

Shimizu, H., and Desrochers, P. 2012. “Why Locavorism Doesn’t Make Us Happier, Healthier, or Safer.” The Daily Beast (July 1st).

Shimizu, H., and Desrochers, P. 2012. “Point of View: Pierre Desrochers and Hiroko Shimizu on the Locavore’s Dilemma.” Geographical, no. 84, vol. 7 (July), p. 77.

Shimizu, H., and Desrochers, P. 2012. “The Locavore’s Delusion.” Fraser Forum (July-August).

Shimizu, H., and Desrochers, P. 2012. “Eating local hurts the planet.” Salon (June 16).

Shimizu, H., and Desrochers, P. 2012. “Taking on the Locavores.” Le Québécois Libre (June 15).

Shimizu, H., and Desrochers, P. 2012. “Taking on the Locavores.” Freedom Forum (June 7).

Shimizu, H., and Desrochers, P. 2012. “Tribalism and the Local Food Movement.” Mises Institute of Canada (April 12).

Shimizu, H., and Desrochers, P. 2010. “‘Food miles’: il dilemma degli attivisti e una scomoda verità.” La Valle del Siele (November 11).

Desrochers, P. 2010. “L’autosufficienza alimentare non è garanzia di sviluppo sostenibile.” La Valle del Siele (October 29).

Desrochers, P. 2010. “La spesa a km 0: una moda effimera.” La Valle del Siele (October 25).

Desrochers, P. and Shimizu, H. 2010. “La souveraineté alimentaire n’est pas gage de développement durable.” iedm.org (October 16).

Shimizu, H., and Desrochers, P. 2010. “Food Miles: The Local Food Activists’ Dilemma (a global warming inconvenient truth).” MasterResource (October 15).

Desrochers, P. and Shimizu, H. 2010. “Le mythe de l’autosuffisance.” L’AGEFI (October 14).

Desrochers, P. and H. Shimizu. 2010. “L’autosuffisance alimentaire n’est pas gage de développement durable.” Institut économique Molinari, Economic Note (October 7).

Desrochers, P. and Shimizu, H. 2010. “L’autosuffisance alimentaire n’est pas gage de développement durable.” Le Monde.fr (September 29).

Desrochers, P. 2010. “L’achat local sauvera-t-il la planète?” Libération (May 12).

Elton, S. and P. Desrochers. 2010. “Local food: Is it good or bad?” The Globe and Mail (March 17).

Shimizu, H., and P. Desrochers. 2010. “Will buying food locally save the planet?” Montreal Economic Institute, Economic Note (February 16).

Desrochers, P. and H. Shimizu. 2010. “L’achat local de nourriture sauvera-t-il la planète?” Institut économique de Montréal, Note économique (16 février).

Desrochers, P. 2010. “Local Food: A Fad that won’t Last.” CBC Commentary (February 15).

Desrochers, P. 2010. “La souveraineté alimentaire et l’achat local: Une mode éphémère.” Commentaires de Radio-Canada (15 février).

Shimizu, H., and Desrochers, P. 2009. “Buy Global.” Reader’s Digest (Canada) (June), pp. 70-74.

Shimizu, H., and Desrochers, P. 2008. “Buy Global – The ‘Food Mile’ Perspective Severely Distorts the Environmental Impacts of Agricultural Production.” National Post (November 7).

Desrochers, P. 2002 “Free-Market Environmentalism,” Laissez Faire Books (April).

Older columns on the topic can be found in Le Québécois Libre archives.

Environmental debates

Desrochers, P. 2023. “Market-driven innovation much greener than government ‘net-zero’ mandates. Market incentives are inherently compatible with beneficial energy and economic transitions.” The Hub (April 27).

Desrochers, P. 2023. “Fossil fuels—a huge net benefit to humanity. Fossil fuels and synthetic products drastically reduced the need for materials made from animals and plants.” The Hub (April 5).

Desrochers, P. 2023. “Markets Have Always Delivered What ‘Circular Economy’ Advocates Want. Manufacturers have never needed to be told there’s money to be made in eliminating waste.” The Hub (February 13).

Desrochers, P. 2022. “From Prometheus to Arcadia, Part 2: Liberals, Conservatives, the Environment, and Cultural Cognition.” Econlib Articles (June 6).

Desrochers, P. 2022. “Environmental Despair Springs Eternal, Part 4: The Invisible Hand’s Green Thumb.” Econlog (April 28).

Desrochers, P.. 2022. “Environmental Despair Springs Eternal, Part 3: Mentors of the Modern Environmentalist Movement.” Econlog (April 25).

Desrochers, P. 2022. “Earth Day Despair (Needlessly) Springs Eternal.” Fraser Institute Blog (April 22).

Desrochers, P. 2022. “Environmental Despair Springs Eternal, Part 2 : Malthusianism in the Industrial Age.” Econlog (April 22).

Desrochers, P. 2022. “Environmental Despair Springs Eternal, Part 1: Ancient Green Ideas.” Econlog (April 20)

Desrochers, P. 2022. “From Prometheus to Arcadia: Human Supremacy, Carrying Capacity and Ecological Footprints.” Econlog (April 4).

Desrochers, P. 2021. “Ancient Wisdom on Climate and Society, Part 2.” Econlog (December 13).

Desrochers, P. 2021. “Ancient Wisdom on Climate Change and Society, Part 1” Econlog (December 3).

Desrochers, P. and Szurmak, J. 2021. “Why Dr Ehrlich Should Stop Worrying about the Population Bomb and Love Humanity.” Econlog (November 19).

Desrochers, P. and Szurmak, J. 2021. “Opinion: Don’t ban plastics. They help green the Earth.” Financial Post (June 30) (More detailed original version available at Fraser Institute).

Desrochers, P. and Szurmak, J. 2019. “Eco-Pessimism versus Techno-Optimism.” Areo (August 6).

Desrochers, P. and Szurmak, J. 2019. “Population Bombed!” Frontier Centre for Public Policy (July 14).

Desrochers, P. and Szurmak, J. 2019. “Population Density and Resource Abundance: Turning the Malthusian Logic on its Head.” New Geography (July 10).

Desrochers, P. and Szurmak, J. 2019. “The More the Green Crusade Changes, the More It Remains the Same.” New Geography (May 15).

Desrochers, P. and Szurmak, J. 2019. “Don’t Blame Population Growth for Our Pollution Problems.” The Globe and Mail (May 6).

Desrochers, P. and Szurmak, J. 2019. “Growing Global Population: Burden or Boon to the Environment?” The Hill Times (April 17).

Desrochers, P. and Szurmak, J. 2019. “Was climate change alarmism always about fears of overpopulation?” Watts Up With That? (February 11).

Desrochers, P. and Szurmak, J. 2019. “The Terrors Of Dr. Suzuki.” C2C (February 6).

Szurmak, J. and Desrochers, P. 2018. “The One-sided Worldview of Eco-Pessimists.” Quillette (December 3).

Desrochers, P. and Szurmak, J. 2018. “For 200 Years Pessimists have Predicted we’d ruin the Planet. They’re still Wrong.” Financial Post (October 12).

Desrochers, P. and Szurmak, J. 2018. “History Lesson in Technological Optimism: Simon, Jevons, and Lardner.” Fee.org (March 24).

Desrochers, P. 2017. “A Re-Look at ‘The Bet’ (Simon, Ehrlich, and Paul Sabin).” Master Resource (April 5).

Desrochers P. 2015. “No Limits to Growth.” National Post (Financial Post) (September 29) (with Vincent Geloso).

Desrochers P. 2015. “The Simon-Ehrlich Wager 25 Years On: As the Famous Environmentalist Bet Showed, Malthusians are always wrong.” Spiked! (September 29).

Desrochers P. 2015. “Petrol Power: An Eco-Revolution. The rise of petroleum-powered transport was an environmental boon.” Spiked! (July 20).

Desrochers P. and Guénette, J. 2015. “Resourceful Earth Day (Celebrate Freedom, Innovation).” Master Resource (April 22).

Desrochers P. and Guénette, J. 2015. “Célébrer la liberté d’entreprendre.” La Presse (April 22).

Desrochers, P. 2014. “A Colourful History of Progress: The Development of Synthetic Dyes was a Mini Industrial Revolution.” Spiked! (November 18).

Desrochers, P. 2013. “Greed Is Green: How the Profit Motive Helps the Environment.” The American (April 19).

Desrochers, P. 2012. “The real story of Silent Spring.” Spiked.com (September 28).

Desrochers, P. 2010. “Il capitalismo ecologico.” La Valle del Siele (December 21).

Desrochers, P. 2010. “Earth Day: Humanity — Earth’s best friend.” National Post (April 22).

Desrochers, P. 2010. “Le capitalisme écologique.” Cyberpresse.ca (April 22).

Desrochers, P. 2009. “Deconstructing The Population Bomb.” PERC Reports (online edition) 27 (3) (September).

Desrochers, P. 2009. “World Population Day: Malthus lives!,” National Post (July 10) (with Andrew Reed).

Desrochers, P. 2007. “Climat : le protocole de Kyoto est-il efficace ?” La Tribune (December 11).

Desrochers, P. 2006. “Having your Environmental Cake and Eating it Too!” Le Québécois Libre (November 5).

Desrochers, P. 2006. “A Poverty of Reason: A Manifesto Against Sustainable Development.” Le Québécois Libre (July 9).

Desrochers, P. 2006. “Que penser de la simplicité volontaire? Un courant marginal.” Protégez-vous (January 1) p. 21.

Desrochers, P. 2005. “Le Protocole de Kyoto: un coup d’épée dans l’air,” Le Québécois Libre (December 15).

Desrochers, P. 2005. “La pollution, c’est du gaspillage!,” Le Journal de Québec (28 avril) p. 15

Desrochers, P. 2005. “One Man’s Waste Is Another Man’s…?” Tech Central Station (April 22).

Desrochers, P. 2003. “Regulatory Roadblocks to Turning Waste to Wealth,” Ideas on Liberty (September) pp. 20-22

Desrochers, P. 2003. “‘Planned Chaos’: Industrial Waste Recycling in Communist Countries,” Ideas on Liberty (August) p. 25.

Desrochers, P. 2003. “The Unsustainable Politics of ‘Natural Capitalism’,” Ideas on Liberty (June) pp. 20-23.

Desrochers, P. 2003. “Saving the Environment for a Profit, Victorian-Style,” Ideas on Liberty (May) pp. 32-35.

Desrochers, P 2003. “Le progrès économique et l’environnement sont indissociables,” Le Soleil (Avril) p. A-13.

Desrochers, P. 2003. “OPINION: Profit-making is good for the environment,” The Gazette (April 22) p. A-25.

Desrochers, P. 2003 “Greed is green,” Financial Post (March 29) p. FP-11.

Desrochers, P. 2002. “La forêt menacée?,” La Presse (February 28) p. A-15.

Older columns on the topic can be found in Le Québécois Libre archives.

Urban and economic development

Green, Kenneth P., Desrochers, P. Herzog, I. Filipowicz, J. 2016. “Local governments in GTA have tools to increase housing supply, affordability.” Fraser Institute (July 18).

Desrochers P. and Filipowicz, J. 2016. “Pour un Grand Montréal plus compétitif – un assouplissement du processus réglementaire de la construction résidentielle.” Fraser Institute (April 12).

Ambler, S. Belzile, G. Desrochers, P. Elgrably-Lévy, N. Lemieux, P. and Simard, P. 2015. “Sur l’idéalisme de la contrainte statistique.” La Presse (November 22).

Desrochers, P.. 2014. “The TTIP and the future of EU free trade agreements.” EPICENTER (October).

Desrochers, P. 2011. “Growing the Next Silicon Valley? The State Vs Spontaneous Order” Polit.ru Lecture Series (April 8) (in Russian).

Belzile, G. and Desrochers, P. 2010. “Il n’y a pas de pénurie de logements au Québec” multilogements.wordpress.com (15 juillet).

Belzile, G. and Desrochers, P. 2010. “Facts regarding the so-called housing shortage” iedm.org (July 14).

Belzile, G. and Desrochers, P. 2010. “Il n’y a pas de pénurie de logements au Québec” cyberpresse.ca (14 juillet).

Desrochers, P. 2002. “Shattering shelter myths,” The Gazette (June 29) p. B-7.

Kelly-Gagnon, M. and Desrochers, P. 2002. “Échec à la pauvreté: Le projet de loi antipauvreté constitue-t-il un pas dans la bonne direction? Non, la situation des ménages moins favorisés s’est beaucoup améliorée au fil des ans,” La Presse (June 18) p. A-15.

Desrochers, P. 2002. “Quelques mythes sur la banlieue,” La Presse (March 17) p. A-13.

Desrochers, P. 2002. “FORUM / L’étalement urbain n’est pas une tragédie,” La Presse (January 9) p. A-13.

Desrochers, P. 2002. “Debating urban design,” The Globe and Mail (January 9) p. A-11.

Desrochers, P. 2001. “Cités industrielles: une politique à revoir,” La Presse (October 22) p. A-17.

“The Secret Past of Recycling,” PERC Reports (September 1999).

Older columns on the topic can be found in Le Québécois Libre archives.

Energy policy

Desrochers, P. and Szurmak, J. 2022. “James Watt: “Bringing the Treasures of the Abyss to the Summit of the Earth.” Econlog (March 13).

Desrochers, P. and Szurmak, J. 2021. “Requiem for COP26: James Watt (‘the king said sail, but the wind said no…’).” Master Resource (November 16).

Desrochers, P. and Szurmak, J. 2021. “Politicians will ban fossil fuels at our peril.” Fraser Institute Blog (October 18).

Desrochers, P. and Szurmak, J. “Petroleum Trash to Treasure: Market Incentives Spark Human Ingenuity.” Master Resource (June 17).

Desrochers, P. and Szurmak, J. 2020. “From Blue Collar Icon to Green Radical. Planet of the Humans Michael Moore turns his back on working class politics by embracing neo-Malthusian eco-catastrophism.” New Geography (May 29).

Desrochers, P. and Szurmak, J. 2020. “The Flawed Worldview of ‘Planet of the Humans’ (Part II).” Master Resource (May 21).

Desrochers, P. and Szurmak, J. 2020. “The Flawed Worldview of ‘Planet of the Humans’ (Part I).” Master Resource (May 20).

Desrochers, P. and Reed, A. 2019. “Wind and Solar Power – the myth of ‘green’ energy.” Calgary Sun (October 9).

Desrochers, P. and Szurmak, J. 2018. “For 200 Years Pessimists have Predicted we’d ruin the Planet. They’re still Wrong.” Financial Post (October 12).

Desrochers, P. and Szurmak, J. 2018. “History Lesson in Technological Optimism: Simon, Jevons, and Lardner.” CEI Blog (March 22).

Desrochers, P. 2016. “Fossil Fuel Divestment: Futile, Misguided, Morally Questionable.” Master Resource (July 25).

Desrochers, P. 2015. “Evolution Vs Revolution.” Perspectives – Fuel (2015), pp. 4-9 (Canadian Fuels Association).

Desrochers, P. 2015. “Oil Power: An Eco-Revolution” (pp. 10-14) and “The Arteries of Our Civilization” (pp. 12-14), Pipeline Observer (Autumn).

Desrochers, P. 2015. “Notable & Quotable: Energy and the Catastrophists. ‘Alleged problems always trump real benefits.’” Wall Street Journal (October).

Desrochers P. 2015. “No Limits to Growth.” Financial Post (September 29) (with Vincent Geloso).

Desrochers P. 2015. “The Simon-Ehrlich Wager 25 Years On: As the Famous Environmentalist Bet Showed, Malthusians are always wrong.” Spiked! (September 29).

Desrochers P. 2015. “Petrol Power: An Eco-Revolution. The rise of petroleum-powered transport was an environmental boon.” Spiked! (July 20).

Desrochers, P. 2014. “Putting People’s Well-Being First: A Review of Alex Epstein’s The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels.” Le Québécois Libre (December 15).

Desrochers, P. 2014. “Du pétrole et des hommes.” Le Québécois Libre (November 15).

Shimizu, H. and Desrochers, P. 2014. “When to much precaution kills humans and wildlife: Part 2.” The Drill (September 24), B7.

Shimizu, H. and Desrochers, P. 2014. “When to much precaution kills humans and wildlife: Part 1.” The Drill (August 27), B6-B8.

Desrochers, P. 2014. “Some (Truly) Inconvenient Truths.” The Hill Times (August 18).

Shimizu, H. and Desrochers, P. 2014. “PART II: The C02 emissions crusade.” The Drill (July 30) pp. B6-B8.

Shimizu, H. and Desrochers, P. 2014. “PART I: The C02 emissions crusade.” The Drill (June 25) p. B6.

Desrochers, P. 2014. “Huston, nous avons un problème,” Le Devoir (June 21) (with Michel Kelly-Gagnon).

Shimizu, H. and Desrochers, P. 2014. “Energy Independence: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.” The Drill (May 28) p. A1.

Shimizu, H. and Desrochers, P. 2014. “Having your (Greener) Energy Cake and Eating it Too! The Contribution of George P. Mitchell.” The Drill (April, 30) p. A8.

Shimizu, H. and Desrochers, P. 2014. “Earth Hour: Cheap, abundant electricity is one of Earth’s best friends.” The Drill (March 26) p. A7.

Shimizu, H. and Desrochers, P. 2014. “The Inconvenient Truth about Green and Alternative Energies.” The Drill (February 26) p. A9.

Shimizu, H. and Desrochers, P. 2014. “Let the Tight Oil Crude and Oil Sands Bitumen Flow.” The Drill (January 29) p. A4.

Desrochers, P. 2014. “How carbon fuels kept the third horseman in check – Modern transportation & food security.” The Drill (January 01) p. B8. (French translation: “Comment les hydrocarbures ont terrassé le troisième cavalier – Transports modernes et sécurité alimentaire.” Institut économique Molinari, June 12, 2014.)

Shimizu, H. and Desrochers, P. 2013. “Fears of hydraulic fracturing – Hype over substance?” The Drill (November 27) p. B8. (French translation “Faut-il avoir peur de la fracturation hydraulique? Ou pourquoi le battage médiatique est responsable des craintes du public.” 24hGold, February 18, 2015).

Desrochers, P. 2013. “Apocalypse Not. How Carbon Fuels have Greened our Planet.” The Drill (September 30) p. B1. (French translation “L’apocalypse n’arrivera pas – Pourquoi les combustibles fossiles sont écologiques !” 24hGold, February 11, 2015).

Desrochers, P. 2013. “Oil is not an Addiction. It’s a Beneficial Nutrition for People and the Environment.” The Drill (September 25) p. B1. (French translation “La dépendance au pétrole n’existe pas : les bénéfices du pétrole pour l’environnement et pour la santé.” 24hGold, Jan. 29, 2015).

Desrochers, P. 2013. “Reclaiming the Moral High Ground (Epstein’s New Energy Primer).” MasterResource (July 8).

Desrochers, P. 2007. “Deregulation and the Future of Electric Power.” Le Québécois Libre (December 9).

Desrochers, P. 2003. “Le prix élevé de l’essence: qui est responsable?,” La Presse (February 27) p. A-15.

Older columns on the topic can be found in Le Québécois Libre archives.

POLICY PAPERS AND LONGER ESSAYS

Jump to: Food Policy; Energy and Environmental Issues; Urban and Economic Development

Food Policy

Desrochers, P. 2019. “The Myths of Local Food Policy – Lessons from the Economic and Social History of the Food System.” Fraser Institute (October). (Executive Summary).

Desrochers, P. 2018. “The Miracle of Supermarkets – The Perspective of the Austrian School of Economics” (with Kevin Brookes). Montreal Economic Institute (November) (French version).

Desrochers, P. 2013. “The Locavores Delusion. Truer Advertising for the Local Food Debate.” Fair Observer (September 21).

Desrochers, P. 2013. “The Politics on our Plate (Debate with Sarah Elton).” Literary Review of Canada (July-August).

Desrochers, P. and Shimizu, H. 2012. “Locavores or Loco-vores?” The American Magazine (September 18).

Desrochers, P. and Shimizu, H. 2012. “The health, environmental and economic benefits of palm oil,” Institut économique Molinari, Economic Note, September 13, 2012.

Desrochers, P. and Shimizu, H. 2012. “L’huile de palme : avantages sanitaires, environnementaux et économiques,” Institut économique Molinari, Economic Note (September 13).

Desrochers, P. and Shimizu, H. 2012. “Liberated from gruel and mush.” Spiked (August 23).

Desrochers, P. and Shimizu, H. 2012. “Book Excerpt: Why eating ‘global’ is more sustainable than eating ‘local’.” National Post (August 22).

Guest Blog Post. Sand and Feathers (Lenore Newman). July 8, 2012. (Reply to Deconstructing The Locavore’s Dilemma: A response to Pierre Desrochers. Sand and Feathers, July 8, 2012).

Desrochers, P. and Shimizu, H. 2012. “Why Locavorism Doesn’t Make Us Happier, Healthier, or Safer.” The Daily Beast (July 1st).

Desrochers, P. and Shimizu, H. 2012. “Eating local hurts the planet.” Salon (June 16).

Desrochers, P. and Shimizu, H. 2012. “Tribalism and the Local Food Movement.” Ludwig von Mises Institute of Canada (April 12).

Desrochers, P. and Shimizu, H. 2012. “Tribalismo E Localismo Alimentare.” Movimento Libertario (April 16) (translation Luigi Pirri).

Desrochers, P. and Shimizu, H. 2010. “L’autosuffisance alimentaire n’est pas gage de développement durable.” Institut économique Molinari, Research Paper (October 5).

Shimizu, H. and Desrochers, P. 2010. “Will buying food locally save the planet?” Montreal Economic Institute, Economic Note (February 16).

Desrochers, P. and Shimizu, H. 2010. “L’achat local de nourriture sauvera-t-il la planète?” Institut économique de Montréal, Note économique (16 février).

Desrochers, P. and Shimizu, H. 2010. “Arguments contre la souveraineté alimentaire et l’agriculture de proximité: essai de synthèse historique.” Possibles, vol. 34, no. 1-2 (été) pp. 191-228 (invited submission).

Desrochers, P. 2010. “A Critique of the ‘Food Miles’ Perspective.” In Max Falque and Henri Lamotte (eds). Climate Change and Air Pollution: Property Rights, Economics and Environment. Brussels: Bruylant, pp. 129-146.

Desrochers, P. and Shimizu, H. 2008. “Yes We Have No Bananas: A Critique of the Food Mile Perspective,” Mercatus Policy Series, Policy Primer No. 8 (October).

Energy and Environmental Issues

Desrochers, P. 2020. “Michael Moore Acknowledges: There Are No Alternatives to Energy Reality.” AIER (May 7) (French translation).

Desrochers, P. and Szurmak, J. 2020. “Seven Billion Solutions Strong: Why Markets, Growth, and Innovation Are the Antidote to Eco-Pessimism.” Breakthrough Journal, Vol. 12 (Winter).

Desrochers, P. and Szurmak, J. 2019. “The Long History of Eco-Pessimism.” Spiked! (October 25).

Desrochers, P. and Reed, A. 2019 “Generating Electricity in Canada from Wind and Sunlight: Is Getting Less for More Better than Getting More for Less?” Fraser Institute (July 30).

Szurmak, J. and Desrochers, P. 2018. “The One-sided Worldview of Eco-Pessimists.” Quillette (December 3).

Desrochers, P. and Shimizu, H. 2016. “Blowing Hot Air on the Wrong Target? A Critique of the Fossil Fuel Divestment Movement in Higher Education.” Frontier Centre for Public Policy (July).

Desrochers, P., Cross, P. and Shimizu, H. 2013. “The Economics of Petroleum Refining: Understanding the business of processing crude oil into fuels and other value added products,” Canadian Fuels Association (December).

Desrochers, P. and Shimizu, H. 2012. “Innovation and the greening of Alberta’s oil sands,” Montreal Economic Institute, Research Paper (October 11).

Desrochers, P. and Shimizu, H. 2012. “Comment l’innovation rend les sables bitumineux de l’Alberta plus verts,” Institut économique de Montréal, Cahier de recherche (11 octobre).

Desrochers, P. and Reed, A. 2009. “Forget ‘Unfettered’ Markets… It is Unfettered Governments that are No Friends to the Environment,” C2C: Canada’s Journal of Ideas, vol. 3, no. 1 (July) pp. 8-17. (PDF version)

Desrochers, P. and Reed, A. 2008. “The Invisible Green Hand,” Mercatus Policy Series, Policy Primer No. 7 (October).

Desrochers, P. 2005. Concilier profits et environnement: le recyclage des déchets industriels dans une économie de marché [in English: Reconciling Profits and Sustainable Development: Industrial Waste Recycling in Market Economies], Institut économique de Montréal, Research Paper (April).

Desrochers, P. 2005. Reconciling Profits and Sustainable Development: Industrial Waste Recycling in Market Economies, Montreal Economic Institute, Research Note (April).

Desrochers, P. 2003. Comment la recherche du profit améliore la qualité de l’environnement? [In English: Profitability and Sustainable Development: Are They Really Mutually Exclusive?] Research Paper, Institut économique de Montréal (April).

Desrochers, P. 2002. Comment assurer le développement durable de nos forêts? [in English: Institutions and Sustainable Forestry Practices]. Research Paper, Institut économique de Montréal (March).

Urban and Economic Development

Desrochers, P. and Shimizu, H. 2015. “Speed or Greed: Does Automated Traffic Enforcement Improve Safety or Generate Revenue?” Frontier Centre for Public Policy (December).

Desrochers, P. 2003. Quelques mythes sur les causes de la crise du logement [in English: Some Myths about the Quebec Housing Shortage] Research Paper, Institut économique de Montréal (May).

Desrochers, P. 2002. Comment résoudre la crise du logement au Québec? [in English: How to Solve the Quebec Housing Crisis?] Research Paper, Institut économique de Montréal (July).

Desrochers, P. 2001. Les ” Cités “: une politique efficace pour la nouvelle économie? [in English: The “Cités”: A Sensible Policy for the New Economy?] Research Paper, Institut économique de Montréal (October).

Desrochers, P. 2000. “Excludability, Creativity and the Case Against the Patent System,” Economic Affairs, vol. 20, no. 3 (September) pp. 14-16.

REVIEW ESSAYS

I have written a few review essays, i.e., somewhat lengthy critical discussions of other people’s writings, that I think can be of some interest to a non-academic audience. Here are my favourites:

Desrochers, P. 2020. “The Paradoxical Malthusian. A Promethean Perspective on Vaclav Smil’s Growth: From Microorganisms to Megacities (MIT Press, 2019) and Energy and Civilization: A History (MIT Press, 2017).” Energies, vol. 13, no. 20, article 5306.

Desrochers, P. and Geloso, V. 2016. “Snatching the Wrong Conclusions from the Jaws of Defeat: A Historical/Resourceship Perspective on Paul Sabin’s The Bet: Paul Ehrlich, Julian Simon, and Our Gamble over Earth’s Future (Yale University Press, 2013), Part 2: The Wager: Protagonists and Lessons.” New Perspectives on Political Economy, vol. 12, no. 1-2, pp. 42-64.

Desrochers, P. and Geloso, V. 2016. “Snatching the Wrong Conclusions from the Jaws of Defeat: A Historical/Resourceship Perspective on Paul Sabin’s The Bet: Paul Ehrlich, Julian Simon, and Our Gamble over Earth’s Future (Yale University Press, 2013). Part 1: The Missing History of Thought: Depletionism vs Resourceship.” New Perspectives on Political Economy, vol. 12, no. 1-2, pp. 5-41.

Desrochers, P. and Hoffbauer, C. 2009. “The Post War Intellectual Roots of the Population Bomb. Fairfield Osborn’s Our Plundered Planet and William Vogt’s Road to Survival in Retrospect.” Electronic Journal of Sustainable Development, vol. 1, issue 3 (Summer), pp. 73-97.

Desrochers, P. 2007. “The Death and Life of a Reluctant Urban Icon.” A Review Essay on Jane Jacobs: Urban Visionary by Alice Sparberg Alexiou (Toronto: HarperCollins Publishers, 2006). Journal of Libertarian Studies, vol. 21, no. 3 (Fall) pp. 115-36.

BOOK REVIEWS

A few non-gated book reviews that might be of interest to non-academics.

Desrochers, P. 2009. Review of Sex, Science and Profits by Terence Kealey (William Heinemann, 2008). Electronic Journal of Sustainable Development, vol. 1, issue 3 (Summer) pp. 111-114.

Desrochers, P. 2007. Review of Marc Levinson’s The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger (Princeton University Press, 2006), Independent Review, vol. 12, no. 1, (Summer) pp. 146-149.

Popular Writing