Washington City Paper: Contents for Mar. 8

Bull Market
Enron collapsed. The Earth is warming up. And GMU's Mercatus Center says the solution lies in two public policy heroes: supply and demand.

Cover Story

Enron collapsed. The Earth is warming up. And GMU's Mercatus Center says the solution lies in two public policy heroes: supply and demand.

Photographs by Charles Steck

There are plenty of laissez-faire Republicans who'll tell you that the greenhouse effect is bogus science. But in the Virginia suburbs, there's a stronghold of anti-regulation zealots who say that heightened ozone concentrations are, in fact, a public good.

The thinking goes like this: The ozone layer protects us from the sun's rays, fending off sunburns, skin cancer, and the like. But the ozone layer is thinning, so there's no harm in trying to patch up that protective coating with a little man-made ozone from, say, auto emissions. Sure, ground-level ozone, the key ingredient in smog, has been blamed for everything from kids' breathing problems to global warming. But there's no point trying to fight those ill effects if it just means more people, in the end, wind up suffering from sunstroke.

So declared a precursor to the Mercatus Center of George Mason University (GMU) in a 1997 public comment on a proposed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule setting new standards for ambient ozone. "Ozone protects against harmful ultra-violet radiation, and the detrimental health effects of increased UV-B penetration are likely to be greater than the projected health benefits of lowering ozone concentrations," the center wrote.... Continued

Issue of Mar. 8 - 14, 2002

News and Features

Bull Market
Enron collapsed. The Earth is warming up. And GMU's Mercatus Center says the solution lies in two public policy heroes: supply and demand.
Cover Story By Garance Franke-Ruta
Barrier to Gentry
Well-heeled dog owners can't get over the Freemasons' new fence.
The City By Felix Gillette
Secondhand Blues
Goodwill Industries faces financial difficulties in mountains of trash.
The City By Brian Montopoli
Arsenic and Old Lace
Nimby Tribunal By Dave Nuttycombe
Hugs, Not Drugs
The Mail By Todd Andrews
Head and Shoulders Below the Rest
The Mail By Laurie Wilkison
Money Talks
The Mail By Bryn K. Dolan
Aisle Be Damned
The Mail By Justin Estoque
Mixed Blessing
The Mail By Patricia Schultz and D.P.M.
Middle Ground
The Mail By Afi-Odelia E. Scruggs
Of Limited Utility
The Mail By Elizabeth A. Noel
Called to the Carpet
The Mail By Tony Porco
Top Cops
The Mail By Peter Schott
Capitalist Punishment
The Mail By Charles H. Ellis III
Natural Selection
The Mail By John H. Benton II

Columns

Let's Get Mikey!
Cheap Seats By Dave McKenna
Psych Out
City Desk By Annys Shin
Bread on Arrival
City Desk By Brian Montopoli
Rate Of Return
Loose Lips By Elissa Silverman

Eats

Movies

Morlock, Stock, and Barrel
Film Review By Sean Daly
Fatherland of the Bride
Film Review By Mark Jenkins

Music

There and Back Again
Music Review By John Murph
His Latest Flames
Music Review By Shannon Zimmerman
When We Were Small
Music Reviews By Pamela Murray Winters
Asleep in the Back
Music Reviews By Christopher Porter
Evangeline Made: A Tribute to Cajun Music
Music Reviews By Arion Berger
A Darker Bloom: The Blue Orchids Collection
Music Reviews By Leonard Roberge

Theater

Estate of Confusion
Theater Review By Bob Mondello
O Brother, Who Art Thou?
Theater Review By Christopher Hawthorne
Everything in Its Right Place
Theater Review By Pamela Murray Winters
Savage/Love
Theater Review By Neda Ulaby

Arts and Events

The Band That Fell to Earth
Books By Michael Little
Screen Test
Librarian Kent Moore hopes that a new film series will be enough to save his collection of 16 mm movies.
Arts By Aimee Agresti
Grief Intermission
Artifacts By Aimee Agresti
Designated Hit
Artifacts By Louis Jacobson
A Sound Education
Artifacts By Rachel K. Sobel