“… the doctrine of ‘social responsibility’ involves the acceptance of the socialist view that political mechanisms, not market mechanisms, are the appropriate way to determine the allocation of scarce resources to alternative uses.” (- Milton Friedman, 1970)
Lisa Sachs, director of the Columbia Center for Sustainable Investment, is all-in with climate alarmism and forced energy transformation. No debate allowed about fundamental premises, despite my best efforts to persuade her otherwise.
Today, she is tangled up in the subjectivity and contradictions of “socially responsible” investing. Business is the process of winning profits and avoiding losses, with distractions such as “socially responsible” minimized. Yes, ethical norms should be respected, as Milton Friedman clearly stated in his seminal essay, “The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits.” But business is not government or a charity.…
Ed note: The current debate regarding the 2009 EPA Endangerment Finding can be enriched by a historical review of climate alarmism and its critics. This repost on fair reporting on the climate issue, a rarity for the New York Times, is relevant in this regard.
“The skeptics contend that forecasts of global warming are flawed and overstated and that the future might even hold no significant warming at all. Some say that if the warming is modest, as they believe likely, it could bring benefits like longer growing seasons in temperate zones, more rain in dry areas and an enrichment of crops and plant life.”
…”’The expense [of climate policy] is patently obvious,’ said one of the most outspoken skeptics, Patrick Michaels, a professor of environmental sciences at the University of Virginia and a former president of the American Meteorological Society.
“I’ve yet to meet a blue-collar worker at a cleantech conference, nor have I met one at cleantech dinner tables. The industry needs to ditch its self-righteous virtue signaling and stop relying on handouts.” (- a Cleantech veteran, below)
“Is this really the climate movement’s next chapter?” asked Stephen Lacey, cofounder and executive editor of Latitude Media, a publication “covering the new frontiers of the energy transition.”
…If so, it will end in nothing more than further alienating voters. The progressive approach to climate mobilization has largely failed to build durable coalitions and policies. The election of Trump clearly showed that kitchen table issues matter most. We are in an extraordinary moment where people are struggling to pay their energy bills — and this is the answer? I agree with Michael Liebreich that we need a deep, pragmatic climate reset.