Go Industrial, Not 'Green' (Part II)

By -- September 24, 2011 12 Comments

[Editor note: Mr. Epstein, a new Principal at MasterResource, is Founder of the Center for Industrial Progress. Part I appeared yesterday.]

But what about the “environmental impact” of industrial development? Isn’t the “green” movement providing a salutary influence us by helping us combat that problem? Again, no.

The idea of “environmental impact” is what philosopher Ayn Rand called an “intellectual package-deal.” Such a concept dishonestly packages together two very different things—the impact of development on the human environment and the impact of development on the non-human environment.

Industrial development will certainly often harm various non-human environments—but it is a godsend to the human environment. By lumping together concern with the non-human environment (e.g., displacing some caribou to get billions of barrels of the lifeblood of civilization) and the human environment (e.g.,…

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"The Skeptical Environmentalist": A Ten Year Appreciation (Bjørn Lomborg vindication of the late Julian Simon continues to resonate today)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- September 9, 2011 7 Comments

Ten years ago this month, a landmark book was published that put neo-Malthusianism on the defensive. The unvarnished facts were there to weaken doom-and-gloom prognostications, but it took a rare individual named Julian Simon (1932–1998)  ) to uncover the anomalies and present them in integrated and compelling form–and to win the most famous wager in the history of economics!

Then came a young Dane named Bjørn Lomborg set out to refute Simon but instead rediscovered the bogey of fixed-pie, depletionist thinking. This audacious 36-year-old also found that whether the result was of market progress or regulation, virtually all environmental indicators were trending positively, not negatively. Lomborg could agree with the title of Simon’s last major public address, “More People, Greater Wealth, Expanded Resources, Cleaner Environment.”

A Heated Debate

And then, with the debate joined, came a slew of establishment neo-Malthusians, led by John Holdren, now Obama’s science advisor, who got emotional and nit-picked.…

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Obama Speech Shocker: "Keynesianism, Malthusianism Have Compromised My Presidency" (Credits IHS seminars for his intellectual turnaround)

By -- 6 Comments

It was supposed to be a speech about government engineering for job growth, including giving America another dose of “green jobs.”

What it turned out to be was the greatest surprise in the history of presidential speechmaking–a prime time address that the founding fathers would have applauded.

And the genesis of last night was several months ago when Obama decided to audit (through remote technology) the summer seminars held by the Institute of Humane Studies at George Mason University to learn about the ideas and ideals of a free society.

“‘Sleep less, think more’. That intrigued me,” said Obama after his address calling for deregulating the tax code by eliminating special provisions across-the-board; privatizing an estimated $1.5 trillion in federal assets over the next four years  to transition away from New Deal/Great Society welfarism; and establish a commission to explore separating government from money and banking.…

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MasterResource: 2Q-2011 Activity Report

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- July 8, 2011 No Comments

MasterResource, a premier free-market energy blog, is two-and-a-half years old. Since beginning in late 2008, we have published approximately eight hundred posts from 100 authors. Our total views will exceed the magical one million mark in the current quarter. Comments from our loyal, sophisticated readership add substance to many of the in-depth posts.

This site has covered a variety of energy issues on the state, national, and even international level. But our most active area has been the growing backlash against industrial wind turbines. MasterResource is pleased to have become a leading voice for citizens, environmentalists, and small-government  advocates who have united against this intrusive, wildly uneconomic, and government-enabled energy form.

Our concept is different from most blogs. With one in-depth post per day, we have created an open book of mini-chapters, creating a scholarly resource and a historical record for the energy and energy/environmental debates.…

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The Great Resource Debate (Part III: Pessimists get Optimistic!)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- June 21, 2011 3 Comments Continue Reading

Appreciating the Master Resource (Part II: Energy Foes Agree!)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- June 20, 2011 2 Comments Continue Reading

Appreciating the Master Resource (Part I: Energy Friends)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- June 17, 2011 2 Comments Continue Reading

In Denial: Thomas Friedman's (Self) Limits to (Intellectual) Growth

By -- June 10, 2011 4 Comments Continue Reading

Electricity: The Master Form of the Master Resource

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- May 26, 2011 2 Comments Continue Reading

NAS Panel Backs Manufactured Crisis to Tame Climate Change

By Chip Knappenberger -- May 25, 2011 8 Comments Continue Reading