I’m a mild mannered guy. But nothing gets my goat like crony-capitalism. So when I was asked by Freedom Action to man a bull horn at a protest of General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt—America’s #1 rent-seeker—I couldn’t resist.
Here’s the background: On July 11, Mr. Immelt was invited to keynote a luncheon given to the topic of “free enterprise.” Mr. Immelt was an ironic choice, in light of the fact that he has spent his corporate career trying to get government to pass laws that force people to use GE products and, to add insult to injury, also subsidize the production of those products. (To read more about Mr. Immelt’s rent-seeking ways, see here, here, and here.) Of course, having America’s leading crony capitalist speak about free enterprise is beyond the pale. This outrage prompted about 30 free-marketeers, myself included, to demonstrate outside the venue where Mr. Immelt was invited to speak. The video is below. I’m the bald sweaty guy with the bullhorn.
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I would loathe global warming alarmists less if I could find one who is willing to walk the walk. For example, I would like Al Gore, if he lived like a pauper. I wouldn’t agree with him, but I would respect him. Instead, he preaches sacrifice for the world, while he lives the life of a glutton. That’s annoying.
I think that Mr. Gore’s two-faced approach to the “climate crisis,” as he calls it, is indicative of the green movement as a whole. To be precise, middle and upper class white Americans want “to do something” about the supposed problem of climate change, but they don’t want to be the ones to do it. Instead, they want “polluters” to pay, apparently not realizing that they themselves are the “polluters.”
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There are many reasons to dislike wind power. For some people, giant wind turbines mar scenic vistas. Others don’t like it because it’s an unreliable, expensive source of electricity. I hate it reflexively, because the government forces us to use it, but that’s only an ancillary explanation of my anti-wind beliefs. To me, wind power is most objectionable because it kills things that I enjoy, like human beings.
Yesterday, the Los Angeles Times reported that there were 281 occupational health “incidents” in the wind power industry last year. Since the late 1970s, wind power has killed 78 people. It is ironic, in the Alanis Morissettian sense of the word, that global warming has yet to kill anyone, but wind power—a global warming “solution”—has taken out nearly 4 score humans.
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Environmentalist special interests run the sleaziest attack ads in the business, as has been noted before on this blog, and also by my colleague Marlo Lewis. It doesn’t matter if you are a Republican (like Sen. Scott Brown) or a Democrat (like Sen. Mary Landrieu)—if you don’t toe the green line, then environmentalist advocacy groups will go for your jugular. Almost always, these enviro organizations try to pin an allegation of child abuse on those with whom they disagree. Classy!
Case in point: The American Lung Association’s tasteless new television ad campaign, which I’ve posted at the end of this blog. Here’s how the ALA described the spot in a press release:
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Last week, President Barack Obama announced that his administration would again increase fuel efficiency standards for new cars and trucks. According to one knowledgeable source, these auto regulations are pie-in-the-sky. Nonetheless, environmentalists are dissatisfied.
Usually, when environmentalists oppose environmental policy, it’s because the measure in question isn’t green enough. In California, for example, environmentalists oppose to solar power in the Mojave Desert, based on the fact that the installation of solar panels might hurt a tortoise. However, in the case of the President’s new fuel efficiency standards, environmentalists oppose the policy because it isn’t free-market enough. Seriously. Consider this amazing excerpt, from the Associated Press’s weekend write up of the new fuel efficiency regulations,
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Obama’s CAFE Fairy Tale
Henry Payne, The Michigan View, 29 July 2011
EPA’s Air Quality Overkill
Steve Milloy, Washington Times, 29 July 2011
Heartland Responds to Nature
Joseph Bast, Heartland Institute, 28 July 2011
Polar Bear Scientist Under Investigation
Becky Bohrer, AP, 28 July 2011
New Paper “On the Misdiagnosis Of Surface Temperature Feedbacks From Variations In Earth’s Radiant Energy Balance”
Roger Pielke Sr., Climate Science, 26 July 2011
Big Green Blocks Oil Pipeline, Thousands of Jobs
Washington Examiner editorial, 28 July 2011
Federal “Clean Energy” Loan Guarantee: Crazy Dollars for Bubble Jobs
Vance Ginn, Master Resource, 28 July 2011
Markey’s Posturing on Revenue Sharing
Iain Murray, Planet Gore, 27 July 2011
Indefensible Enviro Agitprop
Paul Chesser, American Spectator, 27 July 2011
Amazing Job Security for EPA Bureaucrats
Dennis Cauchon, USA Today, 19 July 2011
Yesterday morning I reported on an intensifying showdown between two branches of government over a controversial loan guarantee issued to Solyndra, Inc., a California-based rooftop solar components manufacturer. In a nutshell, the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations (of the Energy and Commerce Committee) is looking into whether Solyndra’s $535 million loan guarantee had anything to do with the fact that the solar company’s chief financial backer was a major fundraiser for President Barack Obama’s campaign. Further casting suspicion on the loan guarantee was its suspicious timing, almost 10 months before the next such issuance. Only months after the loan guarantee was granted, Solyndra suffered major financial difficulties, and the company had to shutter a plant. Since January, the Subcommittee has been investigating whether taxpayer dollars were put at undue risk so that the President could reward a political friend, but the Office of Management and Budget has stonewalled the inquiry. The OMB has refused to produce documents, and also to send a representative to testify before the Subcommittee. After months of obfuscation, the Subcommittee got fed up, and voted on July 14 to subpoena documents from the OMB. These documents were due yesterday morning at 9:00 A.M.
Last night, Energy and Environment News PM reported that OMB failed to produce any information, and instead asked for until Friday to produce almost 300 pages of documents. E&E PM reporter John McArdle quoted this email reaction from a Subcommittee staffer:
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Wind Power: Politically Correct Environmental Damage
Tom Tanton, Master Resource, 26 July 2011
Green Cops Aren’t Better for the Planet
Dennis Byrne, Chicago Tribune, 26 July 2011
Exporting Gas Benefits America
Nicolas Loris, The Foundry, 25 July 2011
Global Warming Panel to Earth’s Rescue, on UN’s Dime?
Rachel Marsden, Human Events, 24 July 2011
Is EPA’s Purpose Protecting the Environment, or Shuttering Industry?
Bryan Shaw, Washington Examiner, 23 July 2011
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