"Rebellion to Tyrants is Obedience to God“ Great Seal Of The United States – original 1776 motto by Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, and John Adams

Environmentalism The Challenge of Liberty: 2013 Summer Seminars for Students Independent Institute Colorado Springs, CO June 20, 2013 Paul T. Prentice, Ph.D.

What is “Environmentalism”?  No clear definition.  Webster: Advocacy of the preservation, restoration, or improvement of the natural environment; especially: the movement to control pollution.  Social consciousness, or political, movement?  Pagan religion?  Secular religion?  Judeo-Christian ethic – stewardship of the planet?  Seems to assume that “Man” exists apart and separate from the natural environment.  Anti-Human ethic?

Wikipedia  Environmentalism is an attempt to balance relations between humans and the various natural systems on which they depend.  All the components are accorded a proper degree of sustainability (capacity to endure).  The exact measures and outcomes of this balance is controversial and there are many different ways for environmental concerns to be expressed in practice.  Environmentalism and environmental concerns are often represented by the color green, but this association has been appropriated by the marketing industries and is a key tactic of “greenwashing.”

Is Environmentalism a Philosophy? (must have three distinct components) Philosophy (love of truth or knowledge) Ethics (moral code) Metaphysics (nature of reality) Epistemology (method for discovering truth)

Green is the New Red  Political movement consisting of public command-and- control over private resources.  Mainstream economics is obsessed with cases of “externalities” and “market failure.”  Austrians counter that “government failure” is worse than “market failure.”  Coase Theorem: If trade is possible in an externality, then private bargaining will lead to economic efficiency without government interference.  A property right to clean air and clean water?  Adjudicate the violation of this property right as you would the violation of any other property right.

Greener Than Thou  Terry Anderson: Property and Environment Research Center (PERC)  Successfully uses the Coase Theorem, private property, and market forces for  Clean water  Land erosion  Waste disposal  Endangered species protection  Additional reading  Dennis Avery, “Saving the Planet With Pesticies and Plastic.”  Stephen Moore, “It’s Getting Better All the Time”.

Rethinkg Green  Robert Higgs (ed.): Independent Institute  “Alternatives to Environmental Bureaucracy”  Exposes the myths that have contributed to failed environmental policies.  Proposes alternatives that recognize the power of incentives and the limitations of political and regulatory processes.  Shows how entrepreneurship and property rights can be utilized to simultaneously promote environmental quality and economic growth.

Alternative Energy (“renewable”)  The hydro-carbon bond is the most energy-dense chemical bond yet discovered by Man.  Unlocking that bond literally fueled the industrial revolution and created the modern world.  Renewables such as Wind, Solar, and Biofuels are uneconomic compared with hydrocarbon technologies – could not exist without subsidies.  Every 1 job created in renewables costs 2.5 jobs elsewhere. Even Green Europe is scaling back.  On a life-cycle basis, renewables also have a more malignant environmental footprint (net environmental cost v. hydrocarbon).  Result: Doubling of global food prices has resulted in untold additional starvations.

The End  Thank you for your attention.  We have time for a few questions.