“Why should utility customers continue to pay for bad programs that increase their rates at the benefit of a few? We should be mindful of the words of Milton Friedman: ‘One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results.’ “
In the real world, “free lunches” that benefit society are as rare as snow in Phoenix. Even when given a free meal, one often has to listen to an often boring sales pitch or speech.
Only in fantasy land are socially-beneficial “free lunches” ubiquitous. As one example, Amory Lovins once remarked that energy efficiency is the “lunch you are paid to eat.” Using the label “no-regrets,” policymakers frequently push actions that they endorse as unequivocally good – everyone wins, no one loses.
…The Alliance for
Wise Energy Decisions (AWED) is an informal coalition of individuals and
organizations interested in improving national, state, and local
energy and environmental policies. Our premise is that technical matters like
these should be addressed by using Real Science (please consult WiseEnergy.org for
more information).
A key element of AWED’s efforts is public education. Towards that end,
every three weeks we put together a newsletter to balance what is
found in the mainstream media about energy and the environment. We
appreciate MasterResource for their assistance in
publishing this information.
Some of the more important articles in this issue are:
Wind & solar are always ruinously expensive
President Trump Seeking Major Cuts to Renewable Subsidies
How did Rick Perry and DOE get into the Ditch???
Excellent Video: Why Renewables Can’t Save the Planet
100% renewable energy isn’t a response to climate change — it’s a retreat
…Rather than adopt costly regulatory measures that serve to suppress energy use and economic growth, policy makers should seek to eliminate government interventions in the marketplace that obstruct emission reductions and discourage the adoption of lower emission technologies. Such an approach is a ‘no regrets’ strategy….
– Jonathan Adler, “Greenhouse Policy without Regrets: A Free Market Approach to the Uncertain Risk of Climate Change” (2000).
In the face of the Green New Deal, proponents of personal and economic freedom have a simple, sensible alternative. It respects consumer sovereignty and taxpayer welfare. It does not add to the federal deficit or swell the Federal Register. It takes a neutral stance on the climate-science debate between those who argue that emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) are good or bad.
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