The Iron Yuppie

Put a Tiger In Your Think Tank

Ok, first a disclaimer, I own XOM. Second, I'm about to own AIG. Third, I'm a big fan of the theory that things that humans are doing are causing climate change.

Now, onto the witty commentary. Look people, this is what the free market is all about. I would wager that the majority of these articles are based on theories which can be reasonably deduced from the facts. You may not agree with the deductions, but that's what science is all about. You get a hypothesis. You look for a bunch of facts. You prove (or disprove) your hypothesis. What I do not understand is why more companies are not doing this. I would LOVE insurance companies to start funding think tanks proving that climate change is going to increase the cost of insuring real estate and global instability due to scarce third-world resources will increase the cost of doing business with societies that are strongly dependent on their own food source generation. This has already started... "Property damage [due to climate change] is rising very rapidly, at something like 10 % a year." - Dr. Dlugolecki of CGNU. The fact is that I agree with neither the interpretation nor the tone of the majority of pieces that think tanks that Exxon funded put out. Example:

Global warming, for instance, which remains speculative and based on incomplete computer models rather than on demonstrated science, might cost man and nature a great deal if we rush to impose dramatic limits on fossil-fuel use in a misguided attempt to solve a problem that may not even exist. Just twenty-five years ago, some of the current proponents of global warming were warning us about global cooling.33

The single footnote there is to a second book which was an analysis of the scientific community's reaction to interpretations of the facts as global cooling. But there were no facts there either! It's just pure marketing! I love facts. Fact 0: H20 & CO2 reflect infrared better than N2 and O2 (and other trace gases in the atmosphere). Fact 1: As the % CO2 in the atmosphere increases, the amount of heat reflected back to the Earth's surface increases. Fact 2: We have far more CO2 in the atmosphere since pre-industrial times and are putting out more CO2 than ever before in man's history. Likely hypothesis? Our CO2 output is affecting the average temperature of the Earth. Discuss.

My major problem with many environmental movements is the complete lack of attempting to use market forces and MARKETING to their advantage. If this stuff is so wrong, shouldn't there be a hundred other think tank pieces for every one we see here? And further, if this is going to affect us so terribly, tell corporations in language that makes sense to them... ROI and cost of doing business. Please people, this is like block and tackle.