In order to continue an open dialogue in the climate change arena, I recently picked up the book 'The Politically Incorrect Guide to Global Warming and Environmentalism' (Regnery Publishing, Inc., 2007), authored by Christopher C. Horner, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, described on its website as a "nonprofit public policy organization dedicated to advancing the principles of free enterprise and limited government". Horner has been making the talk show rounds touting his book and, as a matter of full disclosure, I learned about him and his book on Comedy Central's 'The Daily Show with Jon Stewart'. However, regardless of how I came to know the existence of this new tome, it's still important to explore all aspects of the monumental issue of global warming.
So far the book starts off strong by lamenting on the first page that "Environmentalism is big business and greens conspire with industry to raise prices for you." Where do you go from there? First, Horner is a part of an organization that is in the business of promoting business and protecting competitive practices. The CEI's board and group of experts are quite a selection of brilliant individuals who truly have a stake in this country's future. So it seems counterintuitive to begin your book with a statement that is at odds with some of the very practices you espouse. It's fully understandable for officers and directors in boardrooms all over America to be looking for the new "competitive edge." And part of this competition is embracing new technologies that actually help the environment. But profit motives have always bred strange bedfellows and this is just another example of the myriad ways in which our capitalistic system brings people together.
It seems preferable that large corporations actually take the time to see that "going green" may actually be good for business. A healthier population that lives longer certainly has many advantages, after all.
Although I haven't quite finished the book yet, and will do so in short order, I have to say that Horner's argument would be more compelling if he didn't constantly quote B-movies like Waterworld and cartoons like Bambi. This only detracts from what is obviously a well-intentioned primer-regardless of your opinion of Horner's thesis-and takes quite a bit away from Horner's credibility.
This topic was published as part of the House Media Network newsletter. Read this newsletter in its entirety at www.housemedianetwork.com/newsletter/24
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