November 19, 2007 by Tom Armstrong.

Here’s an open letter to Warren Buffett.

Posted in General post | No Comments »

November 19, 2007 by Tom Armstrong.

This is a must-read article. Readers of this blog might have noticed I enjoy personal attacks, so maybe that’s why I find this part of the article notable:

Now, schoolchildren scold their parents because they haven’t traded in their incandescent lightbulbs for the depressing yellow light of compact fluorescent bulbs. Environmentalism, which used to simply include anyone concerned about pollution, somehow morphed into radical environmentalism. Gottlieb and others have taken up the banner of global warming under the guise of religious responsibility. Radical environmentalism has become a religion in and of itself. Its heaven is a utopia in which we all give up our modern conveniences and technological advancement for some austere, Amish-type lifestyle.

Al Gore, the Jim Jones of this new religious cult, preaches doom and gloom from his pettifogger pulpit, all the while living the lifestyle of an energy hog. He actually uses twice the amount of electricity in one month at his Nashville home than the average household uses in an entire year. He has two homes in Tennessee, one in Virginia, at least. He flies all over the world on his Magical Hysteria Tour, sucking down resources and belching out tons of carbon, all to tell us we need to conserve. We’re trying to make ends meet just to afford gas in our cars while Al Gore has a carbon footprint the size of Sasquatch. And no one seems to care.

Posted in General post | No Comments »

November 19, 2007 by Tom Armstrong.

I love to come across these type articles–they’re so funny. Examine the following from the article:

Consider the example of ethanol. Production requires large amounts of petroleum, farmland, corn, and water, yet it has questionable alternative energy value, has its own emissions and siting problems, directly competes with food supply, and its transport requires special vehicles instead of pipelines. Market-driven production capacity has raced ahead of available delivery infrastructure. This has caused the price of ethanol to crash from overproduction, while at the same time increased demand for corn to produce ethanol has raised corn prices and reduced the availability of corn for food, raising food prices.

Our preoccupation with letting the free market determine our national energy policy is wasteful folly and not in the public interest. Our margin of error to make catastrophic energy policy mistakes with impunity is shrinking as fast as the window to tackle climate change is closing. Reliance on markets alone cannot solve this and doing so will bankrupt our future. We need sustainable national energy policy legislated now. Energy conservation should be first.

The author suggests that the market chose ethanol on its own to invest in as a “green” technology. He would rather see those benevolent crusaders for justice in governement directing investment in “green” technology. Really? Maybe he forgot about the massive government subsidies our government has used as an incentive for private enterprise to invest in ethanol. Without the subsidy, ethanol would not be a viable fuel substitute. It was his savior–government–not private enterprise that was responsible for the investments in ethanol production. Notice now that after government has caused this problem (a problem perceived by him anyway), he is suggesting the government come in and save us from the evil capitalists that caused the problems. I believe he has some of his facts wrong.

Notice in the next argument he suggests private markets have no good ideas for developing goods to aid the environment. Not so. Read any business publication and you’ll see “green” companies sprouting up everywhere. In fact, I’ve read recently about new venture capitalist firms now specializing in “green” technology. I believe Mr. Gore was even hired by one.

For good measure, the author continues:

None of this will happen voluntarily in the market, which operates solely to maximize profits, not to build sustainable futures.

WOW! How profound. The free market, people acting in their own self interests, will sacrifice their futures for today. How do we ever get people to save and invest? The market is already voluntarily investing in “green” technologies. And it’s doing this not out of love for mankind; it’s doing this to maximize profits. Times are changing. People are becoming more willing to pay for environmentally safe products. As people are becoming more willing to consume these goods and services, investment into the areas are becoming more profitable. So, yes, the market is doing both: maximizing profits and protecting our future. What’s Uncle Sam doing?

Posted in General post | 2 Comments »

November 19, 2007 by Tom Armstrong.

Sudeep Reddy of the WSJ says “The Weak Dollar Isn’t the Inflation Driver It Once Was.”

Posted in General post | No Comments »