conservative ideology

GOP Environmental Policy FAIL

Last month, when discussing the egregious subsidies for ethanol that expire this year, I commented, “Here is a great test to see whether Republican anti-government and anti-spending rhetoric is any more than that.” Well, so much for that: Renewable Fuels Association president Bob Dinneen says they are thrilled with passage of the Senate tax package …

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Actual Conservative Climate Change Policy!

After all the talk over the last two weeks, here it is: Fresh off a big victory over the GOP establishment on earmarks, conservative GOP senators are opening up a new front in the battle on government spending that could be similar to the earmarks standoff: They are calling on Congress to let billions in …

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So much for “consensus climate solutions”

Our friend Jon Adler has taken many of us and most progressives to task for not pursuing “consensus solutions” to climate change.  What might these consensus climate solutions be?  Well, Jon insists that it would look something like a revenue-neutral carbon tax (such as is proposed by the superb Carbon Tax Center) instead of a …

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More Thoughts About Conservative Climate Perspectives

Climate issues are essentially factual, not ideological. We naturally all come to those issues with our own perspectives. That’s fine, so long as our ideological lenses merely color the facts rather than blocking them from view entirely.

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Why Are Conservatives So Hostile to Climate Policy?

Dan wants to know why conservatives would oppose market-based solutions to climate change that avoid greater government intervention down the road.  I asked last week why traditional conservatives, who make much of preserving traditions through different generations and respecting institutions through time, would also oppose such policies. The answer to both questions lie in their …

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The Truly Conservative View of Climate Policy

A nice column in the Washington Post about why conservatives should change their views about climate policy: When faced with uncertainty and the possibility of costly outcomes, smart businessmen buy insurance, reduce their downside exposure and protect their assets… And when military planners assess an enemy, they get ready for a worst-case encounter. When it …

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Appeals to Conserve Energy May Backfire with Conservatives

UCLA economists Dora Costa and Matt Kahn just released this  paper about whether “nudges” from a utility to conserve energy — in this case information about energy consumption relative to neighbors and relative to earlier time periods — succeed in lowering usage.  Though the authors find that many factors contribute to lowered consumption, including whether a …

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Is Environmental Law Socialist?

Conservatives might be seeking a spiritual leader, organizing principle and fresh identity, but they at least seem to have settled on a favorite rhetorical ogre: socialism. As in, Democrats are intent on forcing socialism on the “U.S.S.A” (as the bumper sticker says, under the words “Comrade Obama”). This trend, as reported by the New York …

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