Painless Environmentalism

Those who have spoken with me about environmentalism are probably quite fed up with my seemingly endless supply of faith in the markets to solve environmental problems. And, while I'm not ready to say that government and regulation have no role, I steadfastly insist that it hardly matters, and usually makes things worse.

As Ronald Reagan said in his 1986 State of the Union address, "[G]overnment's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it."

So, I've got a chance to crow, and I'll take it. This is from the Economist, one of my favorite magazines:

"Lots of firms are growing healthily on the back of America's sudden enthusiasm for alternative energy. Americans invested almost $30 billion in the sector in 2006, according to New Energy Finance, a research firm. American venture capitalists lavish seven times more on greenery than their counterparts in Europe. Ethanol production was expected to double in the next few years, even before the latest boost from Mr Bush. Wind and solar power are also booming. And the bigger green firms become the more influence they will have over politicians."

Also, Martin Eberhard, the CEO of Tesla Motors, a maker of electric automobiles, had this to say about President Bush's recent State of the Union:

"[A]s much as I would dearly love a similar research grant for Tesla Motors, I am not enthusiastic about government spending on battery research. Much better would be incentives that encourage consumers to buy an electric car. ... I actually don’t have a good suggestion about how to encourage consumers to make fuel efficient choices other than to make great electric cars."

Exactly. When the technology is profitable, when it makes sense, when the tipping point is reached, things happen. I personally can't wait to drive a high-performance, high-efficiency, low-cost electric car.