GRASS
IN REVIEW
GRASSROOT INSTITUTE OF
HAWAII
Nurturing the rights and responsibilities of the individual in a
civil society.
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WEEKLY GRASS IN REVIEW -
June 22, 2007 |
Caterpillar Feels the Heat
A Message from Dick Rowland
In
this special edition of “Grass in Review,” we again focus on
environmental issues, and particularly to actions by the Caterpillar
Corporation.
Caterpillar is a member of the United States Climate Action
Partnership (USCAP). USCAP is a coalition of companies and
environmental groups seeking to establish a cap-and-trade system for
carbon emissions. Prior to the Caterpillar Corporation's June 13th
stockholders meeting, over 70 groups and companies sent a letter to
the company's CEO, Jim Owens, urging him to withdraw from this
environmental coalition. The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, along
with our friends at Small Business Hawaii, is proud to have signed
on in opposing Caterpillar’s involvement with USCAP.
The
National Center for Public Policy Research was the organizing force
behind the letter to Owens. According to their vice president, David
Ridenour, “"Caps on carbon emissions will force energy companies to
cut production, ultimately hurting Caterpillar's bottom line. They
will also result in higher energy prices, hurting the poor."
Hurting both profits and the poor? You’ve got to give credit to
Caterpillar for endorsing policies that would manage to hurt both
the haves and the have-nots.
If
you want to view the letter sent to Jim Owens,
click here.
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IN THE
NEWS - HIGHLIGHTED COMMENTARIES
Grassroot Institute is regularly featured
in news articles and broadcasts around the state. Here is a
sample of some of our recent articles, research stories, and
other articles of interest.
GRASSROOT
PERSPECTIVE
(Editor’s note: Below is a press release from The National
Center for Public Policy Research concerning the fallout from
Caterpillar’s involvement with USCAP)
Caterpillar CEO Confronted at
Company Stockholder Meeting for Joining Environmentalist
Lobbying Group
Under Questioning, CEO Admits Firm Didn't Do a Cost-Benefit
Analysis Before Caterpillar Joined Lobbying Effort to Regulate
CO2
Washington, D.C. - The
National Center for Public Policy Research and the Project 21
black leadership network challenged senior Caterpillar, Inc.
officials at the company's stockholder meeting Wednesday, asking
them to explain Caterpillar's decision to join the United States
Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), which is lobbying for caps
on carbon dioxide emissions.
(To read more, click here.)
Educate Via
Debate
Dick Rowland
One of our
mandates at Grassroot Institute is to educate the public on
controversial issues. As a part of that mission, we recently
sign on to a Heartland Institute advertisement in the Wall
Street Journal.
Click here to see the ad. The ad calls for Al Gore to
debate Lord Monckton on whether or not global warming is a
crisis. We urge you to help in every way you can to promote
more debate and discussion on the global warming issue. I you
would like to urge Al Gore to accept the challenge, add your
name to the petition, or just find out more about the other side
of global warming argument, visit
http://www.globalwarmingheartland.org.
Green: It's Not That Black and White
By Amy Kaleita
 Amy
Kaleita is Public Policy Fellow, Environmental Studies at the
Pacific Research Institute (PRI). Along with GRIH, PRI is a
member of the State Policy Network.
With increasing
awareness of environmental issues, many people are searching for
ways to "green" their lifestyle. Numerous celebrities and
publications offer helpful and simple tips for becoming more
environmentally friendly. But the truth is that the meaning of
"green" is not well defined.
"The environment," often used as a
blanket term, is really a combination of distinct but
interconnected systems including water, air, climate, soil,
wildlife, vegetation, microbes, and much more. Often,
"environmentally friendly" technologies, while having a smaller
impact on one aspect of the environment, are decidedly
unfriendly to another. In other cases, the benefits are mixed,
depending on how, when, and where the technology is used. Hybrid
cars are just one example.
(To read more, click here.)
BOOK
REVIEW
Unstoppable Global Warming --
Every 1,500 Years
By S. Fred Singer and Dennis Avery
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 276 pages, $24.95
Review by Michael R. Fox Ph.D.
As the exaggerations and hype regarding global warming rage
on daily in the media and in some of the more dubious
scientific reports, a flood of serious scientific papers
emerges monthly. These do not support the strident alarms of
environmentalists warning us about man-made global warming,
as much of the phenomena effecting climate are natural. The
basic scientific facts continue to challenge the alarmist
work of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC),
the United Nations, and the nonscientific efforts of Al Gore
and his movie
An Inconvenient Truth.
Among the several excellent new
books on the subject,
Unstoppable
Global Warming
(UGW) is one of the best. Singer and Avery have done heroic work
in putting between two covers much of the recent information.
(To read more, click here.)
FRESH PERSPECTIVE
Opportunity for Young Adults:
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii created the Fresh Perspective
column exclusively to publish the work of high school and
college students. In addition to work appearing on GRIH’s
website, their work is also submitted to Hawaii Reporter.
Submissions are welcome from any interested young adult, and
we will publish work that is clearly written and
grammatically sound. For earlier Fresh Perspectives please
click here.
Contact: bbb@grassrootinstitute.org
for more info.
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TRY OUR BLOGS
Use these links to access various topics.
The Mystery of Hawaiian History>>>Blog Archives>>>The
People On the Sidewalk
Dash of Calabash>>>Blog Archives>>>Ethanol
is Green, Right?
Read what others have written or add your own thoughts. Click here for more blogs.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
All of the Institute’s events, research
publication dates and speaking engagements
are available on our
website.
July 3, 2007
Research Institute of Hawaii, USA
Pacific Aviation Museum
Our friends at the Research Institute for
Hawaii, USA are putting together a dinner to
honor the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard for
their extraordinary achievements from WWII
to now.
The dinner will be at the Pacific Aviation
Museum on July 3, 2007. The keynote speaker
is still not finalized, but may be Rep.
Duncan Hunter. Your dinner will be
complementary if sponsored by GRIH. Space is
limited. The museum will be set aside for
the event.
Although reservations are closed, if any
member and one guest wish to attend, please
let us know ASAP and we will try to get you
in. You will receive additional information
with your formal invitation. Note that you
will need to be cleared to get onto Ford
Island. Unfortunately Dick will be out of
town that week, but hopes for a good turnout
from GRIH members.
Click here
to email Tick if you would like to attend.
July 31, 2007
A Luncheon
Celebration in Honor of Milton Friedman's 95th
Birthday in the Card Room,
Pacific Club
11:30 AM – 1:30 PM
Save the date! Doug Bandow will be the main
speaker. Co-sponsors include Small Business
Hawaii, Federalist Society, Heritage
foundation and others. Menu and cost
information will be forthcoming. All over
the country, events will be held on July 31st
to honor Milton Friedman's vision and
the impact he has had on our society.
Doug Bandow is the Cobden Fellow in
International Economics, Institute for
Policy Innovation; Robert A. Taft Fellow,
American Conservative Defense Alliance;
Bastiat Scholar in Free Enterprise,
Competitive Enterprise Institute; and Vice
President for Policy, Citizen Outreach. A
former Special Assistant to President Ronald
Reagan, he is the author of the recently
published
Foreign
Follies:
America's New Global Empire. (Click
on the words Check Out)
His other books include
The
Politics of Envy: Statism as Theology,
Tripwire: Korea and U.S. Foreign Policy in a
Changed World, and
Military Manpower and Human Resources.
Doug is a columnist for the American
Spectator.
Click here for a list of his columns and
links. (You will need to choose Doug Bandow
from the drop down list and click on Show
Results.) |
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591-9193 to check availability and make arrangements, or e-mail us
at
roz@grassrootinstitute.org.
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the State Policy Network and Townhall..
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CRABGRASS
“It's not in
Al Gore's PowerPoint presentation, but there are some upsides to global
warming.... Northern homes could save on heating fuel. Rust Belt cities
might stop losing snowbirds to the South. Canadian farmers could harvest
bumper crops. Greenland may become awash in cod and oil riches. Shippers
could count on an Arctic shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific.
Forests may expand. Mongolia could see a go-go economy.”
---(Source: AP
News)
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
“Carbon
caps are really a not-very-hidden tax on the users of energy – all of us. It
is wrong to seek to use government as the lever of achieving competitive
advantage. It is wrong for companies to sell out their customers in exchange
for short term political gain.”
--- Lew Uhler, Founder and
President, National Tax Limitation Committee
“I am
personally disappointed that such an excellent company as Caterpillar has
made the fateful decision to turn its back on its shareholders and American
consumers. Unfortunately, much the business community has been deceived into
believing that a cap-and-trade regulatory will provide certainty. This is a
fallacy. Europe’s emissions trading system has engendered significant
financial uncertainty, rampant political jockeying by industry seeking
regulatory advantage over competitors, and corruption. Yet, Europe’s
emissions continue to rise. regulatory regime in the U.S. would lead us down
the same path, creating economic hardship with no environmental benefit.”
- --Malcolm
Wallop, former U.S. Senator and Chairman of Frontiers of Freedom
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