The Treasury Department doesn’t need a climate czar, says Gregory Zerzan in the Wall Street Journal. Perhaps the Biden administration has devious reasons for appointing one. At her confirmation hearings, Treasury secretary Janet Yellen said the department would “seriously look at assessing the risk to the financial system from climate change.” She is currently seeking…
Search Results for: regulation
What Drew Workers to Trump? Elite Environmentalism
William Murray, a former speechwriter for the Environmental Protection Agency, argues that years of tightening environmental regulations slashed working-class jobs and alienated working-class voters. That laid the path for Donald Trump. Many people assume that Trump’s political successes stem from his trade policies and opposition to illegal immigration. No, writes Murray in Quillette: “[T]here is…
White Moose and Public Sacrifice
What ethical and legal claims can religion can make on resources and the property of others who do not share the faith? We begin with hunting. Every hunting season brings outrage and lament at the news that a hunter has killed a “white moose.” The animal killed could be elk, deer, or any animal that…
Can Banks Refuse Oil and Gas Customers?
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has issued a regulation that would prevent banks from refusing to fund legal activities that they disapprove of, such as oil and gas drilling. During the past year, several major banks, including Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, J. P. Morgan, and others, announced they will not…
The Right and the Left Agree: It Won’t Be Easy for Biden to Re-regulate
Both supporters of Joe Biden and his critics indicate it will be hard to overturn many of Donald Trump’s environmental deregulatory moves. They offer different reasons, however. Sterling Burnett, writing in Climate Change Weekly, says Trump created new rules for the EPA that make quick re-regulation almost impossible. In contrast, the Biden team is emphasizing Trump’s…
Some Questions about ‘Environmental’ Investing
There’s an eerie resemblance between today’s ESG (environmental, social, and governance) investing and the Porter Hypothesis, an earlier claim about how regulation can lead to profits. (Its architect, Michael Porter, Harvard business professor, is pictured here.) First, some definitions: ESG investing means investors choose companies that meet certain non-financial criteria. So, in the environmental area…