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Today, MSN launches Live Earth, a user-friendly, green-tinged site wrapped
around one of the most ambitious music events of all time.
By Mark Pawlosky
Buckle up!
Floss!
Demand free-range chicken!
Stop Global Warming.
NOW!
Is there no end to the constant harping?
Self-appointed hall monitors are haranguing citizens of the world to turn
down the Earth's thermostat or risk shriveling the planet like a cheap piece of
bacon left too long on the skillet. Pffttttt.
Predictably, reaction to this dreary outcome basically is divided into two
camps: the "Yeah, right, sez who?" crowd and their counterpart, the "Yikeees,
the world's ending!" camp.
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MSN's mission is not to lecture or browbeat you
into changing your lifestyle. There's too much of that already, and,
frankly, it doesn't work. Our mission is to provide sound information to
allow you to make informed
choices. |
Then there's a third, smaller group. I call it Camp Warren.
Warren Buffett, a man I admire almost as much for his steady diet of DQ
burgers, Cokes and Dilly bars as I do for his $50 billion bankroll, had a
blinding insight awhile back. As only Buffett can, he framed the issue
succinctly and eloquently and cut to the heart of the climate-change issue. If I
had the time I'd go back and dig up the exact quote, but I don't, so I'll
paraphrase. It boiled down to this:
What if the global warming predictions are accurate; wouldn't it be prudent,
and less costly, to act now to reduce carbon emissions while time is still on
our side?
Hmmmmmmmm.
Buffett's observation was aimed at governments and large industrial emitters
of carbon dioxide -- the gas that is released into the atmosphere when fossil
fuels are burned and acts like a heat-trapping blanket -- but it's just as
applicable to the individual.
No fool, environmental alarmist or woolly headed liberal, Buffett lives
in Nebraska, and has been spotted in Lincoln driving a Lincoln. His
investments include utility plants, energy companies and a fleet of private
jets -- all big carbon producers. It's not in his financial interest to
champion costly regulation, unless of course he believes the risks of doing
nothing outweigh the cost of increased intervention. Which brings us to his
genius, understanding and managing risk.
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