24 March 2011

Jonathan Adler on The Climate Fix

Writing in Regulation (here in PDF) Jonathan Adler has a review of The Climate Fix.  If I have one quibble with an otherwise fine review, it is that he ignores my discussion of obliquity in policy design when at the end he asks why we should expect policy makers to focus on what he calls "climate/energy policies." The answer of course is that they won't.  Perhaps my own discussion was a bit too oblique;-) 

It is a fair and thoughtful review, and I appreciate Jon taking the time to engage the analysis.  Here is how Adler concludes the review:
[H]is clear-headed and non-ideological analysis is welcome in a field dominated by wild-eyed partisans and fear-mongers of various stripes. If one accepts climate change as a real threat, it is essential to acknowledge the lack of clean and easy answers. However urgent global warming may seem, policies to address it cannot be pursued to the exclusion of other concerns, including economic development and access to affordable energy sources. Understanding the depth of the challenge is not only a good place to start, it is essential for there to be any hope of success.