This summer, the Center for Industrial Progress published an open letter in response to the movement at many universities, including Stanford, encouraging the divestment of university funds from companies directly responsible for fossil fuel production. In response to the experiences of students and teachers from across the country who have faced thoughtless rejection on account of their views instead of debate or at least rational argument, the letter calls for universities to respond to divestment petitions not by divesting, but by seeking to foster a greater knowledge of the realities of our energy production and environmental systems. That letter is reproduced below and can also be read in its original form here.
The Review* also interviewed Alex Esptein, founder of the Center for Industrial Progress. The interview can be read here.*
Dear American Universities,
You have no doubt heard the calls by certain environmentalist groups for you to publicly divest your endowments of any investments in the fossil fuel industry. We ask that you reject these calls as an attempt to silence legitimate debate about our energy and environmental future.
The leaders of the divestment movement say it is not debatable that the fossil fuel industry is “Public Enemy Number One”—that it deserves to be publicly humiliated by having America’s leading educational institutions single it out for divestment. But the divestment movement refuses to grapple with, let alone educate students about, the staggering, and arguably irreplaceable, benefits we derive from that industry.
The fossil fuel industry produces 87 percent of the energy people around the world use to feed, clothe, shelter, heal, comfort, and educate themselves. It has fueled the unprecedented increase in industrial development, life expectancy, and quality of life we have seen over the last 30 years. And despite received wisdom about our environment and climate, our fossil fueled society has experienced a dramatic improvement in all environmental indicators worldwide, including a staggering decline in the number of climate- related deaths.
We the undersigned are proud to stand in favor of fossil fuels. Based on our honest attempt to reach a balanced, big-picture perspective on coal, oil, and gas, we passionately believe that the economic and environmental benefits of fossil fuels far outweigh the hazards, and that it is not a “necessary evil” but a moral imperative to make use of the most productive, life-giving energy sources available to us at any point in time. But unlike the divestment movement, we do not ask universities to take an official stand in our favor on this complex issue, which requires extensive education and thought—not official dogma and stigmatization.
What we ask for is a more rigorous education on energy and environmental issues. Today’s students do not learn even basic facts about the energy sources that make our civilization possible. But they are encouraged to take strong policy positions on the basis of extremely speculative predictions by individuals and institutions who falsely claim to represent the conclusions of all informed scientists.
As a result, students who have not independently studied the evidence about fossil fuels often exhibit a doctrinaire and intolerant viewpoint toward dissenting opinions. For example, when one of us (Alex Epstein) spoke recently at Vassar College on the benefits and hazards of fossil fuels, the divestment movement did not publicly challenge his arguments despite being invited to do so—they staged a walkout, attempting to pressure their peers into refusing even to hear an “unacceptable” view. To their credit, many Vassar students denounced the movement and were inspired to extensively study and debate the issues.
Universities around the country should follow their example by providing more education and promoting more debate, so that the best ideas can win out.
The undersigned scientists, philosophers, energy experts, and economists are willing to debate anytime, anywhere to defend what we believe is right. If our opponents are willing, then together we can help create a truly educated student body that takes informed positions. If our opponents will not debate but insist on securing your imprimatur to win the argument for them, then please tell them that you are an institution of education—not indoctrination.
Sincerely,
Ralph B. Alexander, Ph.D. Former Associate Professor of Physics Wayne State University
Meredith Angwin President, Vermont Energy Education Project The Ethan Allen Institute
J. Scott Armstrong, Ph.D. Professor, University of Pennsylvania Co-founder of the International Institute of Forecasting Author of Principles of Forecasting
H. Spencer Banzhaf, Ph.D. Professor of Economics Andrew Young School of Policy Studies Georgia State University
Gregory A. Benford, Ph.D. Professor, Physics & Astronomy University of California, Irvine
Andrew Bernstein, Ph.D. Author, The Capitalist Manifesto: The Historic, Economic, and Philosophic Case for Laissez-Faire
Edwin X. Berry, Ph.D., Physics AMS Certified Consulting Meteorologist ClimatePhysics.com
Samuel Bostaph, Ph.D. Emeritus Professor of Economics University of Dallas
Robert Bradley, Jr., Ph.D. CEO, Institute for Energy Research
F. Paul Brady, Ph.D. Emeritus Professor of Physics University of California, Davis
Jan L. Breslow, M.D. Fredrick Henry Leonhardt Professor, Rockefeller University Head Laboratory of Biochemical Genetics and Metabolism Senior Physician Rockefeller Hospital
H. Sterling Burnett, Ph.D. Senior Fellow, National Center for Policy Analysis
William N. Butos, Ph.D. Professor of Economics Trinity College, Hartford
Jeremy Carl Research Fellow Hoover Institution Stanford University
Robert M. Carter, Ph.D. Chief Science Advisor International Climate Science Coalition
Ian Clark, Ph.D. Professor, Earth Sciences University of Ottawa
Frank Clemente, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus, Social Science Penn State University
Jeffrey Conopask, Ph.D. Regulatory Economist Consulting Economist Energy Economist Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative
Donn Dears Power For USA.com, Energy expert, author and retired GE Company Senior Executive
Eric Dennis, Ph.D. Senior Fellow Center for Industrial Progress
Roger Donway Senior Research Fellow Institute for Energy Research
Nicholas Drapela, Ph.D., Chemistry Retired Senior Faculty Oregon State University Inventor, Business Owner
John Droz, Jr., Ph.D. Physicist, Founder of Alliance for Wise Energy Decisions (AWED)
Michael J. Economides, Ph.D. Prof. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Cullen College of Engineering University of Houston
Ross B. Emmett, Ph.D. Professor of Political Economy and Political Theory and Constitutional Democracy, James Madison College Michigan State University
Jon Entine Senior Fellow, Center for Health & Risk Communication George Mason University Senior Fellow, Statistical Assessment Service George Mason University Founder, Executive Director, Genetic Literacy Project
Alex Epstein President, Center for Industrial Progress
Peter Ferrara White House Office of Policy Development President Reagan
Martin Fricke, Ph.D. Fellow, American Physical Society
Gordon J. Fulks, Ph.D., Physics Mission Research Corporation and Laboratory for Astrophysics and Space Research of the University of Chicago
Rodger L. Gamblin, Ph.D., Physics Inventor, Dayton, OH
Ulrich H. Gerlach, Ph.D. Physicist and Professor Vice Chair of Mathematics, OSU
Paul J. Gessing President, Rio Grande Foundation
Ivar Giaever, Ph.D. Nobel Laureate 197 CTO Applied BioPhysics, Inc.
Steve Goreham Executive Director Climate Science Coalition of America
Laurence I. Gould, Ph.D. Professor of Physics, University of Hartford
William Happer, Ph.D. Professor of Physics Princeton University
Steven F. Hayward, Ph.D. William E. Simon Distinguished Visiting Professor Pepperdine University School of Public Policy
David R. Henderson, Ph.D. Research Fellow Hoover Institution Stanford University
Mark W. Hendrickson, Ph.D. Peter Holle Founding President Frontier Centre for Public Policy
Steven Horwitz, Ph.D. Professor of Economics St. Lawrence University
Martin Hovland, Ph.D., MSc, FGS Professor Emeritus
James L. Huffman, Ph.D. Dean Emeritus, Lewis & Clark Law School
Gary Hull, Ph.D. Director, VEM, Duke University Durham, NC
Kevin P. Kane President, Pelican Institute for Public Policy
M. L. Khandekar, Ph.D. Expert Reviewer 2007 Climate Change IPCC-Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Alan Charles Kors, Ph.D. Henry Charles Lea Professor of History University of Pennsylvania
David R. Legates, Ph.D., Climatology AMS Certified Consulting
Bryan Leyland, MSc, FIEE(rtd), FIMechE, FIPENZ
Richard S. Lindzen, Ph.D. Sloan Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, Emeritus, MIT
Anthony R. Lupo, Ph.D. Professor, Atmospheric Science University of Missouri
James Macdonald Retired Chief Meteorologist for the Travelers Weather Service
Tibor R. Machan, Ph.D. R. C. Hoiles Chair in Business Ethics & Free Enterprise Argyros School of Business & Economics Chapman University
Richard Marrus, Ph.D. Emeritus Professor of Physics University of California, Berkeley Fellow, American Physical Society
John M. Martinis, Ph.D. Professor of Physics University of California Santa Barbara
Henry I. Miller, M.D. Robert Wesson Fellow in Scientific Philosophy & Public Policy Hoover Institution Stanford University
Andrew P. Morriss, Ph.D. D. Paul Jones, Jr. & Charlene Jones Chair in Law The University of Alabama School of Law
Michael C. Munger, Ph.D. Director of the Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Program Duke University
Deroy Murdock Senior Fellow Atlas Economic Research Foundation
Iain Murray Vice President Competitive Enterprise Institute
Russ Nieli, Ph.D. Princeton University
C. Kenneth Orski Editor/Publisher Innovation NewsBriefs
Mark J. Perry, Ph.D. Professor of Finance and Business Economics University of Michigan-Flint
Ned S. Rasor, Ph.D. Consulting Physicist, Kettering, Ohio
George Reisman, Ph.D. Pepperdine University Emeritus Professor of Economics Author, Capitalism: A Treatise on Economics
John E. Rhoads, Ph.D., PE Wichita Falls, Texas
Matt Ridley, Ph.D. Foreign Honorary Member American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Berol Robinson, Ph.D. Association of Ecologists for Nuclear Energy
David W. Schnare, Esq., Ph.D Director, Environmental Law Center American Tradition Institute
Roger Scruton, Ph.D. Senior Scholar, Ethics and Public Policy Center, Washington
Michael Shermer, Ph.D. Adjunct Professor, Chapman University Adjunct Professor, Claremont Graduate University
Nicholas Siefert, Ph.D. Professor, Power Plant Design, Carnegie Mellon University Mechanical Engineer, Department of Energy
Brian P. Simpson, Ph.D. Professor National University School of Business and Management San Diego, CA
S. Fred Singer, Ph.D. Physicist and Professor Emeritus University of Virginia
David T. Stevenson Director, Center for Energy Competitiveness Caesar Rodney Institute
Bruce Thornton, Ph.D. Research Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University Professor of Classics and Humanities Fresno, California
Frank J. Tipler, Ph.D. Professor of Mathematical Physics Tulane University New Orleans, LA
Jeffrey Tucker Distinguished Fellow Foundation for Economic Education
David G. Tuerck, Ph.D. Executive Director, The Beacon Hill Institute, Professor and Chairman, Department of Economics, Suffolk University
Richard Vedder, Ph.D. Distinguished Professor of Economics Emeritus, Ohio University
Peter Wood, Ph.D. President, The National Association of Scholars
David Zetland, Ph.D. Senior Water Economist Wageningen University (Netherlands)
Robert Zubrin, Ph.D. President Pioneer Astronautics
Bob Zybach, Ph.D., Environmental Sciences Program Manager, www.ORWW.org