On Tuesday, Nov. 29, Michael Shellenberger, founder and president of Environmental Progress, co-founder of the Breakthrough Institute and California Peace Coalition, and former candidate for governor of California, gave a lecture and discussion at Colgate University titled “Climate Change and Sustainable Energy: How Practical Is Renewable Energy?” The talk was sponsored by the Center for Freedom and Western Civilization and took place in person at Persson Hall as well as on Zoom for Colgate University alumni. Shellenberger was introduced by Professor Robert Kraynak, Professor of Political Science and Director of the Center for Freedom & Western Civilization.
Kraynak stated that Shellenberger came to Colgate because of his reputation as an environmentalist.
“Michael Shellenberger was invited to Colgate by the Center for Freedom because he is known as a bold voice in the debates about climate change and sustainable energy,” said Kraynak.
Shellenberger began by talking about the effects of climate change such as natural disasters and the increasing number of heat waves and continued to discuss possible issues, including the transition to solar and wind power and being vegans or vegetarians are two examples.
Shellenberger then moved on, saying that global carbon emissions have actually decreased over the past decade and fewer people have died in natural disasters because of improved infrastructure.
“The cost of disasters everywhere is going down … our infrastructure is better … we’re better prepared,” Shellenberger said.
Shellenberger also criticized the graphs from The New York Times and Financial Times about the increased number of hurricanes in recent years, saying they don’t take into account the better technology used to track hurricanes.
“[They’re] is grossly misleading,” Shellenberger said.
Shellenberger also stated that there is now more coral on the great barrier reef than in the last 36 years and that the state of California is currently thinning forests with controlled fires because people are using less paper than before. .
Shellenberger believes that the cause of ‘climate alarmism’ is the attitude towards climate change of everyday people and the media.
“[It’s the] changing the mental environment of journalists and all of us,” said Shellenberger.
Shellenberger then discussed the future of energy, specifically making the case for nuclear energy.
“If you care about sustainability, the holy grail is nuclear power,” Shellenberger said.
Kraynak spoke about Shellenberger’s lecture and the ideas that were shared.
“In his lecture, he challenged conventional wisdom on two major points: he argued that we are not at risk of imminent collapse or destruction because we can adapt, but he also made the case that green energy as wind, solar, and thermal. are not enough to meet our energy needs,” Kraynak said. “So, we will need nuclear power – which is the safest and cleanest form of energy that can meet the needs of modern industrial society.”
During the Q&A section of the talk, Shellenberger explained his views on recycling plastics discussed in the lecture portion of the talk. He stated that recycled plastics end up in the ocean because recycling companies send their plastics to underdeveloped countries.
“Please stop trying to recycle your plastics,” Shellenberger said.
Colgate University’s Director of Sustainability John Pumilio spoke against this claim by Shellenberger.
“Mr. Shellenberger is adept at picking out isolated facts and certain facts and presenting them as [a] rationale for illogical conclusions,” said Pumilio. “This can lead one to believe, if not trained to think critically and independently, that throwing plastics in landfills is better than recycling or that solar energy and electric vehicles are impractical solutions for a low-carbon economy.”
Kraynak finds Shellenberger’s thoughts important to the conversation about climate change and the environment today.
“Shellenberger sought to inject a note of realism into discussions about sustainability, even pointing out that most of the recycled plastic bottles sent to poor countries simply throw them into the ocean. ,” said Kraynak “It’s better for the environment to put plastic. bottles in America’s landfills.”
However, Pumilio criticized other aspects of Shellenberger’s speech.
“I am confident that most of the Colgate students who attended Mr. Shellenburger’s speech recognized that his heretical ideas were at odds with leading science and rational arguments,” Pumilio said. “While improvements can and should be made in recycling, renewable energy, and electric vehicles, there is no bridge from this and other arguments made by Mr. Shellenberger to his general conclusions. I think most Colgate students understand this. “
Kraynak believes that Shellenberger’s speech brought new ideas to the conversation that has been circulating in the University community.
“His thoughts and insights were provocative and controversial to the large student audience in attendance, and they asked many thoughtful questions about sustainable energy,” Kraynak said. “This is a memorable event for the Colgate community.”
Senior Rebecca Hance was particularly upset by Shellenberger’s lecture because of her experience as an intern at the Office of Sustainability.
“He feels like he’s calling anyone who has a right to be concerned a climate alarmist,” Hance said. “I left the talk disappointed because most of the students I saw in the audience were there for classes other than environmental studies or unrelated majors, and so this was the only opportunity to they are engaged in environmental studies at Colgate.”
Hance also questioned some of the problematic statements and claims made during the lecture, especially about climate change and natural disasters, criticizing their lack of precision and presence of a situation at the university.
“Now, [students are] coming out of this talk with a ton of misleading information,” Hance said.
Other students who attended the talk joined Shellenberger and the professors of the Department of Political Science after the lecture.
“Fifteen students joined Mr. Shellenberger and several political science faculty for dinner afterward, where a lively and engaging discussion of many social policies, from environmentalism to homelessness in American cities, going on for hours,” Kraynak said.
