Chrysler questions climate change Chrysler's chief economist Van Jolissaint has launched a fierce attack on "quasi-hysterical Europeans" and their "Chicken Little" attitudes to global warming. ... Mr Jolissaint was particularly scathing about the Stern Report, which was recently published by the UK government. The report urged governments to take urgent action now to tackle climate change, arguing that it would be much cheaper to act, rather than face the $10 trillion cost of not doing anything until later. Mr Jolissaint said the report was based on dubious economics, did not include a discount rate, and was written by an informal adviser to Gordon Brown - in fact, at the time of the report, Mr Stern was the Second Permanent Secretary at the UK Treasury. He said that he had been surprised by how much support there had been in the Daimler office in Stuttgart for these "quasi-hysterical" policies that smacked of "Chicken Little" politics - referring to the US children's story in which Chicken Little runs around in circles saying "the sky is falling". ... On Sunday, GM boss Rick Wagoner told the world's press that there was "now an irrefutable business case for producing green cars" and that the company recognised that fossil fuels would eventually run out, or be in such short supply as to force prices much higher. At the same time, GM's chief economist - who last year forecast that oil prices would average $40 a barrel when in fact they topped $60 - was predicting that oil prices would fall this year as new oil supply came on stream. As a result, he argued, demand for big, gas-guzzling cars would recover.
Of course, OPEC is already cutting back on production to keep supply and demand "comfortable". In otherwords they rather like $60 oil. Of course, cartels never really work. The temptation to cheat is very strong. If China's economy continues to grow at the current rate that could easily drive prices higher. Supply doesn't outstrip demand by much. Throw in a nature disaster or good ole geopolitical instability and that'll create a scarcity pretty quick, like.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tempus @ Jan 10 2007, 11:26 AM) [snapback]373587[/snapback]</div> Not a sterling day for economists. Well, anybody can call themselves an economist. Kind of like calling yourself a Baptist or a Christian -- there's no copyright on the term and nobody to check your credentials. You'll find economists, even in presumably responsible positions, saying the darndest things. "Quasi-hysterical Europeans". Hmm. Last time I looked Europe included the Netherlands, with an average altitide of 30 feet above sea level. Couldn't those Europeans rationally be a bit more worried about climate change than the average American? And London already has massive floodgates in place on the tidal portion of the Thames, for storm surges. I could believe maybe the Brits might be inclined to be risk averse toward a rise in sea level. What I find interesting is that Chrysler chose not to muzzle the guy. It's one thing to disagree with a study, it's another to be a corporate spokesman and do it in such a sensationalizing fashion. I mean, do you really want to have a top corporate officer insulting your potential customer base? Who benefits from that?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(chogan @ Jan 10 2007, 01:19 PM) [snapback]373758[/snapback]</div> He also made public comments about his own corp (the whole stuttgart bit) which is a bit surprising.
