Ben Lieberman is a senior fellow with a specialization in environmental policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Lieberman has served on the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce, specifically on energy infrastructure reform. He worked for 5 years at the Heartland Institute and has published a wide range of articles and op-eds.
Climate Change
Ben Lieberman uses economics to defend climate denial and the fossil fuel industry. Lieberman argued that “niche status for EVs [electric vehicles] is not good enough for those who consider climate change an existential threat, especially since transportation contributes nearly one-third of American emissions of carbon dioxide.” In reality, EVs are better for the environment than gas cars and Lieberman receives significant funding from the fossil fuel industry.
Lieberman has also argued that eliminating the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) poses “significant and unnecessary costs on homeowners, vehicle owners, and many small business owners, and promises more economic pain than environmental gain.” HFCs have been proven to contribute to ozone depletion and scientists have viewed them as a transition step to a more environmentally friendly solution.
Alaska
In 2008, Ben Lieberman wrote an article in support of Sara Palin’s plans to expand Alaskan drilling in ANWR. Lieberman refers to scientific arguments against drilling as “myths” and supports Palin’s stance tbehat “caribou, polar bears and other supposedly at-risk species have actually increased in numbers since drilling began in the 1970s.” This information is misleading because scientists only started collecting data in the 1970s, in 2008 polar bears were listed as endangered, and polar bear habitat is in a critical state.
See also:
Sara Palin
Climate of Denial