Tweet [1]
Matt Ridley decries the eco-extremism that inflicted so much harm on Sri Lankans [2]. A slice:
At the time, his organic decision was widely praised by environmentalists. Sri Lanka scored 98 out of 100 on the “ESG” – environmental, social and governance – criteria for investment.
Vandana Shiva, a feted environmentalist, said: “This decision will definitely help farmers become more prosperous.” She has been silent recently. Dr Shiva has led relentless criticism of the Green Revolution of the 1960s, which brought fertiliser and new crop varieties to south Asia [3], banishing famine for the first time in history even as population increased. Her (and others’) claims that traditional, organic farming could feed the world more healthily remain wildly popular among environmentalists. Sri Lanka has tested that proposition and found it wanting.
As the agricultural scientist Prof Channa Prakash of Tuskegee University in Alabama once told me: “Sure, organic agriculture is sustainable: it sustains poverty and malnutrition.” Farming was organic when millions died in famines every decade and the US prairies turned into dustbowls for lack of fertiliser to hold the soil during droughts.
Arnold Kling ponders “the coalition of the sane.” [4] A slice:
Do you want to be more than an Enabler? Demand that the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion be abolished. Support laws banning “gender-affirming care” for minors and giving parents clear authority to shield their children from those pushing gender transition on them. Insist on the use of standardized tests and rigorous, color-blind grading practices. Fire the teachers and professors who require “activism” from their students. Fire the employees who bring politics into the workplace. Repeal laws that require “diversity” on corporate boards. Insist that pensions and other investments be directed toward profits, not toward “ESG.” Stop encouraging your kids to attend Ivy League colleges.
GMU Econ alum Dominic Pino reports on the continuing shortage of baby formula [6]. A slice:
The United States of America should not be at the mercy of Michigan weather to have a sufficient supply of baby formula. The fact is we’re over-reliant on a small handful of factories because the U.S. baby-formula market has been made unattractive by federal policy.
A Congressional Research Service report [7] from May documents how the U.S. is almost 100 percent reliant on domestic companies to meet demand for baby formula. The U.S. produced an average of 524 million kilograms of infant formula per year between 2012 and 2021 and imported an average of only 3 million kilograms per year, the report says. Domestic production regularly exceeded demand, which seemed to be working well.
But when there are domestic supply problems, there’s nowhere else to go. Tariffs and duties range from 14.9 percent to 25.1 percent depending on the contents, amount, and the country of origin, the report says. More importantly, though, the oligopolistic market structure, dominated by two huge firms that work in concert with state governments through the WIC program [8], makes the whole market unattractive for foreign manufacturers. The report says, “As such, Congress might consider encouraging mutual recognition agreements on regulatory testing and certification, or other policy instruments to reduce these trade barriers, in addition to potentially lowering tariffs.”
Hear! Hear! for University of Washington professor Stuart Reges [9].
Bryan Caplan talks about Thomas Szasz [10].
Juliette Sellgren talks with Jason Fichtner about “why you should save today.” [11]
Eric Boehm reports that “ineffective mask mandates could be returning to L.A. and Seattle.” [12]
Christine Black applauds “the speakeasy churches of 2020.” [13]
“Pandemic related disruptions have caused the largest backslide in childhood vaccinations in 29 years, in what experts say is a ‘red alert’ warning for health. [14]” (DBx: But, as a result, at least these children perhaps have a lesser chance of coming into contact with the covid virus – which outcome, as The Experts have assured us, is a consideration that trumps all others.)
The UK government is trying to block disclosures to the inquiry investigating its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to people with knowledge of the discussions.
Jay Bhattacharya tweets [16]:
The thinking was that by protecting the laptop class with lockdowns, that would protect everyone.
Public health embraced trickle down epidemiology.