With historically low oil prices as a backdrop, Professor Matthew Huber from the Maxwell School of Public Policy joined the EMPOWER program’s weekly Water-Energy seminar to address potential concerns with America’s “oil addiction.” Climate change is being felt near and far, just look at the recent damage felt by people along the Western-Atlantic due to Hurricane Matthew. However, public and political response has been largely absent. Huber, the author of Lifeblood: Oil, Freedom, and the Forces of Capital, discussed potential problems with market-based solutions to climate change as well as the social narrative that accompanies them. Political discourse has led most efforts to internalize the costs of pollution, such as implementation of a cap-and-trade policy, to be recast as a “tax” on the public at-large. In the wake of political opposition to these taxes, Huber argued that a public solution based on a moral imperative would provide the most effective means of dealing with climate change.

After finishing his presentation, Huber engaged with the EMPOWER trainees in a round table discussion, fielding questions on a variety of topics related to climate change policy. Students pressed to understand the implications of some of the more radical measures proposed by the speaker, such as the New Deal-type public solution, and even posed questions prodding at Professor Huber’s viewpoints. Emily Baker, an Earth Sciences PhD student, was curious if Washington policymakers were looking at any alternative solutions to Cap-and-Trade. Huber’s answer: largely not. While not wholly satisfying in a country where political discourse is reduced to gossip on the latest scandal, the discussion left trainees with a better understanding of the complexity surrounding climate policy and free market economics. Professor Huber provided insight into the policy side of issues that many of the trainees view only through a scientific lens. He was a joy to have and his proximity at Maxwell School makes him an invaluable resource as the EMPOWER program delves further into the Water-Energy nexus.

Story written by Kyle Blaha, Nathan Chien, Emily Gaub, Geoffrey Millard, and JR Slosson