EV Proponents in Hiding? David Cooke (Union of Concerned Scientists) Declines AEI

“Cooke as EV apologist is tied to an economic lemon. Hunkering down in a hole of unreality is not very impressive. But this is the Industrial Climate Complex in action, a data point for a movement that is power-driven, not intellectually curious. And anti-environmental to boot.”

Yes, defending electric cars and trucks is pretty hard with the national media simply reporting that consumers do not like to own or rent battery vehicles, and Mother Nature presents freeze issues to battery performance.

This situation was magnified was a recent snub to a polite invitation to an EV proponent from Benjamin Zycher, senior fellow of the American Enterprise Institute, to discuss the pros and cons of EVs at a virtual AEI event. Zycher emailed Dave Cooke, senior vehicles analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists to participate.

Zycher Invitation

Dear Dr. Cooke: My name is Benjamin Zycher, and I am a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.  I am organizing a virtual AEI event on the EV policy push (for want of a better term), scheduled for February 20 at 9:30am-11;30am EST. 

Former EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler has agreed to give some opening remarks; and then I plan to have a panel of three on each “side,” although I am not organizing this event as a “debate.”  Instead, my usual practice is to invite panelists who can be predicted, based upon existing writings and the like, to offer sharply  contrasting views so that issues and questions can emerge as a product of the respective presentations.

Jonathan Brightbill of Winston & Strawn (former acting assistant AG at DoJ), Mark Mills of the Manhattan Institute, and Andrew Stuttaford of National Review have agreed to serve on the panel.  I think that each panelist is likely to have 15 minutes, not counting any Q&A at the end.

I am seeking prominent and serious individuals who, crudely, can be described as proponents or supporters of the policy/regulatory push for a transformation of the ground transportation system toward EVs. I hope that you find this virtual event of interest, and are willing to particiapte as a panelist, structuring your remarks in any way or dimensions that you may deem appropriate.

In addition, if you have recommendations for other panelists, I would appreciate them greatly.  Joshua Linn (U Md) has a conflict with his teaching schedule, and John Larsen (Rhodium) will be on vacation.  I have been trying to obtain contact information for Ms. Margo Oge (formerly the OTAQ director at EPA), but that is proving surprisingly difficult.  

More narrowly, I hope that this event and your participation are of interest.  Please let me know; and many thanks indeed. Feel free to contact me at any time, at the email address and/or phones below.  I am on pacific time. Best, Ben

Cooke Reply

Thanks for your interest, but with all due respect, I don’t find such a panel to be worth my time. Upton Sinclair put it best: “It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” 

As you note, this would not be a debate, and your audience is made up of folks who’ve spent significant resources over decades fighting against the well-established science of climate change and the policies needed to address it.

Zycher Reaction

… Yes, it is barely midway through January, but we already may have a winner [for jerk of the year].  As some of you know, I am organizing a virtual event for next month on the EV policy push; I have Andrew Wheeler lined up to give opening remarks.  Jon Brightbill, Mark Mills, and Andrew Stuttaford have agreed to serve on the following discussion panel, and I am trying to line up three serious panelists in support of the EV transformation. 

So I sent an email to Dave Cooke at the Union of Concerned Scientists; he is a physicist and upon first impression seems like a serious guy whatever our policy disagreements.  I described the event^*** and invited him to participate. 

Comment

This was/is a three-on-three debate. The audience is open to everyone from any ideological segment or industry sector. And regarding the Upton Sinclair quotation, David Cooke, doesn’t that apply to you in spades? Can you turn against EVs and keep your job, your funding? Get kudos at the office and even a raise? Nope ….

Cooke as EV apologist is tied to an economic lemon. Hunkering down in a hole of unreality is not very impressive. But this is the Industrial Climate Complex in action, a data point for a movement that is power-driven, not intellectually curious. And anti-environmental to boot.

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