California wildfires are only going to get worse as dry seasons last longer due to climate change.
Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Chellie Pingree (D-ME) wrote an open letter to the heads of Google, Microsoft, and Facebook after their support for LibertyCon. LibertyCon is a libertarian convention, and, with it, comes support for climate change denial. One of the key sponsors was CO2 Coalition, which believes that additional CO2 emissions are somehow positive. The event also featured a person who welcomes additional climate change, and denies the harmful effects.
Climate change is a problem that will require a worldwide, coordinated effort to combat. It’s not profitable, but it’s for the good of humanity. That makes it the kind of task that’s perfect for government. To fix climate change, we’ll need what libertarians believe will be “government overreach.” As a result, they deny it, rather than believe in something that will require “big government” ideas.
Ocasio-Cortez is famous for calling out anyone who stands in the way of her progressive agenda. She can be particularly ruthless. However, Google, Microsoft, and Facebook have made their intentions about climate change known in the past. These are companies looking to use renewable energy. Perhaps that’s why the letter she and Pingree wrote does not condemn the three companies, but, rather, asks them to clarify their positions.
In a capitalist society after the Citizens United case ruling in the United States, the public often demands political views from corporations. The truth is, this isn’t just a matter of wanting corporations to share your values. Corporations also have great political power. With their support for right-wing ideals and climate change denial, citizens and representatives—rightfully so—want to know what these powerful companies believe. Their beliefs will impact our policies.
LibertyCon
Libertarians want to shrink the government immensely. The idea is that only the wealthy should have any of the privileges typically provided by a government. This is supported by individual liberties without restriction from societal pressures or government. They care little about the lives of others, the discrimination others may face, or the rights others may lack. To them, those are individual issues that other people must deal with on their own.
If healthcare, security, roads, restrictions on discriminatory hiring practices, and public safety are not the concerns of libertarians, surely climate change would not be? For young libertarians, the threat of climate change will have a personal impact. Libertarian leaders must defend their ideology through climate change denial if they want these younger people to support their party. As the best solution to climate change is a worldwide coordinated effort, pushed by government regulation, libertarians have but one option: deny the issue.
Former college professor Dr. Caleb Rossiter spoke at LibertyCon this year. He frequently speaks out against believing in anthropological climate change. Despite an unprecedented increase in global temperature greater than ever in this planet’s history at the onset of the industrial revolution and 97% of scientists agreeing that humans are the cause of this spike, he assures conservatives they have nothing to worry about. His session was not a debate, there was no one at the conference supporting the proof behind climate change or the drastic action we must take immediately.
Libertarian belief is against programs to help those disenfranchised by decades of ongoing systematic oppression, and uncaring support of the the exploding wage gap and wealth inequality. Despite these regressive beliefs, it’s climate change denial that makes them dangerous.
The Letter
“We understand that sponsorship of an event or conference is a common occurrence and that these sponsorships do not automatically indicate the company endorses the variety of political viewpoints that may be presented at these events. However, we find it imperative to ensure that the climate-related views espoused at LibertyCon do not reflect the values of your companies going forward.”
– Chellie Pingree and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, U.S. Congress
Pingree and Ocasio-Cortez aren’t asking for much, neither donations nor measures to combat climate change. However, they do hope that Facebook, Google, and Microsoft will make their intentions as companies known. They want them to publicly reaffirm their support of reversing worldwide warming trends by cutting CO2 emissions dramatically. It’s a simple ask.
They may have had a secondary motive here. Unless you were an attendee of LibertyCon, you likely wouldn’t have known that the conference was supported by Facebook, Google, and Microsoft. All three are companies that have faced criticisms for supporting hate speech, inciting violence, sexism, a dearth of company diversity, and both sexist and racist bias in their applications of AI. Libertarianism would not criticize them for these infractions. They don’t care if a company is racist or sexist, provokes violence or steals customer data. If it’s profitable, they argue, it’s good, because the public has decided that their product is more valuable than the morality, or they have decided that their decisions are not amoral. For a corporation, libertarian views are a breath of fresh air amid criticisms from moderates and the left.
Google and Microsoft Respond
Microsoft and Google responded to the Congresswomen’s letter, while Facebook responds with a generic link. Microsoft stated that their involvement with LibertyCon was through a breakfast for students, where they discussed “topics including rural broadband and privacy.” Microsoft went on to say that “Climate change is one of the most important issues of our time, and our commitment to addressing it is unequivocal.” Microsoft has reduced their own emissions and made investments in renewable energy to combat against the disaster of climate change.
Google stated that the company frequently sponsors organizations, regardless of their political beliefs. They stated that, “Google’s sponsorship or collaboration with a third party organization doesn’t mean that we endorse the organization’s entire agenda or agree with other speakers or sponsors.” Perhaps this is enough for some, but Google could have specified their efforts and commitment to stopping climate change. Their response wasn’t much better than the link Facebook sent.
The Damage Done
Climate change is certainly a serious issue, as is supporting groups that stand against employee rights, civil rights, healthcare, and security. These companies should not have sponsored an event with regressive ideologies. However, they’re well within their right to do so. While Google and Microsoft’s dedication to protecting this planet’s inhabitants is commendable, sponsoring events like LibertyCon run counter to those efforts. Those people will go off and vote for climate change denying politicians, causing far more harm than their own green efforts could ever undo. If we’re going to keep living on this planet, we have to work hard now to keep it safe. Supporting those with dangerous ideologies like those at LibertyCon runs contrary to our shared goal.
Sources:
- Makena Kelly, The Verge
- LibertyCon
- Stephanie Mencimer, Mother Jones
- Chellie Pingree, House.gov