Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

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Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

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Friedman talks energy, green innovation

New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman advocated for “speed, scope and scale” in energy innovation during a panel Friday at Northwestern. The panel was one of two academic symposia honoring the inauguration of NU’s new University President Morton O. Schapiro.

Friedman took the stage in the Henry Crown Sports Pavilion alongside Engineering Prof. Kimberly Gray; Co-director of the NU Initiative for Energy and Sustainability Mark Ratner; and Mark Mills, co-founder of Digital Power Capital, a private equity firm that focuses on energy technology.

Despite the inclement weather, nearly 1,000 people turned out for the panel.Friedman discussed the United States’ lagging progress in green technology, particularly compared to China. He said the country needs mass mobilization reminiscent of the civil rights and women’s rights movements.

“We need to be on the (National) Mall saying ‘carbon tax now’ – and that’s a hard sell,” he said.

Friedman added that it’s difficult to galvanize a movement on the energy issue, because the worst effects of climate change won’t be felt by this generation.

He spoke directly to students after commenting on their relatively low turnout, encouraging them to partake in the shaping of the country’s energy policy.

“If you aren’t in the cloakroom, where the rules get written, then you aren’t anywhere,” he said.

NBC News political correspondent Kelly O’Donnell, SESP ’87, moderated the discussion. Friedman and Mills disagreed on both the need and the means for a revolution in energy technology.

Mills, who co-authored the book “The Bottomless Well: The Twilight of Fuel, the Virtue of Waste, and Why We Will Never Run Out of Energy,” said the solar, wind and nuclear solutions Friedman promotes will never meet the needs of a world that consumes more energy each year.

“We have the wrong nomenclature,” Mills said. “It’s not alternative energy, it’s additional energy. It’s not arithmetically possible to fuel the world only on alternative energy.”

The crowd applauded Friedman’s response: “(That argument) is often used by the oil and coal industries, to say ‘We need gas and coal,’ and then to pollute the world with bad science on climate change.”

Friedman had strong criticisms for Congress and the Obama administration, who he said should set a fixed price for carbon to drive the market toward cheaper alternatives.

“This is a unique leadership challenge, and it’s one that we have failed so far,” he said. “My motto has always been ‘change your leaders, not your light bulbs.'”

Weinberg senior Samir Pendse, a student in Schapiro’s Economics of Higher Education seminar, said he wanted to hear Friedman, who he considers “an A-list name.”

Pendse challenged Friedman’s focus on a carbon tax, which he said he thinks will make life harder for poorer Americans. He added that he was disheartened so few students attended the panel.

“I was not surprised, but a little disappointed that more students didn’t come out for this,” he said. “Educationally speaking, the students who came got to hear some great minds and great ideas.”

After the panel, Friedman, who also spoke at the inauguration ceremony later in the day, told The DAILY he agreed to take part in the inauguration because of his close friendship with Schapiro.

“I don’t just do this for anyone,” he said, addressing his friend as “Morty.”

Schapiro said he was pleased with both panels, and expressed pride in the expertise of the speakers and the number of NU faculty who participated.

“We could have had 100 more NU faculty speak who are experts in their fields,” he said.

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Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881
Friedman talks energy, green innovation