—Systemic change begins with personal change—
Nick Loris is the Vice President of Public Policy at C3 Solutions. Loris studies and writes about a wide range of energy and climate policies, including natural resource extraction, energy subsidies, nuclear energy, renewable power and energy efficiency. He also studies ways in which markets will improve the environment, reduce emissions and better adapt to a changing climate.
Before joining C3 Solutions, Loris served as the Deputy Director of the Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies and Herbert and Joyce Morgan Fellow in Energy and Environmental Policy at The Heritage Foundation.
Loris has testified before House and Senate committees on a variety of energy and environment issues. He has been published and quoted in major newspapers such as The Wall Street Journal and New York Times. His radio and television appearances include CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, and National Public Radio. He received his master’s degree in economics from George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics, finance, and political science from Albright College in Reading, PA. He serves as a senior advisor on energy and environment at Madrus, LLC and serves on policy advisory boards at ConservAmerica and the American Conservation Coalition.
Nick and I talk about freedom, liberty, personal action and, however paradoxical to most people, how important personal behavior is in changing systems. Then we talk about markets, regulation, and democracy and how they interact with community norms. Looking at the words markets, regulation, and democracy, they may look academic or abstract, but I think you'll find the conversation fun because it's personal. We don't talk theory. We're talking about how we live and work. A core of our conversation is where a society or state draws a line between things that benefit some people but hurt others. Some things may make messes but everyone agrees should be allowed, like exhaling or pooping. Others everyone agrees should be illegal, like putting poison in someone's food. But what about putting poison in the air in the process of doing something people like, like flying? We talked about free markets too. We also did the Spodek Method. Nick grew up near me, so his description of nature resonated more than most.
Regular readers of my blog know I took a course, Conservatism 101, from the Leadership Institute, which led me to read conservative literature I hadn't before: Edmund Burke, Frederic Bastiat, Friedrich Hayek, Russell Kirk, and more. This reading came after I started reading and watching Milton Friedman, Julian Simon, Ayn Rand, and current followers of their work like Marian Tupy, Gale Pooley, and Alex Epstein. I had blogged about them after reading their works too. I began seeing relevance of their work to sustainability that I don't think even their fans appreciate. At a social event, I met a woman who works at the Cato Institute. I told her of what I was learning and invited her to talk about it. She said sustainability and the environment weren't her focus, but she could put me in touch with colleagues. She knew Nick Loris from when he worked at the Heritage Foundation. Now he works at C3 Solutions---the Conservative Coalition for Climate Solutions. I invited him to talk about our approaches to the environment, both our historical journeys and our philosophical views. We talked about first-principles approaches from a limited government, free market view. I haven't heard conversations like this one on sustainability. You'll hear genuine curiosity and learning.