Newt Argues a Conservative Green Plan

Newt Gingrich has triggered a debate in the New Republic over how to inspire eco-friendly fuel innovation. He argues that tax breaks and a billion-dollar prize can spark green entrepreneurs to usurp the "oligarchies and dictatorships" that control US oil dependence. But a pair of eco-authors wants more, and argues that Washington must invest tax dollars into new technologies to reverse climate change.

Conservatives are “confusing their opposition to investments in social programs” with opposition to infrastructure, Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus write; energy policy can’t afford such “knee-jerk” rejection of public support. But Newt lumps carbon taxes with “more government regulations, more control by bureaucracies, and more litigation by trial lawyers”—arguing that a “market-oriented approach” is the only way to green.